A brick bench where CS Lewis saw Narnia in his mind’s eye has been uncovered at the author’s old home in Risinghurst.
The semi-circular bench overlooking a pond in his garden was a favourite place for the author when he was seeking inspiration.
But the bench had disappeared from view, becoming completely overgrown with vegetation in what is now the CS Lewis Nature Reserve.
It has now been cleared, in the first project undertaken by volunteers in the newly-formed Friends of CS Lewis Reserve, launched by the local wildlife trust BBOWT to involve the local community in the reserve.
Jo Croft, of BBOWT, said: “We always knew the brick seat was there, although it was no longer visible from any of the paths.
“It will now be a place where people can sit and enjoy the reserve overlooking the pond. The scene has not changed a great deal since CS Lewis sat there, while seeking inspiration for his stories.”
With the Disney film version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe sparking phenomenal interest in the Oxford don, who became one of the world’s best loved children’s book writers, the trust has also won an £18,000 grant to improve the reserve next to his old house.
The grant comes from Waste Recycling Environmental Ltd (Wren), the organisation which distributes money from landfill tax. BBOWT said the money would be spent on improving access to the site and boosting the educational potential at a site widely known as “the Real Narnia.”
