For a quick tour of the whole wall, just click the arrow at the top of each page
The present surviving parts of Oxford's medieval town wall date from the first half of the thirteenth century, when the older wall was overhauled and the remaining sections of rampart replaced by stone. Although it is commonly called the city wall, Oxford was in fact a town until the creation of the See of Oxford in 1542.
An area of approximately 115 acres was enclosed within the wall, which originally had an internal wall walk and at least 21 semi-circular bastions. Its circumference was approximately two miles.
All four main roads into Oxford entered through a gate and then led to Carfax (Quadrifurcus, a place where four roads meet). Each of these gates had its own church, dedicated to St Michael in both the north and south, and to St Peter in the both the east and west:
- North Gate: Spanning Cornmarket just north of Ship Street
(with St Michael-at-the-Northgate Church) - South Gate: Spanning St Aldate's
(with St Michael-at-the-Southgate Church, demolished to make way for Christ Church) - East Gate: Spanning the High Street, just to the east of Merton Street
(with St Peter-in-the-East Church) - West Gate at junction of present Castle and Paradise Streets
(with St Peter-le-Bailey Church, which then stood at Bonn Square)
Hence the old Oxford rhyme:
At North-Gate and at South-Gate too
St Michael guards the way,
While o'er the East and o'er the West
St Peter holds his sway.
There were four other smaller gates:
- Smith Gate: spanning Catte Street beside the former octagonal chapel
- Turl Gate: a small postern gate spanning Turl Street
- An unnamed gate in the south wall at the point where it turned south to enclose St Frideswide's priory
- Little Gate (or Little South Gate): spanning the north end of Littlegate Street.
Thus Pembroke Street, Long Wall Street, George Street, Holywell Street, and Broad Street, as well as Magdalen, Balliol, Trinity, Wadham, and St John's Colleges, were all outside the medieval town.
Start of tour: The Castle
Google Map, with starting-point of Castle marked