Two people in Radcliffe Camera square at night.

Magpie Lane, between High Street and Merton lane. On this road there is said to be a ‘grieving lady’ dressed in brown. A woman who used to be a puritand and died with unfulfilled love.

Queens College Lane. There’s probably some story of ghosts on this lane. I came across a guide giving tourists a guide of ‘haunted Oxford’ just by New College. It is a very atmospheric lane and closed to traffic which is nice. Queens college lane is surrounded by All Souls, St Edmund Hall, Queens College and New College.

Merton College Chapel.

Related

Haunted Oxford

Oxford Night Photos

(more…)

All Souls College was founded in 1438 by Henry VI. It is unique in having no undergraduates. It is only open to post graduates who gained a first in their finals. After achieving a first, undergraduates may be invited to enter the specific All Souls College exam. It is said to be one of the most demanding exams, with unorthodox questions, such as being asked to write a long essay on a single random word (examples include – bias, censorship, harmony, or testing questions.

All Souls from University Church tower.

(more…)

• Magpie Lane is said to be haunted by a grieving ‘Brown Lady’ believed to be the ghost of a young puritan girl called Prudence who died of unrequited love.

• (more…)

Many of the early Oxford colleges and private halls were established to provide accommodation and places of study for different religious orders. Some of these permanent private halls are still in existence such as Wycliffe Hall and St Benet’s.

Part of New College, Oxford, which used to be a cloisters for monks.

Until the mid 19th Century, a member of Oxford University had to be in the Church of England. This was overturned with an act of Parliament guaranteeing religious freedom.

• The poet Percy Shelley was sent down from the university in early nineteenth century because he wrote a pamphlet – ‘The Necessity of Atheism’



The Wesley Memorial Church, New Inn Hall St.

• John Wesley (1703-91) founder of Methodism studied at Christ Church College
• John Donne (1572-1631) studied at Hart college (now Hertford)
• John Henry Newman (1801-90) influential figure in the Oxford movement studied at Trinity college.

Martyr’s Memorial in St Giles commemorates the 16th Century religious martyrs – Latimer, Ridley and Cranmer, prominent Protestant churchmen who were burnt at the stak in nearby Broad Street by order of Queen Mary in 1556. Latimer and Ridley were burnt in 1556. Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury was forced to watch his friends execution and was executed a few months later in 1556.

(more…)

A moss covered,  Oxford Gargoyle at the top of St Mary’s Church, with views towards All Soul’s and Radcliffe Camera.

(more…)

When the university was founded in the thirteenth century, there was conflict between town and gown almost from the start. After rioting broke out in the thirteenth Century, the university build more colleges to house students and help keep town and gown apart.

(more…)

Students from Lady Margaret hall, nineteenth Century (see: LMH History)

Oxford University was founded in the twelfth century (see: History of Oxford) but, it was not until the nineteenth century that women first came to study at an Oxford college. The first female colleges were

• Lady Margaret Hall and Somerville which opened in 1879,
• St Hugh’s in 1886
• St Hilda’s in 1893.
• St Anne’s, incorporated into Royal Charter in 1952.

(more…)

Sheldonian theatre on left, Exeter College Chapel on Right. Bodleian behind

Some views from the Saxon Tower at St Michael’s church on Cornmarket / Ship Street. It was a misty November morning. Usually you have a good view of Tom Tower, Christ Church, but, the thickness of the mist blocked it out.

Funny thing is that the sun was coming through and at the end I got this view towards St Giles in full sun.

Radcliffe Camera behind chimney tops.

Wesley Memorial Church and Nuffield college obscured by the mist.

Late autumn colour reflected in chimney stacks.

Radcliffe Camera and University church on right.

Related

• Misty Oxford Morning
• Oxford Spires

Sheldonian lecture where matriculation ceremonies occur.

Oxford University developed in the 12th Century as a loose amalgamation of colleges , and soon become recognised as one of Europe’s leading places to study.

All Soul’s College

(more…)

Photos of Oxford from 19th Century to modern day. Oxford Then and Now at Amazon.co.uk

Broad Street 1870 from Balliol Tower H. Taunt

Broad Street is quite deserted, though main buildings are the same.

The Oxford Militia parade through Broad Street in 1870s.
(more…)

Sunset, on a November evening. It was a foggy day. The sun had briefly crept out in the afternoon. By sunset the fog was re-appearing giving these fascinating glimpses of the Oxford spires peering above the mist.

St Clements in foreground

Three spires against sunset. These photos were taken with tripod and remote control shutter. The time setting was around 1/4 of a second. F16-F22.

At these low light levels and shutter speed, it is essential to have tripod and remote control to avoid any camera shake. The last photo was shutter speed of 1 second.

It was a great joy to take these photos. It was a magically quiet time.

Related

• Dreaming Spires of Oxford
• Oxford at Sunset
• Christ Church Cathedral
• Radcliffe Camera