John Tenniel Alice and the Knitting Sheep

Alice's Shop is a shop at 83

St Aldate's St Aldate's () is a street in central Oxford, England, named after Saint Aldate, but formerly known as Fish Street. The street runs south from the generally acknowledged centre of Oxford at Carfax. The Town Hall, which includes the Museum o ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England. With 82 St Aldate's next door it is part of a stone-built 15th-century house that was remodelled in the 17th century. It is now a

gift shop A gift shop or souvenir shop is a store primarily selling souvenirs, memorabilia, and other items relating to a particular topic or theme. The items sold often include coffee mugs, stuffed animals, toys, t-shirts, postcards, handmade collect ...

selling gifts, souvenirs and memorabilia, all based on Alice. 83 St Aldate's has long been a shop. In the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

its customers included

Alice Liddell Alice Pleasance Hargreaves (''née'' Liddell, ; 4 May 1852 – 16 November 1934), was an English woman who, in her childhood, was an acquaintance and photography subject of Lewis Carroll. One of the stories he told her during a boating trip beca ...

, daughter of

Henry Liddell Henry George Liddell (; 6 February 1811– 18 January 1898) was dean (1855–1891) of Christ Church, Oxford, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University (1870–1874), headmaster (1846–1855) of Westminster School (where a house is now named after h ...

, who was Dean of

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, which is opposite the shop. Alice, who used to buy sweets at the shop, was the inspiration for

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

's 1865 novel ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a ...

'' and its 1871 sequel ''

Through the Looking-Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the ...

''. 82 and 83 St Aldate's were built in the 15th century. Early in the 17th century they were remodelled. 83 St Aldate's has a gabled front with a 17th-century bay window on the first floor. On its north side 83 has a blocked 17th-century window. Together 82 and 83 St Aldate's are a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

The Old Sheep Shop

Lewis Carroll featured the shop as the Old Sheep Shop in his 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass''. One of

John Tenniel Sir John Tenniel (; 28 February 182025 February 1914)Johnson, Lewis (2003), "Tenniel, John", ''Grove Art Online, Oxford Art Online'', Oxford University Press. Web. Retrieved 12 December 2016. was an English illustrator, graphic humorist and pol ...

's original illustrations for the book shows the inside of the shop. Carroll used it as a setting in Chapter 5 of the book (''Wool and Water'') and is owned by a

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

in the story: The shop is characteristic of the dream-like qualities in the Looking-Glass world, in that every time Alice tries to focus on a specific object on its many shelves it changes shape and shifts to another shelf. At another point the shop itself vanishes and Alice finds herself outside with the sheep in a boat, having been given a pair of

knitting needles A knitting needle or knitting pin is a tool in hand-knitting to produce knitted fabrics. They generally have a long shaft and taper at their end, but they are not nearly as sharp as sewing needles. Their purpose is two-fold. The long shaft ' ...

which turn into

oars An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Rowers grasp the oar at the other end. The difference between oars and paddles is that oars are used exclusively for rowing. In rowing the oar is connecte ...

in her hands. The sheep herself continues to make scornful, personal remarks and then finally, on appearing back in the shop, sells Alice an egg, which promptly turns into

Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle and one of the best known in the English-speaking world. He is typically portrayed as an anthropomorphic egg, though he is not explicitly described as such. ...

. On leaving the shop at the end of the chapter, Alice says:

References

External links

Alice's Shop Oxford
15th-century architecture in the United Kingdom Alice's Adventures in Wonderland History of Oxford Independent stores Shops in Oxford Vernacular architecture Grade II* listed buildings in Oxford Grade II* listed retail buildings {{Oxfordshire-geo-stub