Port Meadow Winter Photos

Port Meadow is a large area of common land to the north and west of Oxford, England.

The meadow is an ancient area of grazing land, still used for horses and cattle, and has never been ploughed. In return for helping to defend the kingdom against the marauding Danes, the Freemen of Oxford were given the 120ha of pasture next to the River Thames by King Alfred who founded the City in the 10th Century. The Freemen’s collective right to graze their animals free of charge was recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 and has been exercised ever since.[1]