Inscriptons: Parish boundary 2
The above stone inside the Marks & Spencer store in Queen Street marks the point where three historic Oxford parishes met:
- St Peter le Bailey. This parish no longer exists. St Peter-le-Bailey Church originally stood just to the north of Bonn Square. It was rebuilt on the west side of New Hall Street, and is now the chapel of St Peter's College. The parish has been absorbed into that of St Ebbe's.
- St Martin's/All Saints . St Martin's Church at Carfax was demolished in 1896, and only its tower remains. Its parish was absorbed into that of All Saints in the High Street at the time this stone was laid. Since that date, All Saints Church has closed, and the Parish of St Martin's and All Saints has been absorbed into that of St Michael at the Northgate
- St Aldate's. This church in St Aldate's Street is now going strong, and also incorporates the parish of the old Holy Trinity Church
The above inscription reads:
HUNC LAPIDEM SACRUM
JOHANNIS EDWARDUS CAMMELL
POSUIT MCMLII
(John Edward Cammell laid this stone in 1952).
The stone was moved from its original position in 1976, and the cross in the floor of the shop (righ) marks the actual point where the parishes of the three churches meet
The above marker is one of about thirty in central Oxford that define the boundaries of the parish of St Michael. Most of them have a plain cross like this one, but some have a St Andrew's cross, and the one in the car park of the Covered Market has the cross of St Michael. The church still observes the "Beating of the bounds" ceremony each year.
Similar stones can be found in New Inn Hall Street; on the inside wall of the Roebuck Inn in Market Street; at the rear entrance to Boots in Market Street; and in St Peter's, Brasenose, and Lincoln Colleges.
The beating of the bounds
St Michael's and the University Church of St Mary the Virgin are the only two churches in Oxford which still observe this medieval ceremony each Ascension Day.
At St Michael's, the Vicar marches from the church with the choir in red cassocks and some Lincoln College undergraduates wearing subfusc. They all carry long canes with which to "beat" the bounds, and the Vicar draws a cross in chalk on each of the stones. As this parish is much bigger than it used to be, as it has incorporated the parishes of St Martin and All Saints, it takes about two hours for the group to work their way around the thirty parish boundary stones.