Christ Church Meadow is a

flood-meadow A flood-meadow (or floodmeadow) is an area of grassland or pasture beside a river, subject to seasonal flooding.Huhta, Ari‐Pekka, Rautio, Pasi (2014). Flood meadows in Finland - their development during the past century. ''Nordic Journal of B ...

and popular walking and picnic spot in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England. Roughly triangular in shape, it is bounded by the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

(the stretch through Oxford being known as "

The Isis "The Isis" () is an alternative name for the River Thames, used from its source in the Cotswolds until it is joined by the Thame at Dorchester in Oxfordshire. It derives from the ancient name for the Thames, ''Tamesis'', which in the Middle ...

"), the

River Cherwell The River Cherwell ( or ) is a tributary of the River Thames in central England. It rises near Hellidon, Northamptonshire and flows southwards for to meet the Thames at Oxford in Oxfordshire. The river gives its name to the Cherwell local g ...

, and Christ Church. The meadow provides access to many of the college

boathouse A boathouse (or a boat house) is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. describing the facilities These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats ...

s, which are on an island at the confluence of the two rivers. The lower sections of the meadow, close to the Thames, are grazed by cattle (including Longhorn cows) while the upper sections have sports fields.

Broad Walk Broad Walk is a wide walkway running east–west on the north side of Christ Church Meadow, Oxford, Christ Church Meadow and south of Merton Field in central Oxford, England. The walkway runs between St Aldate's, Oxford, St Aldate's though th ...

is at the northern edge with

Merton Field Merton Field is a grass playing field north of the main part of Christ Church Meadow, Oxford, Christ Church Meadow and south of Merton College in central Oxford, England. To the west are Merton Walk and Christ Church, Oxford, Christ Church, on ...

to the north and

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ch ...

, dominated by the tower of

Merton College Chapel Merton College Chapel is the church of Merton College, Oxford, England. Dedicated to St Mary and St John the Baptist, the chapel was largely completed in its present form by the end of the 13th century. The building retains a number of original ...

, beyond that. Christ Church Meadow is owned by Christ Church, and is thus the private property of the college; however, access is allowed during the day. Access starts very early to allow

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

s to go to the boathouses.

Eights Week Eights Week, also known as Summer Eights, is a four-day regatta of bumps races which constitutes the University of Oxford's main intercollegiate rowing event of the year. The regatta takes place in May of each year, from the Wednesday to the ...

and

Torpids Torpids is one of two series of bumps race, bumping races, a type of rowing (sport), rowing race, held yearly at Oxford University; the other is Eights Week. Over 130 men's and women's crews race for their colleges in six men's divisions and fiv ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

's two main rowing events, and

Christ Church Regatta Christ Church Regatta is a boat race in the University of Oxford, England, which is held annually during seventh week of Michaelmas term (late November), in which novice crews (of eight rowers with a cox) representing each college, compete against ...

are held on the Thames here. In past times, ornamental wooden

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

s were moored on the river here to store boats and house spectators. However, these have all now been replaced by boathouses. The meadow can be accessed from

St Aldate's St Aldate's () is a street in central Oxford, England, named after Saint Aldate, but formerly known as Fish Street. The street runs south from the generally acknowledged centre of Oxford at Carfax. The Town Hall, which includes the Museum o ...

to the northwest via Broad Walk through the

Christ Church War Memorial Garden Christ Church War Memorial Garden is a garden in Oxford, England, created in 1926 to commemorate the First World War. The war memorial garden, in memory of members of Christ Church, Oxford, one of the Oxford colleges, is located east off St ...

, from the north in

Merton Street Merton Street is a historic and picturesque cobbled street in central Oxford, England. ...

via

Grove Walk Grove Walk (aka Merton Grove and Grove Passage) is a short historic leafy walkway running north–south in central Oxford, England, situated on land between Merton College to the east and Corpus Christi College to the west. It provides one of ...

and

Merton Walk Merton may refer to: People * Merton (surname) * Merton (given name) * Merton (YouTube), American YouTube personality Fictional characters * Merton Matowski, an alternate name for "Moose" Mason, an Archie Comics character * Lord Merton, i ...

, and from the eastern end of the

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

via Rose Lane near the

Oxford Botanic Garden The University of Oxford Botanic Garden is the oldest botanic garden in Great Britain and one of the oldest scientific gardens in the world. The garden was founded in 1621 as a physic garden growing plants for medicinal research. Today it cont ...

to the northeast. There is also less-used access from near the Head of the River public house by

Folly Bridge Folly Bridge is a stone bridge over the River Thames carrying the Abingdon Road south from the centre of Oxford, England. It was erected in 1825–27, to designs of a little-known architect, Ebenezer Perry (died 1850), who practised in London. ...

on the River Thames to the southwest, connecting to

Poplar Walk Poplar Walk is wide footpath running north–south in Christ Church Meadow, Oxford, England. The footpath runs between The Meadow Building of Christ Church at the junction with Broad Walk to the north and the River Thames near Folly Bridge ...

(created by

Henry Liddell Henry George Liddell (; 6 February 1811– 18 January 1898) was dean (1855–1891) of Christ Church, Oxford, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University (1870–1874), headmaster (1846–1855) of Westminster School (where a house is now named after h ...

in 1872) and the path by the river. All entrances are via railinged gates that are locked at night. James Sadler made the first ascent in a balloon by an Englishman from the Meadow on 4 October 1784. The balloon rose to a height of around 3,600 feet and landed six miles away near the village of Wood Eaton near

Islip Islip may refer to: Places England * Islip, Northamptonshire *Islip, Oxfordshire United States *Islip, New York, a town in Suffolk County ** Islip (hamlet), New York, located in the above town **Central Islip, New York, a hamlet and census-d ...

to the northeast of Oxford. A plaque notes the event. The Meadow was also the location where the medieval royal pretender

John Deydras John Deydras (died 1318), also known as John of Powderham, was a pretender to the English throne during the reign of Edward II. He was executed by hanging and his body was burnt. Background By 1318, Edward II of England was increasingly unpopu ...

claimed to have been persuaded by the devil to impersonate

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

in 1318. Postwar development planned for central Oxford included a

relief road A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety. A bypass spec ...

passing through the meadow and joining the district of

St Ebbe's St Ebbes is a district of central Oxford, England, southwest of Carfax. St Ebbes Street runs south from the western end of Queen Street. __TOC__ Overview The area takes its name from the parish church of St Ebbe's, dedicated to Saint � ...

. The proposal was finally defeated in 1971 after vigorous opposition.

Gallery

File:The Christ Church Meadow adjacent to the Meadow Building.jpg,

The Meadow Building The Meadow Building (known as "Meadows" to students, aka Meadow Buildings) is part of Christ Church, Oxford, England, one of the Oxford colleges, looking out south onto Christ Church Meadow on Broad Walk and then along the straight tree-line ...

of Christ Church as seen from

on the far northwestern corner of the Christ Church Meadow File:Rowing on the Isis.JPG, Rowing on

the Isis "The Isis" () is an alternative name for the River Thames, used from its source in the Cotswolds until it is joined by the Thame at Dorchester in Oxfordshire. It derives from the ancient name for the Thames, ''Tamesis'', which in the Middle ...

at Christ Church Meadow File:The Great Tower from the rear of the Meadow.jpg, A view of the Great Tower, Magdalen College, from the north eastern edge of the Christ Church Meadow, near its border with the

File:The Christ Church Meadow from the south east.jpg, A view from the Christ Church Meadow looking north east towards the Great Tower of Magdalen College File:Merton college2.jpg, View north of

from Christ Church Meadow across

File:Merton College from across the Christ Church Meadow.jpg, View north of Merton College from across Merton Field north of Christ Church Meadow

References

External links

Christ Church Meadow
information from

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

{{coord , 51.748, -1.252, region:GB, display=title Parks and open spaces in Oxford Parks and open spaces on the River Thames University of Oxford sites Water-meadows

Meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...

Grasslands of the United Kingdom Meadows in Oxfordshire

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links