St Michael at the North Gate
| St Michael at the North Gate | |
|
Oxford, Oxfordshire | |
|---|---|
 The Saxon tower of St Michael at the North Gate | |
| Church of England | |
| Diocese of Oxford | |
| Location | |
| Address: | Cornmarket Street |
| History | |
| Anglo-Saxon | |
| Information | |
| Website: | www.smng.org.uk |
St Michael at the North Gate is an ancient church standing on Cornmarket Street in Oxford, at the junction with Ship Street, in the centre of the city. Its tower is the oldest building in Oxford, and one of the oldest in Oxfordshire: it was built in the Anglo-Saxon era, between 1000 and 1050.
The name of the church derives from the church's location on the site of the north gate of Oxford when it was surrounded by a city wall.
Since 1971, St Michael’s has served as the ceremonial City Church of Oxford, and has joined the parishes of the two earlier City Churches with its own.
The Saxon tower of the church is accessible to the public, all the way to the top, which provides a view over the city. Inside one may see an original clock mechanism, still in working order.
Contents
History
The church was originally built around 1000 to 1050, with the tower, from 1040, still standing. The church thus claims to be Oxford's oldest building.[1] It was constructed of Coral Rag.[2] The church tower is Anglo-Saxon,[3] while the north aisle and transept were rebuilt in 1833 by the architect John Plowman.[3]
The Oxford Martyrs – Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, and Bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, were imprisoned in the Bocardo Prison by the church before they were burnt at the stake in what is now Broad Street nearby, then immediately outside the city walls, in 1555 and 1556. Their cell door can be seen on display in the church's tower.
William Morris and Jane Burden (who lived offHolywell Street nearby) were married here on 25 April 1859.[4] The marriage certificate is on view in the Saxon tower. John Wesley's pulpit is also on view here.
Traditions
St Michael at the North Gate is the current City Church of Oxford,[5] which is the church where the Mayor and Corporation of Oxford are expected to worship.[6] The title was originally held by St Martin's Church at Carfax, and then by All Saints' Church in the High Street after St Martin's Church was demolished (except for its tower) in 1896. City Church status passed to St Michael's when All Saints' Church was declared redundant in 1971 and was subsequently converted into the library of Lincoln College.[7] The parishes of St Martin's and All Saints are now amalgamated with St Michael's.
A ceremony, called "beating the bounds", is held each year on Ascension Day to mark out the boundary of the parish. Led by the vicar, parishioners process around the old boundary stones of the parish; the vicar places a cross in chalk on each, and then church wardens hit the stones with wands made of willow, shouting "Mark, mark, mark!" as they do so.[8]
According to Margaret Murray (writing 1934), there was a sheela na gig figure at St Michael at the North Gate which had a tradition of being shown to brides on their wedding day.[9]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about St Michael at the North Gate) |
- St Michael at the North Gate
- National Heritage List 1185714: Church of St Michael (Grade I listing)
- 360° panorama inside the church
References
- ↑ St Michael at the North Gate, Oxford, Sacred Destinations.
- ↑ "Strategic Stone Study: A Building Stone Atlas of Oxfordshire". English Heritage. March 2011. https://www.bgs.ac.uk/downloads/start.cfm?id=1617.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, 1974 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09639-2page 295
- ↑ Morris, Jan (1988). "In Art". Oxford. Oxford University Press. p. 219. ISBN 978-0192820655. https://books.google.com/books?id=b2dqQAkkSnAC&pg=PA219.
- ↑ St Michael at the Northgate: City Church of Oxford 1971–present, Oxford History.
- ↑ The City Church, Oxford, Mayors of Oxford.
- ↑ All Saints' Church. Oxford History.
- ↑ Clayton, Indya (31 May 2019). "Beating of the bounds still going strong in Oxford city centre". Oxford Mail. https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/17675639.beating-of-the-bounds-still-going-strong-in-oxford-city-centre/.
- ↑ Murray, Margaret (1934). "Female Fertility Figures". Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute LXIV.
