Category: History

Behind Oxford’s oldest non-religious tower lies a gripping tale of Viking raids, bloody Saxon vengeance, and a town’s fight for survival.

From saints to Trojan myths, uncover how ancient legends and history have entwined through the origins of Oxford.

The city of Oxford hides a chilling secret: the gruesome execution of George Napier and the centuries-old mystery of his missing head.

While the medieval period in England is typically dated from 1066 to 1485, Oxford’s story begins earlier. Let’s first step back into the Early Medieval period, between 410 and 1066.

The history of Oxford’s greatest civil war and how it came to be.

The Bloody Code and the Butcher’s Knife: How 18th Century Justice Turned Murderers into Medical Specimens

Former Castle & Prison Guide Becca Colmer investigates the unpleasant history of the ducking stool.

For almost 1000 years, our Castle mound has loomed over the Oxford skyline, a monument to our Norman roots. However, the castle mound has another name; Hangman’s Hill, a much more disturbing label….

With its centuries-old walls and storied past, Oxford Castle & Prison has long been a beacon for ghost enthusiasts and history buffs alike.

Oxford Castle & Prison has been home to many prisoners over the centuries among them, Helen Craggs a teacher who was to become a Suffragette seeking women’s suffrage. Read about here story here.

Discover how the Victorians used to punish their prisoners and how Oxford Castle & Prison has changed over the years.

A look back on the force, in the words of our very own tour guide, Paul Kyberd…

Oxford Prison eventually closed its doors as a prison in 1996 and remained closed until 2006 when it opened up as a hotel and attraction. In his latest post, former Oxford Police Detective Paul Kyberd shares an aerial view of the prison he remembers…

The old county court in Oxford is the site of one of the most infamous events in the castle’s history. In the latest edition of our ‘On the Record’ blog series, Paul Kyberd reminisces about his experiences in Oxford’s courthouses in his role as an Oxfordshire Police Detective!

Current tour guide and former police detective Paul Kyberd shares another of his memorable stories from his work for Oxfordshire Constabulary. In this blog, Paul shares a particularly memorable time when the Queen visited Oxford.

On Saturday 13^th May, it’s ‘Train Day’ with events taking place throughout the country.  Trains takes my mind back to a robbery that took place in Buckinghamshire in 1963…

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword receives its UK premiere in London’s Leicester Square this evening. But where did the legends of King Arthur really begin? Geoffrey of Monmouth is known to be the first to write down the legends of King Arthur and he did so right here at Oxford Castle!

This Sunday, we celebrate St George’s Day.  St George’s day was celebrated in St George’s Crypt up until the closure of Oxford Prison in 1996. Tour guide and former Oxford police detective Paul Kyberd recounts his memories of past St. George’s Day celebrations.

Here is the second in our ‘On The Record’ blog series with one of our tour guides Paul Kyberd, a former Oxfordshire Constabulary Police Detective. In his blog series, he’ll be sharing stories of his experiences in the police force and his many visits to HMP Oxford Castle during his career. Check out Paul’s introductory blog post to find out more about his policing past. In this post, Paul shares the history of the last Oxford Prison execution…

Paul Kyberd, one of our fantastic tour guides, has a much longer association with the castle prison than just his work with the visitor attraction. Paul worked for over 30 years for the police and has a variety of interesting and captivating tales about his time in the police force and his many dealings with HMP Oxford Castle…

Matilda – Lady of the English
Queen of Ice and Snow

With so much emphasis placed upon Valentines Day across the world, it prompts the question: why?

Oxford Castle has witnessed many Christmases and with December 25^th fast approaching we’ve taken a look at what those Christmases might have been like. If you want to find out even more about this, come to one of our special Christmas at the Castle tours, running from November 26^th to December 18th!

I think it’s fair to say that autumn has arrived and, as the nights start drawing in and the air grows crisper, winter is on its way. This change of the seasons signals that it must be time for us to don our woollies and wellies and stand around a big fire to remember when the King and the entirety of Parliament almost met their demise.

What better time, then, to have a look at the tradition of Bonfire Night?

So you’ve heard all week about the ghostly experiences of our tour guides as they explore the castle and just as we were preparing to wrap up our blog series, the ghosts of Oxford Castle struck again…

We recently held a competition on our Facebook page, asking for our guests to send in their best ghost stories and paranormal experiences at Oxford Castle. The winning story certainly sent chills down our spine…

We’ve been sharing ghost stories from our team all week, which we think shows just how haunted our 1000 year old buildings are!

In the third installment of our Ghosts of Oxford Castle series, we spoke to Gypsy Boswell about her most haunted experience…

Here is the second in our Ghosts of Oxford Castle series, from Mr Holloway…

We got the team together to share our own peculiar experiences of Oxford Castle. In this special blog series, we’ll thrill you with a series of stories in the lead up to Halloween!

As September 7th marks the twenty year anniversary of Oxford Prison’s closure, it seems only right that we take a look back at its history…

The Magna Carta is considered to be one of the most important documents in history. Signed 800 years ago by King John of England, it essentially agrees that everyone, including monarchs, are subject to the Law.

Spare a thought for Oxford Castle prisoners of 1840 whose standard prison diet would make any lent participant’s diet look like a luxury!

You may not consider Oxford Castle to be the most romantic of places, what with its centuries of grime, crime and deadly diseases so you’ll be surprised to hear we’ve had more than our fair share of love stories over our 1000 years.