Littlemore Lunatic Asylum
20 August 2021
Sandford Road, Littlemore
In 1884 a misunderstanding between staff at Littlemore Asylum saw a confused visitor being stripped, bathed and confined to bed as a patient.
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.
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.
Cadaver Monuments at Ewelme
9 May 2021
St. Mary the Virgin Church, Parson's Lane, Ewelme
Inside Ewelme church can be found the gruesome tomb of Alice Chaucer, which contains sculptures of her body both in life and in death!
Doom Painting at South Leigh
7 May 2021
St. James the Great Church, Church End, South Leigh
South Leigh church has a great example of a 15th-century doom painting, complete with smiling demons dragging sinners to hell.