Museum of Oxford

Oxford Town Hall is a public building on the street called St Aldate's in central Oxford, England. It is both the seat of Oxford City Council and a venue for public meetings, entertainment and other events. It also includes the Museum of Oxford. Although Oxford is a city with its own charter, the building is referred to as the "Town Hall". It is Oxford's third seat of government to have stood on the same site. The present building, completed in 1897, is Grade II* listed.

The St Scholastica Day riot took place in Oxford, England, on 10 February 1355, Saint Scholastica's Day. The disturbance began when two students from the University of Oxford complained about the quality of wine served to them in the Swindlestock Tavern, which stood on Carfax, in the centre of the town. The students quarrelled with the taverner; the argument quickly escalated to blows. The inn's customers joined in on both sides, and the resulting melee turned into a riot. The violence started by the bar brawl continued over three days, with armed gangs coming in from the countryside to assist the townspeople. University halls and students' accommodation were raided and the inhabitants murdered; there were some reports of clerics being scalped. Around 30 townsfolk were killed, as were up to 63 members of the university. Violent disagreements between townspeople and students had arisen several times previously, and 12 of the 29 coroners' courts held in Oxford between 1297 and 1322 concerned murders by students. The University of Cambridge was established in 1209 by scholars who left Oxford following the lynching of two students by the town's citizens. King Edward III sent judges to the town with commissions of oyer and terminer to determine what had gone on and to advise what steps should be taken. He came down on the side of the university authorities, who were given additional powers and responsibilities to the disadvantage of the town's authorities. The town was fined 500 marks and its mayor and bailiffs were sent to the Marshalsea prison in London. John Gynwell, the Bishop of Lincoln, imposed an interdict on the town for one year, which banned all religious practices, including services (except on key feast days), burials and marriages; only baptisms of young children were allowed. An annual penance was imposed on the town: each year, on St Scholastica's Day, the mayor, bailiffs and sixty townspeople were to attend a Mass at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin for those killed; the town was also made to pay the university a fine of one penny for each scholar killed. The practice was dropped in 1825; in 1955—the 600th anniversary of the riots—in an act of conciliation the mayor was given an honorary degree and the vice-chancellor was made an honorary freeman of the city.

Carfax is the junction of St Aldate's (south), Cornmarket Street (north), Queen Street (west) and the High Street (east) in Oxford, England. It is considered to be the centre of the city. The name "Carfax" derives from the Latin quadrifurcus via the French carrefour, both of which mean "crossroads". The Carfax Tower, also known as St. Martin's Tower (it is the remaining part of what was the City Church of St. Martin of Tours) is a prominent landmark and provides a look-out over the town.

Oxford time is the custom of having scheduled events occur five minutes past the specified time. It is a peculiar tradition of timekeeping in Oxford, especially in connection with the University of Oxford.

Golden Cross (also previously known as the Cross Inn) is a shopping arcade at 5 Cornmarket Street in central Oxford, England. The original structure on the site dates from 1193, when it was called Maugershall after the then owner, and consisted of shops with an inn on the upper storeys. The building structures now on the site date from the late 15th century, when they were used as a traditional coaching inn, as is clear from its layout and historical documents. The collection of historic buildings in the Golden Cross courtyard to the east off Cornmarket Street, one of Oxford's main shopping streets. Golden Cross is now used as Oxford's branch of Pizza Express. The courtyard is used as a thoroughfare which leads to the historic Covered Market and has been redeveloped as a small shopping centre, with upmarket shops, a branch of iGlasses Opticians, Holland and Barrett and a Chinese herbalist. There is strong but circumstantial evidence to link the buildings with William Shakespeare, given his player's company's known performances in Oxford and the route from Stratford-on-Avon to London passing through Oxford. It is believed that Hamlet was performed in the inn courtyard and a signature that is reputedly his can be seen on the wall in the bursar's office on the first floor of the adjacent building occupied by New College, Oxford. The buildings were comprehensively restored in 1986/87 by Cordwell Property and Mal Parker of Dunthorne Parker Architects when the buildings were converted into a variety of retail uses, and a new structure carefully integrated into the existing building ranges to allow a sensitively constructed direct route through to the adjacent Covered Market. This covered market was constructed in 1774 so as to relocate the stalls previously pitched on the Cornmarket. but no direct access had been possible from the main retail street of Cornmarket up until the completion of this development. The poet Alexander Pope stayed here in 1735. The 15th century buildings have original timberwork and there are various examples of early wall paintings and hand painted wallpaper on the upper floors of the building, still easily accessible and viewable via the pizza restaurant that currently occupies the upper floors of the north range of buildings.

Blue Boar Street is a narrow historic street running between St Aldate's to the west and the southern end of Alfred Street to the east, in central Oxford, England. It is located just north of Christ Church. At the western end is the Museum of Oxford and the Town Hall to the north. The Bear is a historic public house located on the north side of Blue Boar Street on the corner with Alfred Street. A unique feature is a large collection of short lengths of tie displayed on its walls and ceiling. To the south is Christ Church, one of the largest Oxford colleges. Behind an old wall on Blue Boar Street are the modern 1960s buildings of the Blue Boar Quadrangle in the college, named after Blue Boar Street. In 2006, this was Grade II* listed. The street was formerly known as Tresham('s) Lane. Blewebore Inn, once owned by King Henry III, was located here, hence the current name. The Blue Boar Inn was demolished in 1893 for the building of the Oxford Public Library, later the Museum of Oxford.

The Covered Market is a historic market with permanent stalls and shops in a large covered structure in central Oxford, England.

St Aldate's is a Church of England parish church in the centre of Oxford, in the Deanery and Diocese of Oxford. The church is on the street named St Aldate's, opposite Christ Church college and next door to Pembroke College. The church has a large congregation and has a staff team of about 30 which includes clergy, pastoral and administrative staff. The offices of the Rector and other members of staff are at 40 Pembroke Street.

The Story Museum is a museum in Oxford, England. It aims to encourage education and support community engagement by exploring all forms of stories. It is a registered charity under English law.Highlights include a Whispering Wood, an Enchanted Library and Small Worlds, a dedicated space for younger children as well as a 100-seat theatre, a learning studio and a temporary exhibition space. In addition to welcoming public visitors and school groups to its Galleries, the Museum also delivers an extensive public programme, including skills courses, workshops, drop-in activities and access visits for those wanting to enjoy the Museum in a more relaxed way, alongside a programme of funded community and school participation projects with targeted groups. The Museum attracts up to 100,000 visitors a year.

Ben's Cookies is an international chain of shops that bake and sell cookies. After making cookies at home, Helge Rubinstein opened a stall to sell them in Oxford's Covered Market in 1984. The cookies can usually be purchased warm as they are baked on-site in the shops. The first store was in Oxford's covered market. The stores are mainly in London, but also in other UK cities, New York and other countries.The company was named after Rubinstein's son Ben, and the logo was created by the British artist Quentin Blake, a friend of the family.Ben's Cookies currently has numerous stores in the United Kingdom, including Bath, Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, London, and Reading. It has also opened stores overseas in South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Kuwait, Bangkok and Manila.

The Blue Boar Quadrangle is a mid-century quadrangle within Christ Church, University of Oxford. Designed by Hidalgo Moya and Philip Powell, and built between 1965 and 1968, the quadrangle has been described by Lord McIntosh of Haringey as "one of the best buildings of its kind during the expansion of higher education". Since 17 October 2006, the quadrangle has held the classification of being Grade II* listed, due to the unique nature of its 1960s architecture. The quadrangle is primarily used to house Christ Church's first year undergraduates. It is located just to the south of the historic Blue Boar Street, off St Aldate's, hence the name. Blue Boar underwent a substantial renovation from 2007 to 2008, resulting in the conversion of all rooms to modern en-suites.

St Columba's United Reformed Church is a congregation of the United Reformed Church (URC) in the centre of the city of Oxford. It is located on Alfred Street, off the High Street.