Oxford - Part 3 : Outer

Our final visit to Oxford takes in all the clocks that can be found outside of the city centre.

The Oxford History Centre is on Cowley Road, at its junction with the wonderfully named Between Towns Road. The building was originally St Luke's church, built by Lord Nuffield for the workers at the nearby Cowley car factory.

The hands are a bit tarnished, but overall I like this clock.

Templars Square shopping centre is on Between Towns Road. As these places go it is quite nice, probably because it is relatively small and is light and airy. It was opened in 1965, when it was known as the Cowley Centre.

The blue and silver clock stands out nicely against the white beams of the roof structure, and overall is rather pleasing.

Back on Cowley Road, although in the picture below we are sneaking up from the other side, is St Mary's and St John's church, built in 1875-83.

Still on Cowley Road (and it is a long way from the History Centre to here), we find Crown House.

Not a lot to say about this building or its clock really. It is there. Have a look if you are passing. But I wouldn't suggest going out of your way to find it.

And don't rely on all of the clock faces to give you the right time.

 

Out to the north of the city now, to the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies on Woodstock Road. This was originally the church of St Philip and St James, consecrated in 1862.

 

Woodstock Road runs north out of the city, and runs parallel to Banbury Road for a long distance. Summertown is on this parallel route, where those nipping out for a quick coffee can check the time on this clock on the local branch of Costa.

And just to the south you can check whether you have enough time to buy a new bike at Summertown Cycles.

 

 

Out to the east of the city, the Taylors estate agents is at the junction of London Road and Windmill Road.

 

This next building is sited on James Wolfe Road. From the name of the road (Major General James Wolfe was an 18th century British Army officer - who also gave his name to a long demolished pub near Aston University) and the style of the building, I assume that this was originally a military establishment, but it is now a depot for BT.

A bit of research shows that indeed this building was part of the Cowley Barracks (and the student accommodation facing it still has an underground nuclear bunker).

And finally, Headington School on Headington Road.

This is an independent girls school founded in 1915. The current building dates from 1930.

 

Oxford : Part 2 - inner

The second part of our trip to Oxford takes in all the non-university buildings in the city centre. The "inner" is defined by the larger scale insert on the AZ Street Plan produced by the Geographers' A-Z Map Company Limited.

At the outer edge of the inner bit is The Plain. This is a junction where St Clements Street, Cowley Road and Iffley Road all converge as they enter Oxford just to the east of Magdalene Bridge.

The Plain was made into a roundabout in 1950, enclosing the fountain with its roof and clock tower which dates from 1899. Currently this roundabout in undergoing a major upgrade to improve the safety for cyclists.

The inscription underneath the clock faces reads Lympha cadit, Ruit hora, Sagax bibe, Carpe Fugacem, which translates as the water falls, the hour goes by, be wise and drink, seize the swiftly flying time (or something like that).

Carfax Tower is properly inner inner, at the junction of Cornmarket Street and Queen Street.

The tower is all that remains of St Martin's church, the rest of the building being demolished in 1896.

The drizzly weather made a retreat into the Covered Market a wise move (it was drinking the water at The Plain that gave me inspiration!).

Many indoor markets have a clock hidden somewhere amongst the stalls / shops, and Oxford has its own example by Gents. Nothing flashy or ornate, but it does its job efficiently.

Back outside, it is dry enough to visit Marks and Spencer in Queen Street. This version of the M&S always makes me think of After Eight mints.

The transport network in Oxford has not proved very fruitful for clocks, with nothing to be found at the railway station. The bus station hidden away in Gloucester Green does however provide the quarry I am hunting for.

The bus station is in a poorly accessed site and is very cramped for space. Maybe because of this the clock is mounted very high up and is partially obscured by cctv equipment. Overall this is an appalling piece of design.

The view of the clock is better from the other side, but is still not very useful for people wanting to catch a local bus or the frequent coaches to London. The whole design screams "get out of this town as soon as possible", or for those arriving by public transport "abandon hope all ye who enter".

Lets get back to the nicer parts of Oxford. And look, the sun is shining.

This is the church of St Giles.

A bit further south is the church of St Mary Magdalene.

And continuing southward we come across St Michaels.

 

And finally, yet another church. This is St Barnabas, tucked away from the centre in Cardigan Street.