The Kilns, also known as C. S. Lewis House, is the house in Risinghurst, Oxford, England, where the author C. S. Lewis wrote all of his Narnia books and other classics.[1][2] The house itself was featured in the Narnia books.[3] Lewis's gardener at The Kilns, Fred Paxford, is said to have inspired the character of Puddleglum the Marsh-wiggle in The Silver Chair.[4]

The Kilns
Two-floor, brick suburban house set within a garden
The Kilns in 1997
The Kilns is located in Oxfordshire
The Kilns
Location within Oxfordshire
Alternative namesC. S. Lewis House
General information
TypePrivate house
LocationRisinghurst, Oxford, England
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates51°45′24″N 1°11′24″W / 51.7568°N 1.1900°W / 51.7568; -1.1900
Construction started1922
OwnerC.S. Lewis Foundation
Website
www.cslewis.org
Interior view at The Kilns

The Kilns was built in 1922 on the site of a former brickworks.[1] The lake in the garden is a flooded clay pit. In 1930, The Kilns was bought by C. S. Lewis, his brother Warren Lewis, and Janie Moore. Maureen Dunbar, Janie Moore's daughter, also lived there. C. S. Lewis wrote of the house: "I never hoped for the like". Janie Moore was the mother of Lewis's university friend Paddy Moore, who had been killed in the First World War.

The house is located in what is now called Lewis Close, south of Kiln Lane.

The Kilns is currently owned and operated by the C.S. Lewis Foundation, which runs it as the Study Centre at the Kilns.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "The Kilns, Risinghurst, Headington". Headington.org.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  2. ^ "History of Headington, Oxford". Headington.org.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  3. ^ [1] Archived October 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Walter Hooper, Past Watchful Dragons: the Narnian Chronicles of C. S. Lewis, 1979 ISBN 0-02-051970-2 ISBN 0-02-051970-2)
  5. ^ "C.S. Lewis Study Centre at the Kilns - C.S. Lewis Foundation". Cslewis.org. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
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