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Oxford city walls are a scheduled ancient monument comprising the defensive fortifications that once enclosed the medieval city of Oxford. The walls were substantially constructed during the late Saxon period, with major development and reinforcement occurring in the Norman and medieval periods, particularly from the eleventh century onwards. Fragmentary sections of the original stone walls survive today, incorporated into later buildings and streetscapes, including notable portions near the city gates and along the eastern perimeter. These fortifications served to protect the growing settlement during a period of increasing urbanisation and strategic importance, though much of the original circuit has been lost to urban development over subsequent centuries.
Oxford city walls is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1003648. View the official record →
Oxford city walls are a scheduled ancient monument comprising the defensive fortifications that once enclosed the medieval city of Oxford.
Oxford city walls is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1003648.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Romano-British pottery site, prehistoric ring-ditches and enclosures, including medieval ridge and furrow, Lower Farm, Nuneham Courtenay (6.3 km), Garsington village cross (7.4 km), Settlement site E of Goose Acre Farm (8.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Oxford city walls's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Oxford city walls stands on Kellaways Formation And Oxford Clay Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Oxfordian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.