We finished off Warwickshire last week with a look at the power and influence that the nobility has had to make and break kings, which means this week we're getting started on a whole new county.
So, we've decided to kick off the county of Oxfordshire with, of course, Oxford Castle.
Oxford Castle has a long history. It was built as a motte and bailey castle, not long after the Norman invasion, by a man named Robert d’Oilly.
In the 12th century, Oxford Castle saw the near capture of the empress Matilda as she fought her cousin, King Stephen, for her rightful position as ruler of England. Matilda was the only surviving child of Henry I and by all (modern) rights should have been the next ruler, but she was away in Anjou with her husband and sons when her father died in 1135, and by the time the news reached her, her cousin Stephen had already ridden into London and declared himself the new king.
Matilda was staying at Oxford Castle in September 1142 when Stephen and his army laid siege to it.
For three months, Matilda and her supporters in Oxford Castle were able to hold out against Stephen. But, eventually, their supplies began to run out and the situation started to become ever more desperate.
Not one to give in to adversity, Matilda was having none of this. So, one snowy December night, she escaped across the Thames to Wallingford Castle, where her ally Brian Fitzcount lived. Legend has it that she escaped across the snow and frozen in a white cloak to camouflage herself from Stephen and his army.
But that's not the only brush with civil wars that Oxford Castle has seen. Fast forward to the English Civil war (beginning 1642) and the city of Oxford became home to Charles I and the Royalist cause. Oxford Castle played a key role in the war itself and was taken over by the Parliamentarian forces, who reinforced the castle and then promptly destroyed it when they saw Charles II coming for them in 1652.
Oxford Castle also has quite a long administrative history, which is much more interesting than it sounds.
Promise.
One of the castle’s uses was as the location of the Assize courts whenever they came to town. This continued until partway through Elizabeth I’s reign in 1577, when, unfortunately, the whole grand jury, as well as several gentlemen and knights (including the owner of the castle) all caught the plague and died.
Coughs and sneezes spread in assizes, folks.
Oxford Castle was also a prison, possible from even further back than 1230 and definitely all the way up to 1996.
There have been some infamous prisoners locked away behind those castle walls. Take for example, Mary Blandy, who was hanged at Oxford Castle for poisoning her father.
She thought it was a love potion but, to find out why that's not as weird as it sounds, you'll have to listen to the podcast episode.
Today, Oxford Castle and Prison is a great day out with plenty of things to do there. If you're making it part of a weekend trip to Oxford city you could also stay the night in the Malmaison hotel, which is actually built into the prison and has converted some of the cells into bedrooms for guests to stay in.
That's it for this week - we'd love to know what you think. You can message us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, and don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe.
See you next week as we take a look at the first palace of Podcastles.
Sources
Catherine Hanley, Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior, Yale University Press, 2020
Helen Castor, She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth, Faber & Faber, 2010, pp39-131
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