A visit to "The Kilns"

A huge highlight for us all was being able to see and visit C.S. Lewis' home in Oxford. It was quite amazing that we managed to get in on a tour, but the warden of the home had fit in a special tour that day for two pastors, and she was willing to let us tag along. She started the tour in the dining room with tea for us all. It was lovely!

C.S. Lewis' house is called "The Kilns". The hills in this area were rich in clay and a tile factory operated here. This house was owned by the supervisor of the factory, who named it "The Kilns".
This is the name on the house just across the street from "The Kilns".
The back of the house. This is the kitchen window.
The first thing our guide pointed out to us was this small rose bush. It has grown from a cutting taken from the bridal bouquet of G.K. Chesterton's wife.C.S. Lewis had his own private staircase. There is a bathroom through the green door at the foot of the stairs which he used.
He went for a swim each morning in this pond, also on his property, which is about 100 metres from his house. Apparently he said that he always came out cleaner than he went in, which was obviously positive thinking judging from the appearance of the water!
The kitchen with the stove that was in the house when he lived there.
His bedroom.
Books in his study.
The lady in the background is the warden of the house for this year. She and her husband have taken care of the house and the grounds (and the "scholars in residence") and part of her job was to give tours. And, a neat connection is that they lived as a family on the Army base at Stuttgart here in Germany a few years ago. Her husband is an Army doctor. Her kids came down to BFA to play sports against our teams so she was very familiar with BFA and Kandern. She was a lovely Christian woman and made us feel so welcome.
This book is actually blank inside. It was just a prototype to give an idea of what the cover would look like.
C.S. Lewis' desk in his study. This is where he sat by the hour and answered letters, responding to every letter he ever received.
Hey, it's C.S. himself!
The church down the road that he attended.


What an amazing day! What a blessing to be able to have a tour in the house of such a respected man. C.S. Lewis did not have an easy domestic life. His integrity, humility, generosity and unselfish nature became very apparent as we toured the house.