University Museum, Oxford, England

Just across the street from Keble College, we happened on a very interesting building. Oxford University Museum of Natural History, begun in 1855, still fulfills its function to exhibit "all the materials explanatory of the structure of the earth, and of the organic beings placed upon it." The design by Benjamin Woodward, junior partner in the Irish firm of Deane Woodward, was chosen from a design competition. Woodward was deeply influenced by the Oxford-educated John Ruskin and his books, The Seven Lamps of Architecture and The Stones of Venice. Ruskin believed that Gothic was more "natural" than classicism, allowing architectural ornament to be freed from rigid rules and orders. This idea is displayed in the carvings around the window jambs on the front of the museum - of monkeys, cats, dogs, rabbits, etc. These carvings were executed by Irish craftsmen brought to England by Woodward, which also put into practice Ruskin's belief that "all architectural ornamentation should be executed by the men who design it." The interior of the museum is really quite stunning, and its most spectacular feature is the glass roof supported by cast iron columns. This building and its exhibits were a favorite of our younger travel companions.