Cripley Meadow lies between the
Castle Mill Stream
Castle Mill Stream is a backwater of the River Thames in the west of Oxford, England. It is 5.5 km long.
Course
The stream leaves the main course of the River Thames at the south end of Port Meadow, immediately upstream of Medley Foo ...
, a backwater of the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
, and the
Cotswold Line
The Cotswold Line is an railway line between and in England.
History Early years
The line between Oxford and Worcester was built under an 1845 Act of Parliament and opened in 1851 as part of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway.
...
railway to the east, and
Fiddler's Island
Fiddler's Island is an island in the River Thames at Oxford in England. It is situated south of Port Meadow on the reach above Osney Lock.
The north part of the island sits between the River Thames and the top end of Castle Mill Stream, a Thame ...
, on the main branch of the Thames to the west, in
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
It is to the south of the better known
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 ...
, a large
meadow
A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or arti ...
of
common land
Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel.
A person who has a ...
. To the south is
Sheepwash Channel
Sheepwash Channel connects the River Thames to the west and the Castle Mill Stream next to the Oxford Canal to the east (linked through Isis Lock), in west Oxford, England. To the north are Cripley Meadow (largely allotments) and Fiddler's Is ...
which connects the
Oxford Canal
The Oxford Canal is a narrowboat canal in 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 the River Thames ...
with the River Thames.
History
In October 1554, John Wayte (later
Mayor of Oxford
The earliest recorded Mayor of Oxford in England was Laurence Kepeharm (1205–1207?).
On 23 October 1962 the city was granted the honour of electing a Lord Mayor. Notable figures who have been Lord Mayor of Oxford include J. N. L. Baker (196 ...
) was appointed along with two others to travel to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
to give instructions concerning Cripley Meadow and Port Meadow.
In 1865, there was the possibility that the
Great Western Railway (GWR) could become a major employer in Oxford since the company's railway carriage-making workshops, that were expected to provide 1,500 jobs, were to be sited in the city, moving from
Paddington
Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...
in London.
The
City of Oxford corporation, which thirty years earlier had opposed the railway, offered a lease on Cripley Meadow for the workshops. There was great enthusiasm for the initiative. However, the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
opposed the proposal, led by
Goldwin Smith, a historian at
University College, Oxford
University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...
whose father had also been a director of GWR.
A contract for the Cripley Meadow site was already in place, but a change in leadership at GWR meant that the workshops were built at
Swindon instead.
Allotments
Before 1891, it is likely that Cripley Meadow was used for horse grazing, similar to Port Meadow, and also hay production. By March 1891, about 14 acres of the land was let to the ''North Oxford and Jericho Allotments Association'' for
allotments. Over the following years, the city engineer organized the deposit of street refuse on the site to raise its level above the river.
Cripley Meadow Allotment Association is managed by an annually elected committee. Oxford City Council lease the land to the association and devolve its management to the committee. Since 2004 over 160 plots have been cleared and put back into use. It is now is a thriving site supporting over 200 members in growing local food and flowers.
Cripley Island Orchard has also been established.
Development
Since 2012, the
Castle Mill site (400 m by 25 m) between the Cripley Meadow Allotments and the railway tracks is being developed as extensive student accommodation for the
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
Estates Directorate by
Longcross
Longcross is a village in the Borough of Runnymede in Surrey, England, approximately southwest of central London. Its name is thought to come from a marker, placed where the parish boundaries of Chertsey, Chobham and Egham met.
From the start ...
. There is a
badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by ...
run at the site.
The development of Castle Mill has been controversial since the four- and five-storey blocks overlook Port Meadow. Campaigners have warned of damage to views of Oxford. There has been an online petition and concern has been raised by the
Oxford Preservation Trust
The Oxford Preservation Trust was founded in 1927 to preserve the city of Oxford, England. The Trust seeks to enhance Oxford by encouraging thoughtful development and new design, while protecting historic buildings and green open spaces.
The T ...
and the
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
. Anger has been caused even among members of Oxford University. The development has been likened to building a "skyscraper beside
Stonehenge". In February 2013, Oxford City Council entered negotiations with Oxford University to reduce the height of the buildings by two storeys.
See also
*
Burgess Field
*
Trap Ground Allotments
References
{{reflist, 2
Parks and open spaces in Oxford
Parks and open spaces on the River Thames
Gardens in Oxfordshire
Water-meadows
Meadows in Oxfordshire