Oxford: Specialist Walks in History and the Arts
This walking tour offers a choice of specialised two-hour experiences, each exploring a distinct aspect of Oxford’s past – Religion, Women, the Arts, or the English Civil War.
Every tour includes Oxford’s iconic landmarks and hidden gems, revealing stories of the patrons, scholars, and visionaries who shaped the world’s oldest English-speaking university. Sites may include the Martyrs’ Memorial, the Anglo-Saxon tower, Radcliffe Square, the Bodleian Quadrangle, the Divinity School, and Wren’s Sheldonian Theatre. Around every corner, a college or chapel reveals new insight – with film locations, literary landmarks, and art woven through the cityscape.
Religion: From medieval pilgrims at St Frideswide’s shrine to the martyrs of the Reformation, explore where Wesley and Newman reshaped faith and trace Oxford’s dialogue between belief and knowledge across the centuries.
Women: What do Margaret Thatcher, Dorothy Sayers, Dorothy Hodgkin, and the suffragettes share? They all left their mark on Oxford. Follow their footsteps through college quads and quiet lanes to uncover their struggles, triumphs, and enduring legacies.
Art: Experience Oxford’s extraordinary stained glass and artistic heritage up close. The city’s architecture, libraries, and chapels form a living museum of creativity, preserving a stunning variety of styles and techniques across centuries.
The English Civil War: In 1642, Charles I made Oxford his Royalist capital. Christ Church became his headquarters; Queen Henrietta Maria lodged at Merton. Amid 3,000 soldiers and courtiers, Oxford witnessed both grandeur and upheaval. After victory, Cromwell became Chancellor of the University and the splendour of the restoration.
