Jacob Barnet Flees his Own Baptism
16 August 2021
University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, High Street, Oxford
In 1612 Jewish scholar Jacob Barnet was thrown into prison for fleeing Oxford on the day of his planned Baptism ceremony.
The Hanging of a Royal Pretender and his Cat
14 August 2021
Beaumont Street, Oxford
In 1318 John Deydras made an extraordinary claim: he had been swapped with Edward II as a baby and was the true heir to the English throne!
A Monkey at St. Mary's Church
6 August 2021
St. Mary's Church, The Green, Witney
An escaped monkey during a fair inspired this unusual addition to the spire at St. Mary's Church, Witney.
Oxford's Sheela Na Gig
6 August 2021
St Michael at the North Gate Church, Cornmarket Street, Oxford
This explicit stone carving is an unusual addition to one of Oxford's oldest churches.
The Leper Hospital at Clattercote Priory
6 August 2021
Clattercote Priory Farm, Claydon, Banbury
The Gilbertine Order at Clattercote provided shelter and treatment for those suffering from leprosy.
Corpse Trouble at Iffley Lock Toll
5 August 2021
Iffley Lock, Church Way, Iffley
A superstition about corpses passing through toll gates has caused trouble for the operators of Iffley Lock toll on a number of occasions.
A Ghostly Highwayman on the B4047
5 August 2021
B4047, between Witney and Burford.
The old Witney-Burford road is haunted by a black-clad highwayman in the garb of the 18th century.
The Ghost of Swinbrook Bridge
4 August 2021
The Bridge, Swinbrook
Could the bridge at Swinbrook be haunted by the ghost of a young woman searching for her baby?
Isaac Grubb and the 1867 Bread Riots
3 August 2021
Somerville House, 130 Banbury Road, Oxford
Baker Isaac Grubb incurred the town's anger when it was revealed he was selling bread to the university on the cheap.