The Beginning of New College Lane from the north

New College Lane towards the Bridge of Sighs

Oxford University students academic dress

New College Lane is a historic street in central

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 ...

, named after New College, one of the older

colleges, adjacent to the north. In 2010, New College Lane was named Britain's fourth most picturesque street, as part of

Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

's Street View Awards.

Description

At the northwestern end of New College Lane is a junction with

Catte Street Catte Street is a historic street in central Oxford, England.Ca ...

, with the

Sheldonian Theatre Sheldonian Theatre, located in Oxford, England, was built from 1664 to 1669 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, chancellor of the University at the time and the project's ...

opposite. The main feature is the

Bridge of Sighs The Bridge of Sighs (Italian: ''Ponte dei Sospiri'', vec, Ponte de i Sospiri) is a bridge in Venice, Italy. The enclosed bridge is made of white limestone, has windows with stone bars, passes over the Rio di Palazzo, and connects the New Priso ...

, a

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

connecting two parts of

Hertford College Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

, which was completed in 1914 and attracts many tourists for the view. Also to the north is a small alley leading past some of the historic city wall to the Turf Tavern, a hidden but favourite public house for students and tourists. The lane has three bends as it winds its way between the surrounding colleges. There is a rear entrance to New College. The lane is largely surrounded by high stone walls, with few windows. Some good examples of

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry wa ...

s can be seen, a feature of Oxford college architecture. At its southeastern end, the lane continues as

Queen's Lane Queen's Lane is a historic street in central Oxford, England, named after Queen's College, to the south and west. St Edmund Hall, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on the southern end of this street. Location At ...

, named after Queen's College to the south and west. There is a gate in the road at this point to prevent through traffic.

Historic Markers

A plaque on a terraced house on the north side of the lane records that it was occupied by

Edmond Halley Edmond (or Edmund) Halley (; – ) was an English astronomer, mathematician and physicist. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720. From an observatory he constructed on Saint Helena in 1676–77, H ...

, after whom

Halley's Comet Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the on ...

is named.

Residents

Past and present residents of the lane include: *

Emily Benn Emily Sophia Wedgwood Benn (born 4 October 1989) is an English politician. She was an unsuccessful Parliamentary candidate in both the 2010 and 2015 UK general elections. At the 2014 local elections, Benn was elected to the West Thornton ward o ...

- Labour Parliamentary candidate. *

- English Astronomer Royal known for computing the orbit of Halley's Comet.

Local Legends

Local legend claims that, during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist caval ...

gathered volunteers here for an unsuccessful mounted raid on a Parliamentarian pay train. The reports of the sound of clattering hooves and men in armour here have been linked to this legend via

Stone Tape The Stone Tape Theory is the speculation that ghosts and hauntings are analogous to tape recordings, and that mental impressions during emotional or traumatic events can be projected in the form of energy, "recorded" onto rocks and other items ...

theory. A phantom horse and carriage was reported here by ''Isis'' on 5 June 1968.

References

External links

Oxford Walks: Inner circuit
— From Broad Street to

Merton Street Merton Street is a historic and picturesque cobbled street in central Oxford, England.

{{coord, 51, 45, 16, N, 1, 15, 12, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Streets in Oxford New College, Oxford Hertford College, Oxford Reportedly haunted locations in South East England