Oriel Square, formerly known as Canterbury Square, Hibbert, Christopher, ''The Encyclopedia of Oxford''. London: Pan Macmillan, 1988, pp. 295–296. . is a square in central

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 ...

, located south of the

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

. The name was changed after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

at the request of Oriel College which maintained that the square had originally been known as Oriel Square.

Location

To the east at the southern end is the cobbled Merton Street and to the north are

King Edward Street King Edward Street is a street running between the High Street to the north and Oriel Square to the south in central Oxford, England. On the east side of the street is the "Island" site of Oriel College, one of the colleges of Oxford Uni ...

and

Oriel Street Oriel Street is a narrow but historic street running between the High Street, Oxford, High Street to the north and Oriel Square to the south in central Oxford, England. The street is now blocked off to traffic by bollards at the High Street en ...

. To the west at the northern end is Bear Lane. Oriel College, one of the older colleges of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, fronts onto the square to the east. Canterbury Gate of Christ Church also backs onto the square. The street is officially designated as part of the A420 due to the blockage of the High Street to normal traffic. To the north it continues as King Edward Street and to the east it continues as Merton Street.

Oriel Square tennis court __NOTOC__ The Oriel Square tennis court was a real tennis court that was located in Oriel Square, central Oxford, England. The ''Liber Albus'' mentions the Oriel court being in Vinehall Lane in 1577.Crossley, Alan (editor), 'Social and Cultural ...

was a former

real tennis Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United Sta ...

court. The only active court left in Oxford is the

Merton Street tennis court Merton Street tennis court is the home of the Oxford University Real Tennis Club. It stands on the north side of Merton Street in central Oxford, England, and forms part of Merton College. There has been a tennis court in Oxford since 1450 and ...

nearby. The television crime series ''

Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John ...

'' used the square as a location in the episodes "The Dead of Jericho", "Last Seen Wearing", "The Ghost in the Machine", "Infernal Serpent", "Absolute Conviction", "Deadly Slumber" and "The Daughters of Cain".Richards, Antony and Attwell, Philip, ''The Oxford of Inspector Morse''. Irregular Special Press, Cambridge, 2006, p.41. . Oriel Square is the setting for a poem by Sir John Betjeman titled "On an Old-Fashioned Water-Colour of Oxford".

Gallery

File:Oriel Square for King Edward Street Oxford.jpg, Looking towards Oriel College in Oriel Square, from

. File:Oriel College Main Gate.jpg, The main entrance of Oriel College in Oriel Square.

References

External links

* Squares in Oxford Christ Church, Oxford Oriel College, Oxford {{Oxfordshire-geo-stub