C.S. Lewis’s Oxford Lampost

One evening after lecturing at Magdalen College, C. S. Lewis walked along Oxford’s cobblestone streets. As he walked through St. Mary’s, he stopped at a gaslit lamppost. There was nothing extraordinary about the lamppost. It didn’t stand out from other lampposts in Oxford, but Lewis made the mundane into something special.

Near the lamppost is a doorway, with two carved fauns. On the door is a majestic carved lion, radiating glory. It is easy to see why C.S. Lewis walked away from the lamppost, carved fauns, and the engraved lion with inspiration to write The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

S. Lewis’s Oxford journey began in 1917 as an undergraduate at University College. In 1925, Lewis became a Fellow and tutor in English literature at Magdalen College. During his time in Oxford, he often walked the streets, and visitors can walk his same path and witness what he saw. Very little has changed in Oxford since Lewis’s day.

In Lewis’s most famous novel, the Pevensie children walk through an ancient wardrobe into the magical world of Narnia. Lucy is the first to cross the threshold, meeting a faun named “Mr. Tumnus,” whom she meets near the lamppost. Lewis took an ordinary lamppost and made it a central part of his marvellous story.

It is hard to separate C.S. Lewis’s faith from the man while walking in his footsteps. Lewis arrived at University College as an atheist. While attending college, World War I broke out, and Lewis went to the front lines. After he was wounded while fighting in France, he returned to Oxford to finish his studies.

After he became a Fellow at Magdalen College, he joined a group of friends that included J.R.R. Tolkien and Hugo Dyson. It was within this group of friends that Lewis’s faith was challenged. He constantly engaged his friends in conversations about morality, Christian mythology, and what is truth. He found Christianity to be unintellectual and was resistant to the teachings of the Bible.

One evening during a late-night walk with his two friends through Addison’s Walk in Magdalen Deer Park, a discussion about nature, myths, and truth was brought up. Tolkien brought up the notion of Christianity being a “true myth,” which struck a chord with Lewis. “True Myth,” in Tolkien’s opinion, was that mythology was inspired by God through poets, artists, and writers, where Christianity’s true myth was that God expressed Himself through real events.

Later on, Lewis was on a bus to visit Whipsnade Zoo, where he had his “Come to Jesus” moment. He said, “When we set out, I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo, I did.” Later on, he described himself as, “the most dejected and reluctant convert in all of England.”

His newfound faith influenced his writings and his personal and professional life. He joined the Holy Trinity Church in Headington Quarry, where he worshipped for the rest of his life. His faith could be found throughout his lectures and his writings.

By the 1940s, Lewis had become one of Britain’s most prominent Christian voices. He had a regular BBC Radio broadcast, which discussed his faith and was later published as Mere Christianity.

Knowing Lewis’ Christian walk, it is easy to see how he took ordinary objects and people, and made them something special.

I was assisted with this story by Experience Oxfordshire and Visit Southeast England.

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