The Narnia Door is an ornately carved wooden door on St Mary’s Passage, Oxford — a narrow lane running between the University Church of St Mary the Virgin (High Street) and Radcliffe Square. The door is widely believed to have inspired C.S. Lewis’s description of the wardrobe door through which the Pevensie children enter Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950). It is a free, publicly accessible landmark on a public passageway. This guide covers location, what to see, and what to realistically expect from a visit.
My personal Oxford recommendation
Oxford is a city of stories. You miss a lot of the walking around independently. This is a place where, much more than usual, it’s worth taking a walking tour.
I took the excellent Official Oxford University and City walking tour. It gave a great grounding on the city’s history, quirky university traditions and fascinating details on buildings you may otherwise miss. I recommend it, but there are other Oxford walking tours to choose from if you’d prefer a different theme.
Last updated: June 2026. One important note: the connection between the door and C.S. Lewis is a tradition, not a documented fact. Lewis never confirmed it in writing. The door’s features — a carved lion’s face, two golden fauns, and a lamp post just beyond the passage into Radcliffe Square — support the association, but it remains contextual rather than confirmed. Guides that present it as fact rather than tradition are overstating the evidence.
Quick facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Location | St Mary’s Passage, Oxford — the lane connecting High Street to Radcliffe Square, opposite the western wall of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin |
| Opening hours | Accessible at all times; St Mary’s Passage is a public right of way |
| Entry price | Free |
| Nearest landmark | University Church of St Mary the Virgin (directly adjacent); Radcliffe Camera (~30 seconds’ walk) |
| Typical visit length | 5–10 minutes |
Narnia Door opening hours
St Mary’s Passage is a public right of way between High Street and Radcliffe Square. It is accessible on foot at all times of day and night.
Narnia Door ticket prices
Visiting the Narnia Door is free. No ticket or booking is required. The door is on the exterior wall opposite the University Church of St Mary the Virgin and can be viewed from the passage without entering the church.
The church itself is free to enter during opening hours if you wish to explore the interior separately. The church tower climb has a small admission charge.
5 Oxford experiences worth booking
- 🎓 Take an Oxford University walking tour led by an alumni guide.
- ⚡ Explore Oxford’s Harry Potter filming locations on a tour including New College.
- 🚣 Embark on a scenic river cruise along the University Regatta course.
- 🕵️ Discover the Oxford of Morse, Lewis and Endeavour on a themed walking tour.
- 🏰 Hear dark historic tales on a guided visit to Oxford Castle and Prison.
How to find the Narnia Door
The door is easy to miss if you do not know exactly where to look.
From High Street: Face the entrance to the University Church of St Mary the Virgin. Immediately to the left (west) of the church’s main entrance porch, a narrow passageway runs north towards Radcliffe Square. This is St Mary’s Passage. The Narnia Door is a few metres into the passage on your right — set into the western wall of the church itself.
From Radcliffe Square: Walk south past the Radcliffe Camera and enter St Mary’s Passage heading towards High Street. The door is on your right (opposite the church wall), a few metres from the Radcliffe Square end of the passage. Note the lamp post just inside the passage from the Radcliffe Square end — its presence at the corner where the passage opens onto the square is part of what draws attention to the Lewis connection.
The door has no signage identifying it as the Narnia Door. It is marked only by its distinctive carved decoration. If you are passing it quickly, you will likely walk past without noticing it.
How to get to the Narnia Door
The door is in the heart of central Oxford, a short walk from any point in the city centre.
By bus: Multiple routes and Park & Ride services stop at Carfax or on High Street. St Mary’s Passage is approximately 3–4 minutes’ walk east along High Street from Carfax.
By train: Oxford station is approximately 15–20 minutes’ walk. Head east through the city centre.
On foot: From the Bodleian Library, cross Catte Street into Radcliffe Square; St Mary’s Passage is at the south side of the square.
Accessibility
St Mary’s Passage is a narrow pedestrian lane with a slightly uneven surface. It is generally passable for wheelchairs and mobility aids, though the surface is not perfectly level. At busy times the passage can be crowded.
What to see at the Narnia Door
The door itself
The door is a heavy, dark wooden door set in a stone arched doorway. Its most distinctive features are:
The central carved face — a sculpted face with a mane-like surround that resembles a lion’s head. This is set into the middle of the door and is the most commonly photographed element.
Two carved fauns — flanking the door on either side are decorative figures that resemble fauns or satyrs, directly echoing Mr Tumnus, the faun who is the first creature Lucy meets in Narnia.
The lamp post — just beyond the door, at the point where St Mary’s Passage opens into Radcliffe Square, stands a Victorian iron lamp post. Lamp posts play a specific role in Lewis’s Narnia — Lucy encounters one immediately on entering through the wardrobe — and this lamp post is positioned in a way that makes the parallel feel deliberate.
The door itself leads to the vestry and back rooms of the University Church, not to the church interior. It is a working access door, not a ceremonial entrance.
The C.S. Lewis connection
C.S. Lewis was a fellow and tutor in English Literature at Magdalen College from 1925 to 1954 — 29 years during which he would have passed through central Oxford regularly. St Mary’s Passage is a direct pedestrian route between the High Street and the Bodleian area, and Lewis would certainly have been familiar with it.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was completed in 1949 and published in October 1950. Lewis described the idea beginning with a mental image of “a faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood.” The wardrobe as a portal came later, along with the door through which Lucy passes.
The connection is a widely held tradition, not a documented Lewis statement. No letter, diary entry, or interview has been found in which Lewis identifies this specific door. The combination of the lion face, the fauns, and the lamp post makes the association feel credible, and Lonely Planet and other major sources describe it as the Narnia Door with appropriate hedging (“is said to be” and “is thought to have inspired”). The atlas-quality source for on-site conditions (the Flickr post by a Bodleian-associated blogger, January 2026) describes it as a “widely held belief.”
Visitors should approach it as a place of interesting possible connection rather than confirmed literary heritage — which arguably makes it more enjoyable to contemplate.
What else to see nearby: the fuller C.S. Lewis trail in Oxford
For visitors interested in the broader Lewis connection to Oxford, the following are all within a short distance:
Magdalen College cloisters — where carvings of animals on the pillars are described in multiple sources as a possible inspiration for the stone animals in Narnia. Magdalen College is approximately 10 minutes’ walk east along High Street. Admission charged; check magd.ox.ac.uk for current opening hours and prices.
The University Church of St Mary the Virgin — Lewis preached here on multiple occasions, and the church’s interior is described by Lewis scholars as part of his Oxford landscape. Free to enter; tower climb charged.
The Eagle and Child pub, St Giles’ — Where the Inklings (the literary group including Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien) met weekly to read and discuss their work. Note: the Eagle and Child closed permanently during the COVID-19 pandemic and has not reopened. The White Horse pub next to Blackwell’s bookshop (Broad Street) is one of the surviving Inklings-associated pubs.
The Kilns, Headington — Lewis’s house, approximately 2 miles east of the city centre, where he lived from 1930 and where he wrote the Narnia series. Occasional public tours; check cslewis.com for details.
Practical visitor tips
| Tip | Detail |
|---|---|
| The door has no signs | Nothing identifies the Narnia Door as such. Use the directions above to find it. Approach from High Street: face the church entrance, turn left into the narrow passage, and look immediately left. |
| It is a working door | The door leads to the church vestry and is occasionally used by church staff. Do not attempt to open it or block access. |
| The connection is traditional, not documented | Lewis never confirmed this association in writing. Be appropriately sceptical of guides that present it as certain fact. |
| The lamp post is easy to miss | The Victorian lamp post at the Radcliffe Square end of the passage is a small but significant part of what draws Narnia associations. Look for it as you exit the passage northward. |
| Combine with Radcliffe Square | The passage opens directly onto Radcliffe Square, which provides the best exterior views of the Radcliffe Camera. The combination of the Narnia Door and the Radcliffe Camera makes for a very short but visually rich visit. |
Frequently asked questions about the Narnia Door
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Is the Narnia Door free to see? | Yes. St Mary’s Passage is a public right of way; the door is free to view. |
| Did C.S. Lewis confirm this was his inspiration? | No. The connection is a widely held tradition based on the door’s carved features (lion face, fauns) and the nearby lamp post. Lewis did not confirm it in any known letter or interview. |
| Where exactly is the Narnia Door? | In St Mary’s Passage — the narrow lane between High Street (beside the University Church) and Radcliffe Square. From High Street, turn left immediately beside the church entrance and look right after a few metres. |
| Can you open the door? | No. It is a working access door for the church and should not be opened by visitors. |
| Is the Narnia Door inside a building? | No. It is on the exterior wall of the University Church, facing into a public lane. No tickets or entry to the church are needed to see it. |
Things to do near the Narnia Door
- University Church of St Mary the Virgin (adjacent) — The main university church, free to enter. Tower climb charged; views over Radcliffe Square and the Bodleian are excellent. John Henry Newman and C.S. Lewis both preached here.
- Radcliffe Camera (~30 seconds through the passage) — The iconic 18th-century circular library; interior accessible by Bodleian guided tours (Sat–Sun only). The exterior and square are free and open at all times. See separate guide.
- Bodleian Libraries — Weston Library (~2 minutes north) — Free exhibitions and a café at the Bodleian’s public visitor centre on Broad Street.
- Alice’s Shop, St Aldate’s (~5 minutes’ walk) — The shop where Alice Liddell, Lewis Carroll’s inspiration, once bought sweets; now a gift shop dedicated to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. For visitors drawn to Oxford’s literary heritage.
- Magdalen College (~10 minutes’ walk east) — Where C.S. Lewis taught for 29 years. The cloisters and Addison’s Walk are among the most relevant Lewis sites in Oxford. Admission charged; check the college website for current hours.
What to visit tomorrow: other C.S. Lewis and literary heritage sites within two hours
- The Kilns, Headington (~2 miles east) — Lewis’s home from 1930, where he wrote the Narnia books. Occasional tours available; check cslewis.com.
- Holy Trinity Church, Headington Quarry (~2 miles east) — Where Lewis is buried, alongside a 1992 etched glass window depicting Narnia characters in the pew where he regularly sat. Free to visit.
- The Story Museum, Oxford (~5 minutes’ walk, Pembroke Street) — A family-oriented museum of storytelling and children’s literature, including a wardrobe you can step through. Admission charged.
- Tolkien’s Oxford (~various, same city) — J.R.R. Tolkien’s connections to Oxford are equally deep: Exeter College (where he studied), 20 Northmoor Road (where he wrote The Hobbit), and the pub at the back of Keble Road where Inklings also met. Many walking tours cover both Lewis and Tolkien sites.
More Oxfordshire travel
Other Oxfordshire travel guides on Planet Whitley include:
- Enjoy Oxford University’s top museums, including the Ashmolean Museum, the Pitt Rivers Museum, the Museum of Natural History and the History of Science Museum,
- Admire Oxford University’s architecture at the Clarendon Building, the Bridge of Sighs and the Sheldonian Theatre.
- What to see at Oxford’s Bodleian Library: Guides to Convocation House, the Divinity School and Radcliffe Camera.
- Shudder at dark tales of incarceration at Oxford Castle and Prison.
- Oxford city centre attraction guides: The Museum of Oxford, the Story Museum, the Martyrs’ Memorial and Carfax Tower.
