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Netherwoods Road, OXFORD, OX3 8HE

The Kilns is the former home of C.S. Lewis.

The Kilns is the former home of C.S. Lewis.

The view of C.S. Lewis former house in Headington, Oxford.

The former home of C.S. Lewis ("Jack"); his brother Warren ("Warnie") and Mrs Janie Moore. When they made the joint purchase of this house in 1930 the suburb of Risinghurst did not exist and this now-asphalted cul-de-sac was nothing more than a rough track leading to the site of a former brickworks (hence its name, "The Kilns"), plus several flooded clay pits. They also bought the surrounding 8 acres of untended woodland (now the C.S. Lewis Nature Reserve) to ensure their privacy. "Warnie", the last surviving member of the trio, lived here until his death in 1973. The house then became the property of various owners until it was purchased for £130,000 by the California-based C.S. Lewis Foundation in the 1980s. This charity restored it to its near original 1930s appearance and it now serves as a study centre and a visitor centre. A bid to gain listed status for the house was rejected in February 2002. Behind the photographer, nature-lovers can access the extensive - and partially hilly - nature reserve via a short footpath.

The view at C.S. Lewis Nature Reserve in Headington, Oxford.

One of several footpaths leading into the C.S. Lewis Nature Reserve. "The Kilns", the former home of the Lewis brothers and their dependent, Mrs Janie Moore, lies immediately behind the photographer's right shoulder. When this trio jointly purchased their new home in 1930 the suburb of Risinghurst did not exist and this now-asphalted cul-de-sac was a rough track leading to the site of a former brickworks and several flooded former clay pits. In purchasing their 'new' home they also bought the surrounding 8 acres of untended woodland to ensure their privacy. This boundary fence did not exist in the pre-1940s and C.S. Lewis is said to have enjoyed the freedom to walk, think and swim on his 'estate' over the years, as presumably did some of the evacuees that this trio of adults hosted during WWII?

The view at C.S. Lewis Nature Reserve in Headington, Oxford.

A flooded former claypit in the C.S. Lewis Nature Reserve. Lewis' former home is a 1-2 minute walk away behind the photographer. Prior to his purchase of the house in 1920 clay had been extracted from several pits on this 8 acre site and this was made into bricks in kilns that existed on the site "The Kilns". In 1969 the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Naturalists’ Trust, (now The Wildlife Trust) was given this land by Mrs Dora Stephen in memory of her husband Henry. C.S. Lewis apparently enjoyed skinny-dipping, walking and thinking in these woods and it has been suggested that this wild habitat provided the inspiration for his "Chronicles of Narnia", a tale that he began writing for some of the young evacuees from London that he, his brother Warren ("Warnie") and Mrs Janie Moore hosted at "The Kilns" in 1939. "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe" was completed and published nine years later in 1948.

This tranquil woodland and large pond used to belong to celebrated Oxford author C.S. Lewis. It was said he enjoyed wandering here while writing his children's book series about Narnia which includes The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.