4km Oxford Cycle Route: Oxford City Statues and Sculptures

This cycling route takes you past some of the city centre’s statues and sculptures you wouldn’t normally see or notice if someone had not pointed them out to you. That’s what we’re here for!

You can rent a bike with Bainton Bikes, Brompton Bikes, Byke, or Pony. If you have your own bicycle, you can use Parkopedia to find parking.

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Martyr’s Cross and Martyr’s Memorial represent the burning at the stake of three Protestants who were tried for going against the established beliefs and customs of Catholicism. The three Protestants, Church of England Bishops Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer, were tried at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, not far from here on High Street, in 1555 and 1556. The cross down the road on Broad Street marks the actual place of the stake where the Martyr’s Memorial was to be built originally; however, it would be too impractical, hence its current placement.

Ride down Magdalen Street East towards Broad Street, National Cycle Route 51, and turn left. As you turn right into Turl Street, look up to your left where you will see Another Time II. Be sure you’re out of the way of traffic and standing still when you do this. Turn right into Ship Street which becomes St Michael’s Street, turning left at Wesley Memorial Methodist Church, New Inn Hall Street.

Another Time II is a 2.1-metre-tall statue created by the same sculptor, Antony Gormley, of Newcastle’s iconic Angel of the North. Another Time II is one of a series of statues moulded from Gormley’s own body and weighs half a ton… Placed here after an anonymous donation in 2009, Another Time II has been keeping a watchful eye over the city ever since. Another Time II is one of 100 statues and is scattered across the world as far as Kunisaki Japan. Gormley describes these statues as “an attempt to bear witness to what it is like to be alive and alone in space and time.”

After 150 metres, you will reach Bonn Square where you will see the Tirah Memorial and the Knowledge and Understanding statue in Bonn Square. You will need to climb up a few stairs to see them. Cross through the Square, then turn right towards New Road passing the County Hall.

Tirah Memorial serves as a war memorial to remember those who fought on the Tirah Expedition and Punjab Frontier Campaign. The soldiers inscribed on this memorial died in 1897 and 1898, and the memorial was unveiled in 1900. This was also Oxford’s first war memorial, with a 6-metre deep foundation built on what was a graveyard. The human remains that were removed as a result of the foundation were moved to Osney Cemetery.

The City of Bonn in Germany gifted the “Knowledge and Understanding” statue. These statues symbolise the link between the two university cities when Oxford reached out to Germany after the war to build a friendship and exchange knowledge and grievances. You can see these values engraved on the title side of the books in English and German: Knowledge, Understanding, Friendship, Trust, Wissen, Verständigung, Freundschaft, Vertrauen. These books were cast in bronze from real books.

After 300 metres, New Road becomes Park End Street. Continue for another 160 metres, taking the 2nd exit at the roundabout to ride along Fridewswide Square. Cross over Becket Street onto the cyclists’ pathway, turning right at the parking lot to go up the ramp onto and over the short bridge. Turn right past the bicycle parking station and turn left onto Loverose Way (ride along the middle pathway so you aren’t riding against traffic) to see The Ox on your right. You can do a clockwise roundabout to get a closer look if you’d like.

Olivia Musgrave created The Ox, which took six months to complete, including three months for casting. The English Longhorn, the oldest breed in the nation, served as the model for the Ox (not like the one on Wall Street). The Ox is said to be crossing a body of water, a nod to the origin of the city’s name. It is hopefully difficult to vandalize because it is cast in bronze, which is extremely tough to damage and shatter.

Continue along the designated cyclist pathway to the right of the car park, turning right and then left onto Stable Close. Turn left onto Rewley Road and follow the curve onto and over the short bridge. Turn right onto the first pathway and follow its curves that cross Castle Mill Stream. Turn right onto and over Isis Lock Footbridge. You may want to walk your bike on both these bridges, out of the way of pedestrians. After about 450 metres, turn left onto Hythe Bridge Street, then left again on Worcester Street. Turn right onto Beaumont Street, and just on your left at the corner, you will see the Beaumont Palace Commemorative Plaque hidden behind a few bushes.

Sadly hidden behind bushes, the Beaumont Palace Commemorative Plaque has the following inscription:

NEAR TO THIS SITE
STOOD THE KING’S HOUSES
LATER KNOWN AS
BEAUMONT PALACE

KING RICHARD I
WAS BORN HERE IN 1157
AND KING JOHN IN 1167

You may recognise the two names listed here as Lionheart and Lackland. Beyond the North Gate was once a Norman Palace, where Henry II lived. Oxford was a special place for Henry II, who frequented the area for hunting trips and courtships. In the early days of his reign, he allowed some exemptions and privileges for the people of the town and instated the Royal Charter, which permanently changed Oxford’s history.

This was also the birthplace of his sons King Richard I and King John. Two siblings who could not be more opposite; one a hero, the other, a villain. Sadly, not much remains of Beaumont Place as it was repurposed into a Carmelite friary, then broken down for use as building materials for colleges.

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Resources:

If you enjoyed this route, see our North-South Cycle route

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Download the GPX file here.

Information gathered from various sources, including Wikipedia.