Christ Church, Oxford, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.

Sixteenth-century and later college gardens and quadrangles, with adjacent meadow surrounded by ornamental walks.

LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING

Christ Church lies close to the centre of Oxford towards the south end, and on the east side of St Aldate's. The roughly 32 hectare college and its grounds lie largely on level ground which rises slightly to the north-west where the buildings are located. The college is bounded to the west by St Aldate's and south of this the Trill Mill Stream, to the north by Blue Boar and Bear Lanes and Oriel Square, together with the City Wall sections which now form the south boundaries of Corpus Christi and Merton Colleges (there are descriptions of both these sites elsewhere in the Register). The east boundary is formed by the River Cherwell, and the south boundary by the River Thames. The college is set within a group of colleges, the closest of which are Corpus Christi and Merton to the east, and Pembroke to the west, with the University Botanic Garden (see description of this site elsewhere in the Register) at the north-east corner. To the south and east, beyond the rivers, lie college playing fields and further meadows.

REFERENCES Used by English Heritage

Country Life, 57 (20 June 1925), pp 988-95; 65 (9 March 1929), pp 336-8

H Trevor-Roper, Christ Church, Oxford (1950, 3rd edition 1989)

E G W Bill, Christ Church Meadow (1965)

N Pevsner and J Sherwood, The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire (1974), pp 109-27

M Batey, Oxford Gardens (1982), pp 64-7, plates 13, 14

Maps [all held at Oxon Centre for Local Studies]

Agas/Bereblock, Map of Oxford, engraved 1728 from 1578 original

Hollar, Map of Oxford, 1643

Loggan, Map of Oxford, 1675

W Williams, Collegium Aedis Christi, from Oxonia Depicta, 1732

R Davis, A New Map of the County of Oxford..., 1797

OS Maps

OS 6" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1881-2; 2nd edition published 1901

OS 25" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1880
 

Description written: November 1997

Amended: March 1999; April 1999

Edited: January 2000