Door knocker-stealing craze of the 1830s
Merton Street, Oxford
In the 1830s, university authorities were locked in an ongoing battle of wits with students intent on stealing college door knockers!
Tolkien's Ghost at Merton College
Merton College, Merton Street, Oxford
J.R.R. Tolkien's ghost is said to walk the quads and corridors of Merton College, leaving behind it a distinctive whiff of pipe smoke!
A Lordly Assault at the Randolph Hotel
Randolph Hotel, Beaumont Street, Oxford
In March 1870, Lord Randolph Churchill was arrested for an alleged drunken assault on a police constable outside the Randolph Hotel.
Civil War Ghosts in Dead Man's Walk
Dead Man's walk, Merton College, Oxford
Royalist Francis Windebank was executed by firing squad outside Oxford Town Hall in 1645. His ghost can be seen walking the nearby path known as Dead Man's Walk.