NARNIA - The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

Four young children from wartime England accidently discover a magic land, called Narnia, that lies beyond and through an ordinary wardrobe.  Once through the wardrobe and into the mythical land,  Edmund,one of the children, betrays his siblings to a wicked witch who has been holding the mythical world of Narnia in thrall to winter.  Spring can only come to Narnia and the betrayal be forgiven when the lion Aslan agrees to die at the witch's hand.

Clive Staples Lewis (known as Jack) was born in Belfast on November 29th, 1898 to the comfortably off Albert James and Flora Augusta Hamilton.  The house in which he lived, Little Lea, is generally credited as the one from which he derived inspiration for his stories.  It was a large, gabled house overlooking the River Lagan, with dark, narrow passages and a library that was crammed with books—two of his favorites were Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  There was also an overgrown garden in which the children played in together. In those days Northern Ireland was not plagued by bitter civil strife, although there were always tensions.

During the second world war, many London children were sent to live in the country to avoid the bombing and the air-raids, and Northern Ireland had its share of evacuees.  Like the Pevensie children in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, several groups of children stayed with Lewis at his country home.

Looking around the area in which he grew up, it is not hard to believe that his surroundings inspired the mythical land of Narnia.  The craggy, heather-draped Mourne Mountains just a few miles away, Belfast's own Black Mountain, and the lakes, rivers, forests and ruined castle with which the area abounds surely played their part. 

Unfortunately, it is not permitted to enter  Little Lea, Lewis's former home, as the house is privately owned but fans of the book seem satisfied to stand outside and gaze at the one-time family home.

Nearby is the Church of St. Mark where there is a font in which it is believed the young Lewis was christened.  The avid fans when walking around the area will find other sites believed to relate to some of the scenes in the books.  

Any tour of Lewis's Belfast must encompass the magnificent bronze of The Wardrobe (called "The Searcher") by Ross Wilson which has been erected in central Belfast and the many murals on Belfast's walls which refer to the man and his work.  However, Belfast today is one of the most vibrant cities in Europe and murals are changing rapidly.  There is even talk of covering over the famous political murals.

The jury is still out on some of the places but the 17th century Dunluce Castle on the Antrim Coast is believed to be the basis for Cair Paravel, the royal fortress in Narnia.