Home to some of England’s most known poets, scientists, and religious figures, the county of Oxfordshire can trace its roots back 5,000 years to Neolithic times. Discover C. S. Lewis’s house, Oxford’s Castle and Prison, abbey ruins, an ancient Iron Age Hillfort, and a wealth of historical artifacts at Oxford’s famous University. This county has often been at the center of political and religious contests, resulting in trials and bloodshed. Here are some of the most intriguing historical places to visit in the county of Oxfordshire.
1. Stand Among Splendor at Broughton Castle and Gardens
At over 700 years old, Broughton Castle and Gardens has changed a lot over the years. Sometime around 1300, Sir John de Broughton built himself a manor house complete with a moat. In 1377, it was sold to William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England. The manor eventually became the property of Wykeham’s granddaughter, Margaret, and her husband, the 2nd Lord Saye and Sele, Sir William Fiennes. Margaret’s father had already made some changes to the property in 1406, transforming it from a manor house into a castle by adding a “battlement wall” to the existing gatehouse.
In 1554, further reconstructions were completed, with two floors added above the Great Hall, staircases, and a west wing consisting of two new rooms. The roof had to be raised to accommodate the new floors. Work began on the interior in the 1570s, with the date of 1599 recorded in the ceiling plaster of the Great Parlour. The castle later suffered some damage during the Civil War (1642-51); it was captured and occupied during the Battle of Edgehill in 1642. The gatehouse has a date of 1655, indicating it had required substantial repairs. A recording from the 1690s noted that the house was “much left to decay and ruine.”
In the 19th century, the family owning the castle spent most of their fortune on frivolous endeavors, which perhaps protected the castle from the excessive styles of Victorian architecture. The look and feel were still very much medieval. Much-needed renovations to the property during the last century have restored its magnificence, and the public can explore it on open days or on private tours.
2. Trace the Remains of Godstow Abbey
Heading south to the heart of Oxfordshire, you’ll find the city of Oxford, home to several places of historical interest, including Godstow Abbey. These old ruins date back to the 12th century when they were founded by Edith of Winchester in 1133. She built the abbey—or nunnery—following a calling from God, which she related to King Henry I (r. 1100-35). He granted approval for Godstow Abbey to be constructed. The Benedictine nunnery was dedicated to St Mary and St John the Baptist and built on an island in the River Thames. It took six years to build, and served members of both royal and noble families.
Godstow Abbey’s famous histories include a lady called Rosamund de Clifford, who was mistress to King Henry II (1154-89). She was educated at the Abbey and supposedly returned there in her later years. Legend suggests she died and was buried at Godstow Abbey in 1176, although scholars aren’t sure this was the case. Rosamund’s father, Walter de Clifford, recorded in a deed in 1180 that his wife and daughter were buried at Godstow but did not specify Godstow Abbey. Records also indicate that Bishop Hugh of Lincoln visited the Abbey in 1191 and discovered that Rosamund’s tomb had become more of a shrine, so ordered her to be exhumed and reburied. Legend has it that Rosamund’s ghost, having been disturbed during the move, now haunts the ruins.
The Abbey would not survive the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536-41) as its new owner tore it down and used much of the stone to build his own manor house. It suffered further damage in the Civil War and then belonged to the Earl of Abingdon and family estates for 200 years. It is now held by Oxford University in trust. Excavations have revealed that the Abbey likely covered quite a lot of ground, with extensions in 1780 and 1885. While the best-preserved remains are dated to the 1500s, the west and south walls date further back to the medieval period. The ruins are accessible to the public on foot.
3. Take Stock of Martyrs’ Memorial Amid the Hustle and Bustle of Oxford City
Just a stone’s throw from Godstow Abbey is Martyrs’ Memorial. This monument honors three Protestant martyrs—Thomas Cranmer (Archbishop of Canterbury), Nicholas Ridley (Bishop of London), and Hugh Latimer (Bishop of Worcester), who were burned at the stake just outside the city walls in 1555 after refusing to renounce their beliefs. This was done at the orders of the devoutly Catholic Queen Mary I (r. 1553-58), known as “Bloody Mary” by her Protestant opposition. Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, the new monument, constructed with magnesium limestone, replaced a dilapidated building. Gaze up to see Thomas Cranmer facing north and holding a Bible, Nicholas Ridley facing east, and Hugh Latimer with his arms folded across his chest looking out to the west.
The timing of the memorial’s erection—in the 1840s, 300 years after the event—is also important. It was then that the Protestant religion found itself imposed upon by Catholic elements again, this time in the form of the Oxford Movement, led by John Henry Newman and others. This threw the Church of England into a period of greater controversy; the Anglican Church was already trying to get to grips with a growing Evangelical movement that promoted Gospel teachings and social reforms. The internal conflicts within the Church of England mirrored those felt across wider society, as Evangelicals, Catholics, Protestants, and non-conformists jostled for their place in a new, more integrated public way of life.
4. Explore One of the Oldest Universities in England, the University of Oxford
Oxford University holds the title of the oldest university in the English-speaking world. It is thought to have been formed and founded sometime around 1096 and grew in size in 1167 following a ban preventing English students from attending the University of Paris (King Henry II had fallen out with Thomas Becket). Less than 30 years later, Oxford University hosted its first overseas student. In 1249, student halls of residence were constructed. This was to quell ongoing riots between local people and students (the “town and gown” quarrels). Oxford’s newly established colleges of University, Balliol, and Merton are dated between 1249 and 1264.
King Edward III visited in 1355, acknowledging, like many other royals and religious figures had done before, the establishment’s invaluable contribution to learning. However, Oxford’s magnetism for praise was matched with its magnetism for controversy. Scholars regularly found themselves tête-à-tête over religious and political debates. Against the wishes of the religious establishment, John Wyclif campaigned for a Bible in English in the 14th century. King Henry VIII (1509-47) would later force Oxford University to accept his divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon (m. 1509-33), after six pregnancies produced only a healthy daughter (Queen Mary I) and no male heir.
During the English Civil War, the University of Oxford took the side of the Royalists, hosting a counter-Parliament under King Charles I (r. 1625-49) at Convocation House. In 1683, Oxford philosopher John Locke, who had been just 16 when King Charles I was executed a mile from his school, found himself now forced to flee the country under suspicion of involvement in the Rye House Plot. The plan to assassinate King Charles II and his heir never materialized; however, twelve individuals were executed, ten were imprisoned, and a further ten were exiled or fled, including Locke. Over the next few centuries, important advances were made in the fields of religion, philosophy, science, and literature. By 1920, women were admitted to study as full members of Oxford University; however, it was not until 2008 that women were accepted to all colleges.
Today, visitors are welcome to explore the colleges, museums, and collections. The establishment is home to the Ashmolean Museum of art and archaeology, founded in 1683; the Oxford University Museum of Natural History; the History of Science Museum (where you can find Einstein’s blackboard); the Pitt Rivers Museum; the Bate Collection of Musical Instruments; Christ Church Picture Gallery; and Bodleian Library & Weston Library, which officially opened in 1602. Additionally, visitors can explore the Harcourt Arboretum, Oxford Botanic Garden, and the University Parks. There is also a Sheldonian Theatre and the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, each boasting a rich history.
5. Gaze Upon the Exquisitely Carved Shelley Memorial
The Shelley Memorial was built by artist Edward Onslow Ford (1852-1901) in 1893. It depicts the body of Percy Bysshe Shelley, carved in white marble, laid atop a decorative plinth supported by two lions and a weeping angel. Shelley, one of the key English Romantic poets, was a radical man who found fame posthumously. His most well-known pieces include “Ozymandias” (1818), “Ode to the West Wind” (1819), “To a Skylark” (1820), and “Adonais” (1821). He is credited for being a major influence upon others, including famous poets such as Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) and W. B. Yeats (1865-1939).
Shelley’s statue captures him as he was found in his death, aged just 29 years old, drowned and washed ashore on the beaches at Viareggio, Italy, after a sailing accident. Although commissioned by his doting daughter-in-law, Jane, to be placed where he was buried, in a Protestant cemetery in Rome, the memorial could not fit on the burial plot. This may have better suited Shelley, who was an atheist.
Today, it is located in University College, Oxford and is a Grade II listed object. Ironically, Shelley had attended Oxford in 1810 but lasted only one year, as the faculty expelled him for “contumaciously refusing to answer questions proposed to [him], and for also repeatedly declining to disavow a publication entituled The Necessity of Atheism.”
Following a series of eccentric pranks by students, the memorial is now protected behind bars and visible to the visiting public.
6. Step Into a Dreadful and Dreary Past at Oxford Castle and Prison
Over 1,000 years of history can be found in all manner of unfriendly places at Oxford Castle and Prison. There are 18th-century prison cells, as well as a candle-lit crypt. Visitors can enjoy tours and themed events, telling stories of royals, prisoners, and the “murderess” Mary Blandy. Originally built by a Norman baron in 1073, the wooden motte and bailey castle was upgraded with stone around the turn of the 12th century. St George’s Tower, the surviving rectangular tower, is thought to pre-date the rest of the stone building. After the English Civil War reduced most of the castle to rubble, all the remaining structures found a new use: in 1785, it became a prison.
Prison reforms led to expansions of the facility in 1888 and signified the official opening of HM Prison Oxford, which was only closed as recently as 1996. The Castle and Prison now offer an interactive and lively opportunity for visitors to learn more about the history of the medieval castle and the prison. Parts of the building, including the medieval remains of the stone castle, St George’s Tower, and the crypt, are all Grade I listed buildings.
7. Mosey About the Home and Gardens at the Kilns Where C. S. Lewis Once Lived
The Kilns is located just east of the A40 Easter By-Pass Road. It was once home to C.S. Lewis, a much-loved author born in Belfast in 1898. His most famous work is perhaps his Chronicles of Narnia series. Lewis’s academic career included positions at both Oxford and Cambridge, and he was deeply influenced by his friendship with “the father of fantasy,” J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings). The two shared their earliest drafts of work at their informal meetings and were founding members of a literary group established in the 1930s called the Inklings. Visitors can enjoy tours of his Oxford home, The Kilns, where Lewis wrote many of his famous books.
8. Uncover Interesting History Tucked Away at North Hinksey Conduit House
From one house to another, across to the West of Oxford, on the western side of the A34 Southern By-Pass Road, is the North Hinksey Conduit House. For those with a historical interest in Oxford’s infrastructure, this roofed house is a remnant of Oxford’s first-ever piped fresh water supply. A 20,000-gallon lead cistern is nestled within the Conduit House. The system was established in the early 1600s, and it took clean drinking water from springs at North Hinksey and carried it all the way to the center of Oxford. Here, it was spouted out of a decorated fountain named the Carfax Conduit. Graffiti dating back to the 1600s and up to the 1800s can be found chiseled into the stone walls of North Hinksey Conduit House.
9. Walk Among the Stones at the Devil’s Quoits
Further West of North Hinksey Conduit House, nestled near lakes, brooks, and rivers, is the Devil’s Quoits. These stones, arranged in a circle, are between 4,000 and 5,000 years old. They date to the Neolithic Period, and their name stems from a legend of a game of “quoits” played between the Devil and a beggar. They played for the beggar’s soul, with the stones being the Devil’s throws. Originally, the henge featured a circular ditch enclosing an area of 120 meters and a stone circle with 36 stones. Many stones were removed by the end of the medieval period, and in World War II (1939-45), the site was torn apart to allow airfield construction. Restoration between 2002 and 2008 saw all stones re-erected and the earthworks rebuilt.
10. Pass Through Ancient Grounds, Once the Beating Heart of Abingdon Abbey
Southeast of the Devil’s Quoits and almost directly south of Oxford City is the Benedictine Abbey of St Mary. Built in 953, it replaced a monastery and nunnery founded in the late 600s, which had fallen to ruin by the turn of the 11th century. Shortly after its reprisal, the Normans conquered Britain in 1066, and further additions were made to the buildings. In the 14th century, as people pushed back over the Abbey’s control over the local community, monks were forced to flee when looters broke into the Abbey in 1327 and set the place alight. Two centuries later, the Dissolution of the Monasteries would finally end the Abbey’s control. The Checker, dated around 1270, is one of the few remaining buildings, boasting a great example of a 13th-century chimney.
Many buildings, including the church, were reduced to rubble. The abbey mills were purchased by a local miller, and other buildings took on other lives. One building became a bakehouse, and then a bridewell (holding petty-offense prisoners), and finally, these buildings became residential homes. Other buildings were used as breweries for centuries. Today, some of these buildings can be explored, such as the Unicorn Theatre. Nearby is an old ruin named Trendell’s Folly. Many visitors think these are also ruins of Abingdon Abbey; however, these arches were likely constructed in the 19th century when the surrounding area served as a private garden. That being said, their stone may well have once been in the walls and foundations of the monastic abbey buildings hundreds of years ago.
11. Marvel at the Earthworks of Uffington Castle and Uffington White Horse
This area is home to not one or two but three prehistoric sites and sits along an ancient route that can be traced from the Wash all the way to Dorset. At the summit, distinctive earthworks dictate where an Iron Age hillfort would have sat, taking up an impressive area of 220 by 160 meters. The inner rampart (chalk bank) is about 2.5 meters high and is quite consistently set at 12 meters wide. On the outer side, a 3-meter deep grass ditch and second rampart encircles the area, giving way only to a causeway, where a gate would have prevented enemies from entering. Inside the earthworks, evidence of huts and other medieval structures, as well as coins and pottery fragments, have been discovered.
Equally, if not more striking, is the Uffington White Horse, carved into the hillside just 170 meters northeast of the hillfort’s earthworks. This white horse measures 111 meters between its nose and tail. Historians date it somewhere between the late Bronze Age and the Iron Age, making it the work of inhabitants sometime between 1740 BCE and 210 BCE. Perhaps it was a mark of fertility or simply a mark of territory, but either way, the horse has been preserved with a ritual “scouring festival,” which took place between 1680 and 1780 every summer.
Nearby, “Dragon Hill” is the name given to a mound with a flat top, sitting at around ten meters in height. Its name comes from the legend of St George and the Dragon, which links neatly with the white horse carved into the chalk. Today, visitors can explore the earthworks and trace the footsteps of Neolithic, Anglo-Saxon, and Norman settlers, who have walked these hills over the last few thousand years.
