Week 3 - Oxford Castle Unlocked tour

As promised, pictures of my tour of Oxford Castle! Just a little background first. Oxford Castle was constructed around 1000 years ago by Saxons. In fact, St. George's Tower and the Crypt are part of the original castle. After William the Conqueror invaded in 1066, he took over Oxford Castle and built something like 70 others along the coast. Until the 17th century, Castle Mound had the old keep on it but it was heavily damaged during the Civil Wars. Charles I escaped to Oxford in 1643 and the Parliamentarians attacked the Castle. As a result, much of it had to be pulled down before it fell down. In the 18th century, new construction began and Oxford Castle was used as a prison until it finally closed in 1993. It was beyond amazing to be able to walk up the 1000 year old stone spiral staircase up to the top of St. George's Tower (101 steps to the top!), which was the exact same tower the Empress Matilda RAPPELLED DOWN about 800 years ago to escape an approaching army. It was the dead of winter in the middle of the night when she and a few loyal knights escaped. They climbed down the tower and, the Empress wearing a white cloak and hood to blend in with the snow, ICE SKATED down the river Thames to safety. Honest to God, you can't make something like that up! Here are the pictures - please to enjoy:)

Old and new together! The building in the foreground is "new" construction from the 18th century. The tower
to the right in the background is St. George's Tower, the oldest structure in Oxford. It was constructed by the
Saxons about 1000 years ago.

The door with the metal grating is what we passed through to begin the tour. Anyone over
five feet tall should watch their heads!

A view from the top of the tower. As you can see, it was a beautiful day!

Another view from the tower.

The only intact arrow slit on the top of the tower. Soldiers could fire arrows through them in relative safety.

Giving an idea of how much could be seen through the arrow slit.

The white building with all of the arches is a restaurant that was built on the site of the old
gallows - the public place of execution for the castle and, later, the prison. Apparently townspeople
would sit on the Castle Mound, which you can see to the left, and watch the executions. 

The staircase in the tower - VERY narrow and steep.

One of the pillars in the Crypt - it looks exactly as it did when it was carved during the
reign of William the Conqueror in the 11th century. 

One of the prison cells. Kind of grim!

I'm not sure if this was set up to represent a prison cell or a guard office. The thing is,
prisoners could bring their own furniture in and they had to pay for their own food
and water. So if this cell belonged to a relatively well-off prisoner, he could have
had this stuff brought in.

A fireplace in one of the large communal cells.

St. George's Tower