The Bridge of sighs is easily identified, lying between the Clarendon building at the end of Broad Street, and the Radliffe Camera.
It can be reached from Broad Street itself, Park Road, or Holywell Street.
The shortest link from the High Street is Catte street.
I have often heard Italian tourists being asked if they recognise it, but I have yet to hear one admit that they do.
Conventional, grown-up, walkers can choose to proceed down New College lane, under the bridge of sighs.
On the left is a small alley now called St Helen's Passage, but originally named Hell passage. This leads to the Turf Tavern, and beyond to Bath Place and Holywell Street.
For a more quirky start to the walk, retrace your steps round the northern part of Hertford colllege, round the history faculty building, and down Holywell Street.
You are looking for Bath place on the right. Go confidently down the lane, even though it doesn't look as though it leads anywhere, and follow it past the Turf Tavern, and back out onto New College lane.
The Turf Tavern dates originally from the 13th century, but most of the present building is 16th century. It lies snugly alongside city wall. The pub is very small, with low beamed ceiling. Although popular and often crowded, it is the only pub in central oxford with a beer garden so there is some room for overflow - even in winter when they light the braziers.
The pub is generally rated highly, and as one of the three essential "visitors pubs" in Oxford.
Its name comes from associations with gambling and horse racing.
Beyond the Turf Tavern we continue along St Helen's Passage. In 1856 this lane was known as Hell's passage, and it was the home of Jane Burden: a serving girl who became one of the great pre-raphaelite models. William Morris found Jane here while he was in Oxford working on the Oxford Union murals. He fell for her; educated, and married her two years later. They had two children.
| For examples of Jane Burden's work as a model for pre-Raphaelites, see: | ||
Guinevere, or La Belle Iseuelt by William Morris |
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Prosperine by Rossetti |
A little further along New College lane is the home of Edmund Halley, the 18th century astronomer, who made his name by calculating the path of the comet named after him. The house has a roof top observatory.
Edmund Halley (1656-1742) studied at Queen's college, but left without gaining a degree. His interests were widely spread - he studied the earth's magnetic field, barometric pressure, salinity of the oceans, and rainbows. He translated Apollonius. He pressed Newton to publish Principia Mathematica, and paid for its printing. But he is best known for discovering the orbit of his comet.
New College was founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham, bishop of Winchester to "counter the fewness of the clergy".
He also founded Winchester College, with the intention that together the two would cover the education needs of the time.
By this stage Merton college was established, but New College was the first Oxford college to be built to a coherent plan, based on a monastic model, between 1380 and 1386.
William Wykeham was a rich man, and the college was large, spacious, magnificent, and well endowed. In Oxford, and elsewhere, college architecture continued to be based on the New college model.
The hall, cloisters and chapel are particularly notable. The misericords are still in place in the chapel. The college quadrangle retains much of the original atmosphere - even though a third story was added in 1671.
In the garden is a grassy mound, built to provide an elevated view over the gardens.
New college also Contains the best remaining parts of the city wall.
The main entrance to New College is in Holywell Street.
The atmosphere inside is very different to the forbidding exterior - which continues to illustrate the exclusivity of college life, and the need, at the time of the Peasants revolt, for a formidable defensive wall seperating college and town.
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William Spooner was warden of new college from 1903 to 1924. In all he spent 62 years of his life here, and became one of Oxford's best loved characters. He was an albino, with poor eyesight, famously remembered for "spoonerisms" - accidently transposing the inital letters of words.
But the affectionate memories are better understood from the fact that he was instrumental in erecting a memorial in New College Chapel after the first world war: |
"Kinquering Kongs their Tikles Tate"
"You have tasted two whole worms, you were found fighting a liar in the quad, you have hissed my mystery lectures, and you will leave at once by the town drain" When a letter didn't arrive he asked two serving girls "Which of you maids has pissed the most" And he is said to have proposed a toast to Victoria: "To our queer dean" In a different vein: "Now let me see, was it you or your brother who was killed in the war?" |
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In the dining hall is a portrait of Reverend Spooner.
The church is now the library of St Edmund Hall, and is no longer open to the public.
In the churchyard are the graves of Jacob Bobart (the first keeper of the botanical gardens) and James Sadler (the ballooonist commemorated by a plaque in Deadman's Walk).
Apparently, another grave records the date of death as being 31 February - so far I have been unable to find it, and would appreciate some help!
On the left is St Edmund Hall, known colloquially as Teddy's.
As an institution St Edmund Hall dates from 1190: the only surviving example of one of Oxford's medieval halls.
For a long time it was controlled by Queens, but became independent in 1957.
This must rate as the prettiest of the Oxford colleges, but in fact is larger than it appears, with much more accomodation hidden away behind the old buildings.
On the right is The Queen's college.
Founded in 1341, by the chaplain of Edward III. It is Edwards Queen Philippa who gives the college its name, but the statue at the front is of Queen Caroline, wife of George II who provided funds for rebuilding.
On the opposite side of the High Street, number 84 is where Frank Cooper first sold his wife's famous "Oxford" marmalade.
The story goes that his wife, Sarah Jane, made 76 lbs of marmalade from an old family recipe. Its success with the public founded an industry, and a brand with rich associations. Oxford marmalade is traditionally dark, bitter, and contains large chunks of orange peel.
| Oxford Marmalade - the brand. | |
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"When he was stationed in London it was always the same. It consisted of very strong coffee, from De Bry in New Oxford Street, brewed in an American Chemex, of which he drank two large cups, black and without sugar. The single egg, in the dark blue egg cup with a gold ring round the top, was boiled for three and a third minutes.
It was a very fresh, speckled brown egg from French Marans hens owned by some friend of May's in the country. (Bond disliked white eggs and, faddish as he was in many small things, it amused him to maintain that there was such a thing as a perfect boiled egg.) Then there were two slices of wholewheat toast, a large pat of deep yellow Jersey butter and three squat glass jars containing Tiptree "Little Scarlet" strawberry jam; Cooper's Vintage Oxford marmalade and Norwegian Heather Honey from Fortnum's. The coffee pot and the silver on the tray were Queen Anne and the china was Minton, of the same dark blue and gold and white as the egg cup." Ian Fleming: From Russia With Love, 1956 |
"RUTH: Honestly, Cal, if you weren't forever booking everything at the last instant, we could have gone through the terminal instead of running along the dock like some squalid immigrant family.
CAL: All part of my charm, Ruth. At any rate, it was my darling fiancee's beauty rituals which made us late. ROSE: You told me to change. CAL: I couldn't let you wear black on sailing day, sweetpea. It's bad luck. ROSE: I felt like black. Cal guides them out of the path of a horse-drawn wagon loaded down with two tons of OXFORD MARMALADE, in wooden cases, for Titanic's Victualling Department. CAL: Here I've pulled every string I could to book us on the grandest ship in history, in her most luxurious suites... and you act as if you're going to your execution." Titanic Screenplay, James Cameron |
Turning left along the high street we come to number 48, now a shoe shop.
William Morris, later Visount Nuffield, established one of the great industrial organisations of 20th century England. He was born in 1877, grew up in Oxford, and at 14 was apprenticed to a bicycle repairer. Within months he set up his own business, and by 1901 opened a bicycle sales shop at 48 High Street, with a workshop in Queen lane. Nine years later he was building his first car, at his garage in Longwall Street, which we visit in the third walk. Full scale production moved to Cowley, where the Rover plant remains.
We cross the High Street and turn right down Merton Street.
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