With tales of ghosts, an empress beneath siege, imprisoned 7-year-olds and an opportunity to throw fluffy rats at your loved ones, a go to to Oxford Citadel with children is among the most uncommon and entertaining days out within the metropolis.
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Oxford Citadel & Jail, to offer it its full title, dates again to simply after the Norman Conquest – however the web site, which was used as a jail for hundreds of years, solely lastly stopped working as a jail in 1996. Since 2006, you may discover inside, discovering a number of the oldest corners and probably the most sudden tales.
You’ll be able to even keep in a part of the previous citadel jail, now the Malmaison resort, or just guide in for a tour and a go searching, as we did. So in case you’re exploring Oxford with children, right here’s why the citadel needs to be in your record.
Your go to begins with a guided tour, taking you to the highest of St George’s Tower – one of many oldest elements of the citadel nonetheless standing, earlier than main you thru historical past in a number of the different previous rooms.
The tour takes round 50 minutes, after which you’re free to proceed exploring, revisiting the rooms from the tour (besides the tower), in addition to these which the guided part doesn’t go to, plus an exhibition that includes some interactive enjoyable.
It’s a good way to do it as your information – Eli, in our case – helped convey the stone tower to life with some thrilling tales, in addition to answering questions.
The primary cease is half-way up the tower – a pleasant break as you climb the 101 steps to the highest. A reasonably naked stone room, looking to the skyline of Oxford, there’s a extra dramatic historical past hidden right here than you may anticipate.
Again within the twelfth century, through the interval referred to as the Anarchy, the Empress Matilda – daughter of Henry I – and her cousin, Stephen I had been at struggle, as each claimed the throne. Matilda had made her base in Oxford, staying in that exact same room within the citadel, when Stephen besieged the constructing.
Based on legends, as his troops waited out the lengthy chilly winter, the Empress and her knights let themselves down out of the tower, and disguised beneath white sheets towards the snow, fled throughout the fields earlier than skating off alongside the frozen Thames.
Whether or not it’s true, or whether or not she sneaked out of a gate, she actually escaped to combat one other day. And why spoil a superb story?
The tower itself is among the oldest buildings in Oxford, and one of many first elements constructed by Robert D’Oilly (or D’Oyly) in 1071 after William the Conqueror granted him the land and advised him to construct a citadel to subdue the Saxons.
The views from the highest are somewhat totally different than the Saxon market city which the Normans would have seen, nevertheless it’s a fantastic probability to look out over the dreaming spires.
By the way, in case you don’t wish to climb the 101 steps to the highest, or can’t, there’s a video to look at on the bottom flooring. Beneath-fives aren’t allowed to aim the climb.
Don’t be postpone by the truth that the steps had been designed to kill invaders – barely uneven, they elevated the prospect of attackers falling into their very own swords, or the person behind them in a faintly deadly model of knocking over dominoes. They’re straightforward sufficient for teenagers to climb, so the most important hazard is the low ceilings!
From right here, the tour strikes on to a different of the oldest elements of the citadel, the crypt beneath St George’s chapel, based after Robert D’Oilly had a nightmare of the Virgin Mary warning him about his sinful methods.
And whereas the chapel was later destroyed, the crypt and its carved stone columns survived, ultimately excavated by an 18th century jail governor, who held the novel beliefs that prisoners ought to use their time in jail productively to change into higher members of society in future – and occurred to be a little bit of an beginner archaeologist on the aspect.
That’s not the one story related to the crypt: as a cool underground area, it was best for storing our bodies and it’s mentioned as we speak that the realm is haunted – one nook specifically which regularly appears colder. The ghosts weren’t making an look, and even dropping the temperature after we had been there although.
Proper from its earliest days, the citadel was in all probability used as a jail – firstly, rebellious Saxons, and earlier than too lengthy, any college students who had been caught misbehaving (which on condition that they had been usually 14-year-old boys with no mother and father readily available, a number of beer and swords, was often).
By the sixteenth century, in Elizabeth’s England, it was Catholics who usually discovered themselves in entrance of a choose – together with an notorious bookseller known as Rowland Jenkes, who was sentenced to time within the pillory, nailed to the wooden by his ears… and who known as down a curse upon all these within the courtroom consequently.
Nearly right away, males began to drop lifeless (though apparently no girls, kids or servants) – some believed it was black magic, others that it was God’s divine punishment, whereas trendy historians assume a very virulent bout of typhus could be accountable.
Both manner, it’s gone down in historical past because the Black Assizes… and in case you’re courageous sufficient, you may take your individual possibilities within the pillory. Though no-one will get nailed by the ears nowadays, the worst you’ve received to endure is your loved ones throwing fluffy rats at you. (Maybe that’s simply my household!)
By the Civil Conflict, Charles I had made Oxford his capital, and whereas he selected the extra luxurious lodging of Christ Church school over the citadel, it turned briefly probably the most essential within the nation – and with one of many worst reputations for jail circumstances.
When Parliament triumphed, they razed many of the citadel to the bottom: solely the tower was saved as there was a helpful mill on the backside, the mound (or previous motte) because the earth was too hard-packed to destroy, and the crypt because it was lengthy buried.
From this level on, the citadel was firmly a jail somewhat than a fortress, and the tour introduces you to some of the extra shocking tales – akin to middle-class Mary Blandy, charged with the homicide of her father to marry the dashing Captain Cranbourn.
It turned out the Captain already had one spouse in Scotland so her father had cancelled their deliberate wedding ceremony; Mary’s defence was that her former fiance had despatched her a love tonic to melt her father’s coronary heart in the direction of their match, however after giving him the white powder, her father sickened and died.
An post-mortem revealed arsenic poisoning – and the letters which Mary insisted proved her innocence had been burned. The jury weren’t satisfied… and he or she paid the value.
Or how about one of many jail’s youngest inmates? Julia Ann Crumpling ‘borrowed’ her neighbour’s toy pram, however forgot to offer it again. Because the theft had been reported, there was nothing for it however to condemn her to time inside – seven days arduous labour.
The quick sentence wasn’t out of mercy for her youth both, however to spare her father the disgrace of getting a jailbird daughter!
Launched, on the proviso that she was despatched to highschool, Julia by no means did reoffend, one thing which might have satisfied the Victorians that the pointless punishments they inflicted on prisoners truly labored.
Within the exhibition, there’s an opportunity to check out examples of arduous labour your self. One punishment was shifting cannonballs from one aspect of the yard to the opposite – after which again once more – again and again. One of many unique balls is on show, however there’s a 22kg weight to attempt to carry if you wish to expertise what it could have been like.
Or there’s the crank, a deal with which prisoners needed to flip 1000’s of instances a day, and the capstan – which you’ll see in St George’s Tower – the place prisoners turned an enormous wheel to pump water up right into a tank on the higher flooring of the tower. Which was then all launched again right down to the river.
The treadwheel could possibly be straight out of a contemporary fitness center although, a tool the place you tread on the steps endlessly turning the wheel however getting nowhere – not one million miles away from a contemporary step machine.
Though you may no less than get off these once you’re drained: apparently some prisoners climbed the equal of Mount Kilimanjaro day-after-day.
Situations had improved by the twentieth century (though not as a lot as maybe they need to) and the ultimate a part of the exhibition provides extra particulars about trendy legislation and punishment, in addition to a number of the extra infamous prisoners – be careful for the soar scare at the beginning of the video in case you enterprise into the cell designed for Donald Neilson, referred to as the Black Panther!
After tales of royalty, rats and radical reformers, all bundled right into a whirlwind gallop by over 1000 years of historical past, there’s only one factor left to do earlier than you allow (aside from attempting to withstand shopping for a fluffy rat/picket sword within the reward store) – climb the mound.
A part of the unique motte and bailey citadel constructed again in 1071, the grassy hill was too robust for the Parliamentarians to destroy once they emerged victorious after the civil struggle, so it sits a stone’s throw from St George’s tower to this present day.
A curving path results in flat space on the high for extra views over to Oxford and again down onto the previous jail.
In order for you one remaining style of jail life, head into the Malmaison resort to take a look at the cell they’ve left intact (in case you’re forking out, it’s a fantastic place for lunch too) – or the citadel quarter has a string of eating places of its personal, plus you may escape to central Oxford and the Westgate centre a brief stroll away.
Which supplies you probability to mirror on this extremely entertaining journey by historical past as you go – and for my 11-year-old to depend her fortunate stars that she doesn’t reside in a time when you would be jailed for borrowing a toy pram.
Visiting Oxford Citadel with children: Must know
Tickets price from £15.50 for normal entry, in case you guide as much as two days prematurely, and £9.95 for youngsters. You can too purchase flexi-tickets for £17.50. Beneath-fives are free however want a ticket.
You can too purchase tickets with free cancellation through tiqets – get a reduction in case you guide by my hyperlink utilizing the code MUMMYTRAVELS6.
Excursions run day-after-day from 10am, though timings might change across the faculty holidays. Every tour has a most of 20 individuals and run each 20 minutes on Fridays and weekends till 5pm, each half-hour from Monday to Thursday till 4.30pm.
You must prebook a timed entry slot for the guided tour, as there’s no entry in any other case, though you may proceed exploring afterwards (excluding the tower). You’re requested to reach 10 minutes earlier than your tour begins.
There are additionally additional actions and occasions going down through the yr, akin to Knight College through the summer time holidays, birds of prey dealing with and flying classes on choose dates.
If you wish to climb the mound, anybody reserving tickets to the citadel is given a code to the gate included in your ticket. When you don’t wish to do the complete citadel tour however fancy climbing the mound, you are able to do so for a small payment (which fits in the direction of preserving the construction).
Some areas of the citadel are usually not accessible to wheelchairs, and prams/pushchairs aren’t allowed due to the slender corridors, so these have to be left with employees within the reward store.
There are 101 steps in St George’s Tower: under-fives aren’t allowed to climb the tower, nevertheless it’s doable for older children. Anybody who can’t (or doesn’t need) to climb can keep downstairs and watch a video with a digital view – an grownup should stick with kids.
There’s no parking at Oxford Citadel, though you’re just a few minutes stroll from the Westgate Centre, which has paid parking within the buying centre automotive park. In any other case, there are 5 Park and Rides round Oxford: Seacourt Park and Trip is closest.
There are numerous locations to eat and drink within the Oxford Citadel Quarter or Oxford city centre is strolling distance away.
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