Aristotle Lane is a road in north

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

.Aristotle Lane
In Christopher Hibbert and Edward Hibbert (editors),
The Encyclopaedia of Oxford
'. '' Macmillan'', 1988, page 19. . The lane links

North Oxford North Oxford is a suburban part of the city of Oxford in England. It was owned for many centuries largely by St John's College, Oxford and many of the area's Victorian architecture, Victorian houses were initially sold on leasehold by the co ...

, leading from the junction of Kingston Road and

Hayfield Road Hayfield Road is a residential road that runs north-south in Walton Manor, north Oxford, England. Location To the south, the road continues as Kingston Road, although it is blocked to through traffic. Aristotle Lane leads off to the west ove ...

(close to the junction with

Polstead Road Polstead Road is a residential road that runs between Kingston Road and Hayfield Road to the west and the Woodstock Road to the east, in the suburb of North Oxford, England. Halfway along it forms the southern junction of Chalfont Road. The r ...

), with

Port Meadow Port Meadow is a large meadow of open common land beside the River Thames to the north and west of Oxford, England. Overview The meadow is an ancient area of grazing land, still used for horses and cattle, and according to legend has never bee ...

to the west, via bridges over the

Oxford Canal The Oxford Canal is a narrowboat canal in southern central England linking the City of Oxford with the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury (just north of Coventry and south of Bedworth) via Banbury and Rugby. Completed in 1790, it connects to th ...

and railway. The other access to the meadow from

is via

Walton Well Road Walton Well Road is a road, about 400 metres (a quarter mile) long, near the centre of Oxford, England. It provides a link from central Oxford to Port Meadow. Location The road marks the northern edge of the district known as Jericho. At the ...

to the south. St Philip & St James Primary School is located off Aristotle Lane, on Navigation Way, having previously been in

Leckford Road Leckford Road is a road in North Oxford, England. It runs between Kingston Road to the west and Woodstock Road to the east. Location To the north halfway along is a junction with Warnborough Road. To the south, Leckford Place links with Pla ...

to the south.Aristotle LaneOxford Waterside Residents' Association
Oxford, UK. The Aristotle Lane Allotments are also located here. To the north of the allotments is the Burgess Field Nature Park, formerly a landfill site. In addition, there is a

recreation ground A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

. Aristotle Lane Wildlife Corridor which is located within the residential development site of Burgess Mead is a strip of land either side of a minor drainage channel which runs for some 154 metres through the site. Included is a narrow strip of land at the northern site boundary which buffers the site from the adjacent

Trap Grounds The Trap Grounds (aka Trap Grounds Town Green) is a nature reserve in north Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, owned by Oxford City Council. Overview The site is to the east of the railway line and the Burgess Field Nature Park, to the west of the ...

. This is an area of reed and sedge beds enclosed by damp woodland dominated by willows. Its interest includes breeding water rail, reed warbler and reed bunting and it has a certain historical ornithological value due to a past history of bird ringing at the site, as well as it being the location of a television documentary about the cuckoo. The pond/wetland created as part of the development has been successful and currently supports a dense central area of tall emergent vegetation typified by common reed and purple loosestrife, with other species at the margins including water mint and marsh marigold. The grasslands within the wildlife corridor have their origins partly in wildflower seeding and partly due to turfing (a legacy of the developers’ sales team). Seed of guaranteed native local provenance was used to create species-rich grasslands . The mammal shelves of sand/concrete bags installed alongside the stream channel beneath the new bridge, which is designed to permit terrestrial wildlife movement along the entire length of the watercourse.

History

There is evidence of

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

tracks from the location of Aristotle Lane across Port Meadow to Binsey Ford. The lane is named after Aristotle's Well in the vicinity, deriving from the name of the Ancient Greek philosopher

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

. On 3 June 1644, King Charles I passed this way with around 5,000 men, strategically withdrawing from Oxford, his temporary capital during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, across Port Meadow and the Thames.

T. E. Lawrence Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British Army officer, archaeologist, diplomat and writer known for his role during the Arab Revolt and Sinai and Palestine campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the First W ...

(1888–1935, aka Lawrence of Arabia) used this route from his home as a child in Polstead Road on his way to Port Meadow to dig in the mounds there. Port Meadow Halt railway station was located just north of Aristotle Lane on the

Varsity Line The Varsity Line was the main railway line that linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway. In World War II, the line became a strategic route for freight avoiding London, a ...

. The

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

opened the halt, originally called '' Summertown'' after the north Oxford district, on 20 August 1906. It was renamed to ''Port Meadow Halt'' in January 1907. The station temporarily closed during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

between 1 January 1917 and 5 May 1919. On 30 October 1926,

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...

permanently closed the station. Figure III. The land south of Aristotle Lane was acquired from Lucy's by

Berkeley Homes The Berkeley Group Holdings plc is a British property developer and house-builder based in Cobham, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The firm was founded in 1976 by Tony Pidgl ...

and developed during 1996–1999 into the Waterside estate.

Gallery

File:The Oxford Canal from Aristotle Lane Bridge looking north - geograph.org.uk - 1751894.jpg, View north along the Oxford Canal from Aristotle Bridge. File:The Oxford Canal from Aristotle Lane Bridge looking south - geograph.org.uk - 1751892.jpg, View south along the canal from Aristotle Bridge. File:Oxford Canal in the snow - geograph.org.uk - 1122546.jpg, Oxford Canal in the snow south of Aristotle Bridge. File:Port Meadow Halt railway station site.jpg, The site of the former Port Meadow Halt railway station, viewed from Aristotle Lane footbridge, looking north towards

Wolvercote Wolvercote is a village in the Oxford district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is about northwest of the city centre, on the northern edge of Wolvercote Common, which is itself north of Port Meadow and adjoins the River Thames. H ...

References

{{coord, 51.7673, -1.2713, dim:500_region:GB, display=title Streets in Oxford Springs of England Oxford Canal