The Kilns (Home of C. S. Lewis)

The Kilns, located just outside Oxford, is one of the most cherished literary and historical sites associated with C. S. Lewis. This modest house, surrounded by quiet countryside, served as Lewis’s home for more than three decades and became the setting in which many of his most influential works were written.

Lewis purchased The Kilns in 1930, along with his brother Warren Lewis, shortly after beginning his academic career at Oxford. The house took its name from the brickworks that had once occupied the land, leaving behind clay pits that later filled with water to form small ponds. These natural surroundings gave the property a peaceful, reflective atmosphere, well suited to Lewis’s habits of study and writing.

In the early years, The Kilns was shared with Mrs. Janie Moore, the mother of a close friend of Lewis who had been killed in World War I. Lewis had promised to care for her, and she remained part of the household for many years. The home thus became not only a place of intellectual labor but also one of personal responsibility and companionship.

It was at The Kilns that Lewis produced much of his most important work. Here he wrote theological and apologetic texts such as Mere Christianity and The Problem of Pain, as well as the beloved Chronicles of Narnia. The quiet setting allowed him to maintain a disciplined routine, balancing his duties as a tutor at Oxford with his writing. The house also hosted many conversations with friends and colleagues, including members of the informal literary group known as the Inklings, who met regularly in Oxford to discuss their work.

The Kilns became even more significant in Lewis’s personal life after his marriage to Joy Davidman in 1956. Though their time together was brief due to her illness and death in 1960, the house witnessed a period of deep emotional and spiritual growth for Lewis. His reflections on grief, later expressed in A Grief Observed, were shaped in part by his experiences there.

After Lewis’s death in 1963, The Kilns passed through various hands and for a time fell into disrepair. However, recognizing its importance, efforts were made in the late twentieth century to preserve and restore the property. It was eventually acquired by organizations dedicated to promoting Lewis’s legacy, and careful renovations were undertaken to return the house to something close to its original condition.

Today, The Kilns is maintained as a place of study, reflection, and pilgrimage. Scholars and visitors alike come to experience the environment in which Lewis lived and worked. The house retains much of its original character, offering a glimpse into the daily life of a writer whose works continue to inspire readers around the world.

The legacy of The Kilns lies not only in its association with C. S. Lewis but also in what it represents. It is a reminder that great ideas often emerge from quiet, disciplined lives rooted in ordinary places. From this unassuming home came writings that have shaped Christian thought and imaginative literature for generations.

In its peaceful setting and enduring influence, The Kilns stands as a fitting tribute to a man whose words continue to resonate, inviting readers to consider faith, reason, and the deeper truths of life.

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Wikipedia:

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 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]

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Image Source/Credit (in order):
• Photo jschroe from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, USA – Lewis’ House CC 2.0