Lawrence of Oxford

And it was to this house that the Lawrence family came, 2 Polstead Road, on the outskirts of the city and in the heartland of fashionable North Oxford, an area which was very much the preserve of the middle and upper classes - university dons, doctors and other professional people.

The house was built around 1890, and was therefore fairly new when they took possession. The whole area would then have had the rather stark appearance which marks today's new housing developments, in contrast to the mellowed brickwork and tree-lined avenues which now greet visitors over a century later.

The house has outwardly remained remarkably unchanged from the Lawrences' time, and it is typical of the area, being built in the red brick and stone which predominate in that part of Oxford. It is semi-detached and has four floors, including the basement, with a red-tiled and finial-decorated roof, and plenty of rooms - some 16 in all - to accommodate a large family and the obligatory live-in servant.

At the rear of the property, a glass conservatory looks down the long narrow back garden. Again, all remains very much as it was, and the large windows would no doubt have proved a useful look-out post for Mrs Lawrence to view the exploits of her family of boisterous young boys, such as on the occasion, not long after the family had moved in, when TEL and Will decided to investigate the laundry shed at the bottom of the garden and discovered an interesting-looking pipe. TEL's solution to finding out what it might contain was to hammer a nail into it. The resulting gush of water revealed its purpose in life - and father was evidently not amused. "Bother take the little brat" is the phrase which has been handed down to us, although one wonders if this was somewhat toned down for publication. However, had it proved to be a gas pipe, the TEL story might have ended rather differently.

For most of his time as a student at Jesus College TEL continued to live at home. In October 1908 a planning application was submitted for the erection of a two-roomed bungalow at the bottom of the garden at 2 Polstead Road. The plans incorporated the existing laundry shed where the incident with the water pipe had taken place in earlier days, and the new building was to be TEL's study, bedroom and retreat from family life. It was, in effect, his very own house, and it enabled him to keep the hours he chose, rather than having to fit in with the requirements of a busy household.

And this is the bungalow, its exterior still very much as it was in TEL's day, although now enlarged to the right. In T E Lawrence by his Friends, Mrs Lawrence described the amenities which the bungalow enjoyed - a stove with a Devon grate, electric light, mains water, and a telephone extension connecting its solitary occupant to the main house. TEL lined the walls with green Bolton sheeting. It is said this was for sound-proofing, although it is a very quiet spot even today. He decorated the rooms with his brass rubbings.