More Secret Tunnels of Oxford

A further dive into the tunnels beneath the city of Oxford commencing with a scary old railway tunnel at Horspath used by bats and raves. Then, on to Cuckoo Lane, part of which was sunken to preserve the view from a mansion called Headington House. Also an underground passageway to allow the choir of Magdalen College School to safely walk to Magdalen College Tower to sing in the summer on May Morning. And further up the road Rob attempts to locate a tunnel said to join the cellars of two pubs on the High Street: the Mitre and the Chequers.
We then move on to the centre of Oxford where the old Jewish Quarter is claimed to have sat above a complex of tunnels beneath the Town Hall in St Aldates, and other ancient buildings in Carfax and Queen Street. After that comes the recent discovery of a tunnel beneath Bulwarks Lane, and finally we visit Oxford Castle where the old prison, now the luxury Malmaison Hotel, is linked by tunnels to the 19th century courtrooms in the nearby building of the Old County Hall on New Road. Prisoners were marched along these damp and dark tunnels for trial and sentencing, then returned to their cramped cells.
With previous videos of the Trill Mill Stream tunnel and the tunnels beneath the University’s Bodleian Library, this may complete Rob Walters’ exploration of the dark and hidden, subterranean world of Oxford.

[@MrTorleon]

Thank you Rob for another interesting video of the less well known aspects of Oxford. I knew of one or two of the tunnels mentioned, but others are a complete surprise. Regarding Cuckoo Lane and it`s preservation, would that be due to any connection with it being an historic Public Rights of Way ?? In various parts of the country, housing developers have been required to preserve these public footpaths, to much annoyance on their part, as they are a crucial connection to the countries heritage - and thank goodness too :)
Thank you !!!!!

[@RobsOxford]

Interesting response, thanks. I wonder if the owner of Heading House, Wootten-Wootten, tried to have the right of way removed, was refused and therefore buried it??

[@MrTorleon]

That is a possibility.During the housing boom immediately following WW2, many Public Footpaths were ignored and built over. I know of one, in the Wirral Peninsula where a developer planned to build a housing estate. However, the pathway, known by the local community as' The Monks Path ' brought on the developer heavy historical evidence, a trackway originating at the monastery of Jarrow, and through the Wirral, connecting it to the destination of Holy Isle,Anglesy, then ship to Ireland.
My last visit was in the 1980`s and within the Roman grid plan of roads, there runs diagonally one road, which follows the Monks Path, on to Llandican Lane ( note the Welsh spelling ) then on to a crossing point on the River Dee !!!!!!!!!! @@RobsOxford