The walk starts at the Carfax crossroads, situated at the centre of Oxford, and easily accessed by public transport.
The first written record of Oxford is the Anglo Saxon Chronicle of 912, which states "King Edward took possession of London and Oxford and all the lands that belonged to them"
The structure of Oxford was originally laid out around 900 a.d., during the reign of King Edward, or his father, Alfred. They turned an existing village and religious settlement into a fortified town to guard the river crossing. It was a time of great conflict with the Danes. Oxford was close to the frontier between the Saxons and the Danes. They chose the form of a Roman fort - rectangular defences with four main roads meeting in the centre.
At Carfax we are standing at the centre of the Saxon fortified town.
This is the point where the main roads to the north, the south, the east and the west came together in a central meeting place.
Through traffic now bypasses the centre, but the position of these roads has not changed for over a thousand years.
Our walk covers roughly the North-East quarter of the Saxon town.
To our south was the priory of St Frideswide, now Oxford cathedral.
To our west was the castle, and its mound.
The whole was surrounded by defenses of earth and wood, later replaced by a stone wall.
There were four gates in the wall, one for each of the points of the compass.
Standing at the crossroads today, we can see along four of the main streets of Oxford. Each of these once led to one of the four main gates of the walled city. Cornmarket, to the north is a major shopping street, and the route by which we will return at the end of this walk. (Pictured right).
Queen Street to the west is another major shopping street. We will explore the area to the west of the centre in the third walk.
St Aldgate's to the south leads past Christchurch college to Folly bridge - the probable location of the original "Ox Ford".
We will also explore this area further in the third walk. (pictured left)
For an exellent history of the town, visit the Museum of Oxford at the back of the town hall on the left of St Aldgate's.
In a moment we will begin our walk to the east, along the High Street.
But first there are a cople of notable points about Carfax.
The south east corner of Carfax is the only one that lacks a financial institution.
Lloyds bank is on the North-east corner, HSBC (formerly Midland) on the North-west.
And low on the wall of Abbey National in the South West corner, is a plaque marking the site of the long-demolished Swyndlestock Tavern. Why?
| In 1674 in his history of the university, Anthony Wood wrote: |
|
On tuesday 10th February 1354 (being the feast of St Scholastica the virgin) came Walter de Sprinheuse, Roger de Chesterfield, and other clerks to the tavern called Swyndlestock. And there calling for wine, John de Croydon the vintner brought them some, but they disliking it.. and he avouching it to be good, several snappish words passed between them. At length the vintner giving them stubborn and saucy language, they threw the wine and vessel at his head. The vintner therefore receding with great passion, and aggravating the abuse to those of his family and neighbourhood, several came in encouraged him not to put up with the abuse, and withal told him they would faithfully stand by him. Among those were John de Bereford, Richard Forester and Robert Lardiner, who out of proposed malice seeking all occassions of conflict with the scholars, and taking this abuse for ground to proceed upon, caused the town bell at St Marton's to be rung that the commonality may be summoned together into a body. Which being begun they in an instant were in arms, some with bows and arrows, others with divers sorts of weapons. And then they, without any more ado, did in a furious and hostile manner set upon divers scholars, who at the time had not any offensive arms, no not so much as anything to defend themselves. The chancellor, perceiving what great danger they were in, caused the university bell at St Mary's to be rung out, whereupon the scholars got bows and arrows, and maintained the fight with the townsmen until dark night.
|
The life of the university and the life of the town intermingle in history and intermingle in these walks.
The mixture has not always been comfortable. On the wall of the building society at the south west corner of the crossroads is a plaque commemorating a riot at the Swindlestock Tavern between students and townspeople in 1354. The affray lasted 3 days, and by the end 60 students had lost their lives. For five hundred years afterwards the mayor and burgesses of the town were compelled to attend a service of penance in St Mary's church.
On which cheery note we examine the tower, then begin our walk along the high street, to the east.
This was originally the tower of St Martin's church, the rest of which was demolished in 1896 as part of a road widening scheme. The two little Roman soldiers on the face of the tower(known as the quarter boys) strike the bells every quarter hour.
The tower is the first of several places where we can climb for a view across the rooftops. Not the ultimate rooftop view in Oxford, but from the top of the tower there is a fine view along the high street, and the beginning of our walk.
We return to this point at the end of this walk, and those unfamiliar with Oxford may prefer to leave the rooftop view until they are better able to recognise the different buildings.
In the words of Nikolaus Pevsner, "The High Street is one of the world's great streets. It has everything. It is on a slight curve so the vistas always change. It has plenty of good and impressive buildings of large size,... all of this set off by just enough modest houses, and it has a few trees."
The high street starts by following a route originally established in the Saxon walled city.
We will follow it to the point where it left the walled part of the Saxon city.
The city at that time was poorly aligned with the road from the east, and today's high street still curves gently to the right, following a track from the original East gate to the river crossing near Magdalen college.
Later we will find colleges and churches, but the first part of the high street is dominated by commercial properties.
The trick here is to avoid being distracted by the first floor of the shops, many of which are relatively modern.
Most of the buildings are much older than they appear at first sight.
We must look higher, and down side alleys to find evidence for hundreds of years of building along this street.
Immediately we find traces of the medieval plots that bordered the street.
Three narrow alleys seperate the blocks of shops that developed along the main street.
The first lies next to number 131: Payne's silversmiths: itself one of the most attractive shopfronts on the High:
The passage that runs under the dog with the watch in its mouth leads to the 15th century Chequers Inn.
Number 130 is timber framed, 15th century, and the oldest in the street.
Alongside, another narrow passage leads to Kemp Hall an important timber framed house dating from 1637.
It is now a restaurant, but the door, and many of the windows are original.
Behind number 128 is Wheatsheaf yard, home of Gill and Company, who claim to be Britains oldest ironmongers, (founded in 1530).
Number 126 (left) is a timber framed house, known to date originally from the 14th century, with the finest 17th century front in Oxford.
Behind the shops to our left is the Covered Market.
By 1774 Oxford's market had spread, from its centre in Carfax, into the surrounding streets.
The "Paving Commission" were unhappy with the quality and hygiene, and decided to build a permanent covered market to increase standards.
Notice that three of the market gates on the high lie symetrically under the stone faceade. But the fourth is set away from the main front.
The three market entrances between numbers 13 and 16, and the elegant facade above the shopfronts were designed by John Gwynne, who also designed Magdalen bridge.
The market was extended twice in the 19th century, and an extra gate was added under number 10.
The "temporary" roof above John Gwynne's stonework was erected in 1945.
We could enter the market now, but in a spirit of deferred gratification, we leave this real treat as something to look forward to, at the end of the walk.
Once a coaching inn, the Mitre Inn was built in 1600, but has cellars dating from the 13th century.
The oldest part with the bay windows, is to the left. The main doors once opened into the inn yard.
Beyond the Mitre Inn, we come to All Saint's Church.
A church existed here in 1122, but the present building dates from 1706.
It was built after the tower of the previous church had fallen down.
No new church had been built in Oxford since the 15th century.
This was a time when the academic standards of the university were in decline, but funds were plentiful, and Oxford compensated with lavish building.
All Saints is an impressive building, in classical style, with a partiularly striking tower and front on the High Street.
The architect was Dean Aldrich, an amateur, but advised by Hawksmoor. The tower was built later, to the design of an unknown architect, but clearly influenced by the churches that Christopher Wren built in London.
No longer a church - it is now the library of Lincoln College.
Oxford has always been a residential university.
Before colleges became established, students lived either in private houses, or in academic halls.
An academic hall was a house, often owned by a monastery, licensed by the university, and managed by a graduate of the university, which offered accomodation, meals and communal life.
Behind 106-107 High street lies such a house - purpose built as Tackley Hall around 1324.
On the left, we pass the high street century frontage of Brasenose college.
Although it fits well with the style of the surrounding medieval buildings the High Street face of Brasenose college is much later. It was built in two stages. From the gate tower to the right was built between 1881 and 1888, and to the left of the gate tower between 1909 and 1911.
The architect was T G Jackson, who also built the monstrous examination schools. He had originally intended a spire on top of the tower, but it was felt that this would conflict with the spires of St Mary's church and All Saints church.
Later we will look at the older buildings of Brasenose in more detail from Radcliffe Square.
For now we can enjoy the quality and inticacy of this stone carving, completely in sympathy with its surroundings.
On the left we arrive at St Mary's church, with its remarkable south porch. For the purposes of this guide we explore the church in more detail later, from the north entrance in Radcliffe square. However, it is worth a moment to examine the porch.
The porch was added in 1637.
The columns are modelled on St Peter's basilica in Rome.
William Laud, a fellow of St John's college, became Chancellor of the university in 1630
He pressed for the church to be remodelled and used exclusively for worship.
When he became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1633, Laud's strenuous attempts to suppress puritanism lay behind puritan emigration, and were a factor in the civil war.
Subsequently he was impeached by parliament in 1640 for treason, tried and beheaded.
At his trial, the statue of the virgin and child in the porch of St Mary's church was cited as evidence of his popery.
On the other side of the High Street is the facade of Oriel College - with three statues.
Cecil Rhodes, who paid for the rebuilding of the facade is placed higher than both King Edward VII and King George V.
Beyond St Mary's, before we turn into Catte street, we take a moment to look along the next stretch of the high street.
On the outer wall of University college is a plaque showing location of Robert Boyle and Robert Hooke's laboratory.
"In a house on this site between 1655 and 1668 lived Robert Boyle. Here he discovered Boyle's law and made experiments with an air pump designed by his assistant Robert Hooke. Inventor, Scientist and Architect who made a microscope and thereby first identified the living cell.
Robert Boyle (1627-1691) is best known for Boyle's law, which states that (at constant temperature) there is an inverse relationship between the volume and pressure of a gas, i.e. that the pressure multiplied by the volume is a constant (pv = k).
Boyle tried to free the study of chemistry from some of its medieval mystique and introduce modern scientific method.
In 1661 he attacked Aristotle's model of the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water) in a book called "The Sceptical Chymist".
Boyle conceived that substances were made up of different combinations of elementary particles which combine to produce corpuscles, and in doing so clarified the nature of an element, and laid the foundations for subsequent developments in chemistry.
Hooke (1635-1703) was assistant to Boyle in Oxford from 1655, and a leading experimental scientist of his time.
In 1660 he discovered that, within reasonable bounds, objects deform in proportion to the force that is applied to them (Hooke's law).
But he achieved real fame in 1665, with a book, Micrographia, illustrating observations through his microscope.
"The truth is, the science of Nature has already been too long made only a work of the brain and the fancy. It is now high time that it should return to the plainness and soundness of observations on material and obvious things." Micrographia 1665
Samuel Pepsys "Before I went to bed I sat up till two o'clock in my chamber reading Mr Hooke's Microscopical Observations, the most ingenious book that ever I read in my life".
Hooke, on his microscopic observation of cork: ". . . I could exceedingly plainly perceive it to be all perforated and porous. . . these pores, or cells, . . . were indeed the first microscopical pores I ever saw, and perhaps, that were ever seen, for I had not met with any Writer or Person, that had made any mention of them before this."
University College was founded in 1249, but the buildings date from the 17th century. Visitors to the college look for:
Now we return to Catte street and cross into Radcliffe Square.
In Saxon times this was where the city wall cross the high street. Later, the walled area was extended east, and all of the adjoining lands fell within the wall's defenses. But originally, this marked the eastrern end of the town, and the road beyond the wall curved down to the river near Magdalen college. We follow the line of the eastern wall, along Catte Street into Radcliffe square.
In front of St Mary's church lies Radcliffe square.
Proposals began to emerge in the early 1700's for a forum at the heart of the university.
But it took until 1749 for this wonderful arrangement of buildings to be created.
The architecture spans almost 500 years from the tower of St Mary's church to completion of the Radliffe camera (right).
The key elements are:
Saint Mary's church is rich in architectural and historical interest, and worth taking time to explore.
This is the parish church of Oxford, and was used for university ceremonies and for meetings of the university ruling body (the convocation), from the thirteenth century until the Sheldonian theatre was opened in 1669.
The tower of St Mary's church provides one of the finest rooftop views of Oxford.
Coffee is available in the Convocation hall.
All Souls was founded in 1438, and is the only Oxford college which does not admit undergraduates.
"Front Quad", the range of buildings near the high street, was built in 1438. "North Quad", more visible from outside the college, was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor in highly romanticised, mock gothic style, and built between 1716 and 1733. Hawksmoor was clerk to Wren, and assistant to Vanburgh at Blenheim Palace.
The sundial on the north wall of north quad was originally built for the front quad in 1658.
Since Christopher Wren was bursar at the time it is thought that he was responsible for its design.
Brasenose is named after a bronze sanctuary knocker, which was originally attached to the college gate.
It was stolen by dons and students in 1333 and taken to Stamford, in Lincolnshire, where they intended to form another university.
In 1890 it was rediscovered.
To recover the knocker the college had to buy the building, to which it was attached.
The knocker was returned to Oxford, where it is hung behind the high table.
| "Brasenose is famous for being the only university college named after a nose" |
| Tour Guide overheard |
The old quad is Tudor, though the top floor was added later.
There is a fine sundial on the west side.
To east, the dining hall contains the original "Brazen nose".
"Camera" here means "Chamber".
Complete in 1747, built to house a library of science.
Absorbed into Bodleian library in 1860.
Funded by John Radcliffe - physician to William III.
Form suggested by Hawksmoor, but design by James Gibbs.
Not open.
To the right, crossing New College Lane is a stone bridge connecting two buildings of Hertford college.
This was built in 1913, and is known universally as the bridge of sighs.
As we pass the junction with New College Lane we are crossing the original line of the city walls, and moving "outside" the walled town, for the first time.
This junction is one of four points where this walk intersects with the
second,
and the only point where it intersects with the
third.
It is the starting point for the description of both of the other walks.
The History Faculty Library, on the right, was originally built as the Indian Institute, to train civil servants for the empire.
It original use is commemorated by carvings of tigers,hindu gods, and a weather vane in the shape of an elephant.
As we turn left into Broad Street, to our left, on the corner of Catte Street and Broad Street, is the Clarendon Building, built in 1713, the first design by Hawksmoor in Oxford.
It was built as a printing-house for the Oxford University press, but designed in the form of a gateway to the group of university buildings behind.
The bible presses were on one side of the passage, and the presses for academic books on the other.
From the west side of th building, lord clarendon looks down his nose on his surroundings.
Beyond the divinity school is a quadrangle of other schools - Music, Natural Philosphy, etc. The carvings are not medieval, they originate from restoration work in the 1950s.
From 1435 to his death in 1447, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, gave the university so many new manuscrpits that they had to build more spacious accommodation above the divinity schools. By 1556 the contents of Duke Humphrey's library had scattered, and the best libraries were run by individual colleges rather than the university.
| To the Vice-chancellor, the University of Oxford. |
|
Sir, Although you know me not, as I suppose, yet for the farthering of an offer of evident utilitie to your whole universitie, I will not be too scrupulous in craving your assistance. I have been alwaies of a mind, that yf God of his goodness should make me able to doe any thing for the benefit of posteritie, I would shew some token of affection that I have evermore boarne to the studies of good learning. I know my portion is too slender to perform for the present any answerable act to my willing disposition, but yet to notifie some part of my desire in that behalf, I have resolved thus to deale. Where there hath bin heretofore a publicke library in Oxford, which you know is apparent by the rome itself remayning and by your statute records, I will take the charge and cost upon me to reduce it again to its former use, and to make it fit and hadsome with seates and shelves and deskes and all that may be needfulll, to stirre up other mens benevolence to help to furnish it with bookes. And this I purpose to begin, assone as timber can be gotten, to the intent that you may reape some speed profitt of my project. And where before as I conceave, it was to be reputed, but a store of bookes of diverse benefactors, because it never had any lasting alowance for augmentation of the number or supplie of bookes decaied, whereby it cam to pass that when those that were in being were either wasted or embeziled, the whole foundation cam into ruin: To meet with that inconvenience, I will so provide hereafter (if God do not hinder my present designe) as you shall be stil assured of standing annual rent to be disboursed every yere in buying of bookes, in Officers' stipends, and other pertinent occassions; with which provision, and some order for the preservation of the place and of the furniture of it from accustomed abuses, it may perhaps, in tyme to come, provide a notable treasure for the multitude of volumes an excellent benefit for their use and ease of students, and a singular ornament in the university.... |
| Feb 23, 1597 your affectionate friend, Thomas Bodley |
In 1598, Thomas Bodley determined to re-establish the university library, which opened in 1602, stocked by his gifts, and other donations. It became known as the Bodleian Library in his honour. In 1610 he agreed with the stationer's company that they would send the library a copy of every new book published. Together with a series of huge donations this has resulted in cotinued pressure on space ever since.
The reading room can only be visited on a guided tour.
Arguably the ugliest institutional building in Oxford, it was built to hold the overflowing stocks of the library between 1937 and 1940 with funding from the Rockerfeller Foundation.
Until the 1660's university ceremonials were held in St Mary's church.
Then, in 1663 the university commissioned Christopher Wren, a mathematician, scientist, and professor of astronomy rather than an architect, to design a theatre for dramatic performances, and lectures.
This was Wren's first major commission (he had previously designed a chapel in Cambridge for his uncle).
There had been little public building since the start of the civil war, and Wren adopted two significant innovations.
Later the Sheldonian became, and remained, the forum for the ceremonial functions of the University. Subsequently Wren visited France to study arcitecture in more depth, and on his return in 1666 the great fire gave him the opportunity to supervise the rebuilding of London's churches.
Access & view from dome?
Surrounding the Sheldonian is an array of carved head known as "The emperors heads".
They originate from 1669, but their features eroded and they were replaced in 1868, only to deteriorate so quickly that in 1970/72 they were replaced again.
There are 13 heads around the Sheldonian (and four more around the museum next door). With his tongue firmly in his cheek, Max Beerbohn, in Zuleika Dobson, wrote, "they are, by American visitors, frequently mistaken for the 12 apostles"
Beyond the heads lies Exeter college.
The oldest public museum in Eng;and {and the world?} was built shortly afterwards (1679-83), alongside the Sheldonian.
It had multiple purposes The basement contained a chemistry laboratory. The ground floor was used for lectures The top floor housed a collection of curiosities acquired by Elias Ashmole and donated to the university.
The most impressive part of the building is the doorway on the east wall, facing the Sheldonian.
Today, the remains of Ashmole's colection can be seen in the new Ashmolean museum in Beaumont street.
This building now houses the Museum of the History of Science.
Highlights of a visit will include the blackboard which Einstein used when he lectured in Oxford, the apparatus used to extract pennicillin, Lewis Carrol's camera, as well as a wide collection of scientific intruments and apparatus.
No visit to Oxford would be complete without a visit to a bookshop, and the mother of all bookshops is Blackwell's on the north side of Broad street.
From outside this looks like a small regional bookshop. But the inside resembles Doctor Who's Tardis, extending in all directions, with the basement room in particular seeming to go on for ever.
The local interest section is to the left, in the small room at the front of the shop. The Practicalities page of this guide describes some of the options.
If you prefer more general literature, but with Oxford associations, try:
Trinity lies on the North side of broad street behind three plain 17th century cottages (actually totally rebuilt in 1969).
Originally founded by monks from Durham in 1286 as Durham college, but this ceased to exist when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries. Sir Thomas Pope, a wealthy civil servant, then bought the property, and re-established it as Trinity college.
The chapel is particularly fine. It is often attributed to Sir Christopher Wren. Wren did build the north range of Garden Quad, but there is no evidence that he designed the chapel.
Magnificent grounds stretch to Parks Road.
We return to these at the end of the third walk.
Founded in 1263, and one of several claiming to be the oldest Oxford college.
William Morris founded the "Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings" after watching the medieval college being torn down to make way for the present buildings in 1867-8.
Balliol has held a reputation for being one of the most influential colleges since the 19th century.
Memers include three Prime ministers: Asquith, Macmillan and Heath; the current chancellor of the university, Roy Jenkins; novelists Aldous Huxley, and Graham Greene; and Lord Peter Wimsey, the hero of Dorothy L Sayers detective novels.
Further along Broad street the first permanent charity shop was opened by Oxford Committee for Famine Relief in 1948.
It is still an Oxfam shop, and a small plauqe marks its historical importance.
The Oxford Committee for famine relief was formed in 1942 to provide relief to the people of Greece who were starving under Nazi occupation and allied blockade.
Subsequently it extended its work to victims of other wars and famines, and became a powerful and well-known force for lobbying and education: addressing the causes of famine as well as emergency relief.
Nearby, Baliol college is reflected in the window of Thornton's second hand book shop.
In the centre of Broad street, opposite Thornton's second hand book shop, a cobble cross in the road, marked with yellow paint, recalls the spot where three anglican martyrs were burned at the stake.
All had supported the reformation under Henry VIII, who died in 1547.
Henry's son, Edward, became king, and let the reformation proceed.
But when Henry's daughter, Mary, took the throne on Edward's death in 1553, she began to bring back catholicism.
Her sister, Elizabeth was imprisoned; Lady Jane Grey, and her family were executed.
On Mary's marriage to Philip of Spain, the persecution began which earned her the title "Bloody Mary"
Together with Thomas Cranmer, Hugh Latimer (a former Bishop) and Nicholas Ridley (formerly Cranmer's chaplain) were condemned to death as obstinate heretics. In October 1554, after 18 months and a second trial, Latimer and Ridley were burned, while Cranmer watched from jail. Latimer's last words have passed into history:
"Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out"
In March 1556 Cranmer followed them. He had retracted the recantation which he wrote earlier, and held his right hand in the fire saying "This hath offended, oh this unworthy hand".
In 1841 a memorial to the martyrs was erected in St Giles.
We will visit this on the second walk: for now we turn left into Cornmarket Street.
Growing prosperity in Edwardian times led to substantial development of the shopping streets.
At the corner of Cornmarket street we are at the heart of Edwardian shopping in Oxford.
To our left is William Baker House, built in 1914 (now Dillon's bookshop).
Across Cornmarket Street stand St George's Mansions, built in 1910.
Opposite, in Magdalen Street stand the premises of Elliston and Cavell, Oxford's largest department store, which began as a drapers in 1835, and was rebuilt around 1900. It became part of Debenhams group in 1953.
Originally the nave of the curch ran south from the tower, but over the years the nave has been rebuilt to the east.
The tower is one of a number of points on this walk where you can climb for a rooftop view. The tower itself, and its contents are of some interest, but the views along Cornmarket street, and Ship street are not the most spectacular.
Golden Cross yard is the well restored yard of an old coaching inn - now a neat square of small shops. It leads to the interior of the covered market.
We could have entered the Covered Market from the High Street at the beginning of the walk, but instead chose to leave it as a treat for the end of the walk.
The whole attraction of a market is the random mix of half-forgotten smells and sights, so it would be crazy to propose a route - best to wander at random, remembering that the shops follow a simple grid pattern.
And a reminder to look up at the fine wooden roof.
There are three options from the covered market.
The 16th century bulding no longer recognisable, but on the second floor there is a painted room dating from around 1550, which is open during office hours.
