Oxford Murder Mystery Tour… And that sweet city with her dreaming spires…

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Welcome to the city of Oxford – a city so steeped in history that every corner has a fascinating tale to tell. The city of dreaming spires is hiding a deep, dark secret, though, and Inspector Morse needs your help. Join us on this most leisurely of murder cases as you amble down its cobbled streets past some of its thirty eight colleges, punt along the River Cherwell and laze for a while in its grassy meadows. Grab some comfy shoes and a picnic, and keep your eyes peeled. Some of our suspectsare going to be hard to find – and most of them are already dead – but one of them is a murderer whose story you need to unravel. Good luck, secret agents!

The Suspects:

Oxford is a very expensive city to park in, especially if you intend on spending a whole day here. The Park and Ride service is superb – five car parks situated around the city’s perimeter offer free all dayparking, and buses shuttle in and out of the city centre frequently. Children travel free with a fee paying adult, and a return ticket is around £3.

Alice Liddell (1852 – 1934) J.R.R Tolkien (1892 – 1973) Jane Morris née Burden (1839 – 1914)

Lewis Carroll (1832 – 1898) Sir Christopher Wren (1632 – 1723)

Mary Blandy (1720 – 1752)

Bill Clinton (1946 ‐) Thomas Cranmer (1489 – 1556)

Michelangelo Simoni (1475 – 1564)

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

1. Carfax Tower

The starting point for our murder enquiries is Carfax Tower in the very centre of Oxford. Most buses pass the Carfax tower and it’s a ten minute walk from the railway station. Whichever way you arrive in Oxford, the Carfax Tower is a useful landmark, overlooking the crossroads where the four main streets of the city centre meet: St Aldates, High Street, Queen Street and Cornmarket Street. If you’re feeling energetic, you might fancy climbing the tower’s 99 steps for a superb view of those ‘dreaming spires’. Admission is £2.30 for adults and £1.20 for children.

2. St Aldates

From Carfax Tower, head south down St. Aldates. The largest college in Oxford, Christ Church, willbe on your left. Marvel at the impressive bell tower at the main entrance to the college, known as Tom Tower – a familiar shape on the Oxford skyline and the first port‐of‐call in your enquiries. Who might suspect one be, and how are they connected with Tom Tower?

Don’t worry if you can’t work it out just yet – you may find some answers very shortly. Continue down St. Aldates and before you reach the tall gates to Christ Church Meadow, look for your second suspect in a shop somewhere across the road from the meadow gates. Can you see her?

Carfax Tower

Suspect One is:

Suspect Two is:

Tom Tower, Christ Church College

3. Christ Church Meadow

On passing through the gates to Christ Church Meadow, take some time to study the information board on your right as you come through the gates – this might give you some ideas about suspects one, two and three!

Christ Church is a popular location for making movies and has been used extensively in the Harry Potter films. Hogwarts Hall was even modelled on The Great Hall at Christ Church, although the college portraits are slightly less ‘animated’ than those at Hogwarts!

Enjoy a stroll through Christ Church Meadow, taking the straight path towards the River Cherwell. Avoid the path to the left, which perimeters the cricket ground ‐ known as Dead Man’s Walk – and when you reach the river, head left. Dead Man’s Walk acquired its unfortunate alias when it used to form part of the funeral processions between the Synagogue and the Jewish burial ground.

The Meadow is a lovely spot for a picnic in the summer months, so now might be a good moment to unpack the picnic rug and some sandwiches, while you plan your next move.

Suspect Three is:

Punting on the River Cherwell

Whose favourite tree was this?

4. Botanic Gardens

Head left towards the tall iron gates, exiting Christ Church Meadow. The Meadow gates are locked at dusk, so make sure you don’t stay too late!

Pass through the gates onto Rose Lane and walk past Merton College, on your left. When you reach the busy High Street (which leads back up towards Carfax Tower) turn right, and take the steps down to the Oxford Botanic Gardens, where suspect four might be found sitting under a large tree, writing.

Admission to the Botanic Gardens is £4.50 for adults and free for children – you can either go in for a full visit or ask the reception staff for help with this clue.

You can leave the Botanic Gardens with a spring in your step ‐ with four of the nine suspects eliminated from your enquiries you can afford to take some time out. Feel free to head further right towards Magdalen Bridge ‐ the location of dawn celebrations every May Bank Holiday ‐ and take a punt out for an hour (£18‐£20). If you want to stay hot on the trail of our murderer, however, cross High Street and make your way back towards the City Centre and Carfax, taking a right down Queen’s Lane. Look out for The Grand Café on the other side of the road – England’s oldest Coffee House and home to a fine afternoon tea, if the mood takes you.

Suspect Four is:

Bridge of Sighs.The entrance to ‘Hell Passage’ is just seen, between the yellow brick and the red brick buildings.

Oxford Gargoyles

5. Queen’s Lane

Follow the bends in Queen’s Lane and watch out for cyclists as Queen’s Lane turns into New College Lane. Some impressive gargoyles stare out from the tops of the New College buildings – not to be missed!

A discreet alleyway on the right named St. Helen’s Passage (also known as ‘Hell Passage’) is your next port of call. This tiny lane (keep your elbows in) leads to the famous Turf Tavern, a 13th century ale house. If you’ve spotted suspect five on your way down St. Helen’s Passage, you might find time for a celebratory drink while you ponder over the identity of suspect six. The Turf was apparently his favourite pub whilst studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford.

Suspect Five is:

Suspect Six is:

Radcliffe Camera

6. Hell Passage (St. Helen’s Passage)

Head out of St. Helen’s Passage the way you came, and turn right at the end. Pass under the iconic Bridge of Sighs, a skyway joining New College with Hertford College, and onto Radcliffe Square. Take a left towards the impressive domed Radcliffe Camera ‐ a physics library and another key feature of the iconic Oxford skyline, then take a turn around Radcliffe Square to admire the Camera from all angles (mind your step on those cobbles!) and back onto Catte Street.

Continue up Catte Street past the Bodleian Library – one of the oldest libraries in Europe – and set aside some time to peer at the funny faces staring down from above.

7. Broad Street

At the crossroads, head left down Broad Street, where a cross is marked in white cobbles on the road outside the entrance to Balliol College. Find the cross (watch out for those bicycles zooming past) and then continue along Broad Street, taking a right hand turn up Magdalen Street East. Head for the Martyr’s Memorial where you will find out who suspect six was and what happened to them on this spot in 1555.

Suspect Seven is:

Oxford Castle and Prison

8. The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology

From the Martyr’s Memorial, look out for the famous Randolph Hotel (which has a bar named after Inspector Morse inside) across the road, and head for the Ashmolean Museum which faces the Randolph, also on Beaumont Street. The work of suspect seven can be found hanging in the Ashmolean – entry is free, and the curators might be able to help you with your search.

9. Oxford Castle

You’ve nearly solved it! Exit the Ashmolean and turn right onto Beaumont Street, towards Worcester College at the end of the road. Turn left at the end of the road and continue along to New Road and on towards Oxford Castle, built in 1071 for William the Conqueror to enable the Normans to defend the area. A prison built within the castle grounds housed criminals up until1996 and played host to public executions until 1863. Turn right into the Oxford Castle Quarter where the castle ruins are now part of a hotel and restaurant. But who was hanged outside the castle on Easter Monday, 1752?

Congratulations, secret agents! You have eliminated all eight suspects and discovered the identity of our murderer, covering over two miles of the city’s most prominent landmarks – and unearthing many fascinating stories ‐ in the process.

Oxford Castle Quarter is the perfect spot to celebrate closing your first case. Take your pick of bars and restaurants and enjoy a well deserved rest. Until next time!

Suspect Eight is:

The Murderer is:

Answers

Suspect One:

Suspect Two:

Suspect Three:

Suspect Four:

Suspect Five:

Suspect Six:

Suspect Seven:

Suspect Eight:

Murderer:

Famous architect Sir Christopher Wren, designed Tom Tower (built 1681‐1682)

Alice Liddell, daughter of the Dean of Christ Church College, was thought to be the inspiration for Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll (also known as Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) studied at Christ Church and befriended the family of the current Dean of Christ Church, Henry Liddell (Alice’s father)

J.R.R Tolkien was a professor at Merton and Pembroke Colleges in Oxford, and would spend time sitting and writing under his favourite tree in the Botanic Gardens

Jane Morris, embroiderer, Pre‐Raphaelite muse and wife to artist William Morris was born in a slum house on St. Helen’s Passage in 1839

Bill Clinton, former President of the USA frequented The Turf Tavern during his Oxford days, where he was famously alleged to have smoked cigarettes but ‘never inhaled’

Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, was burnt at the stake along with fellow Protestant martyrs Nicholas Ridley (Bishop of London) and Hugh Latimer (Bishop of Worcester) at the request of Roman Catholic Queen Mary at this spot, marked in the road with a cross made of white cobbles, in 1555.

Some of Michelangelo’s work hangs in the Ashmolean Museum or Art and Archaeology, including part of an unfinished canvas thought to depict (and known as) The Holy Family with St. John the Baptist.

Mary Blandy was a well‐respected lady living in nearby Henley‐on‐Thames, who poisoned her father in 1751 in an attempt to be with the man she loved. On trial, Mary claimed that she thought the arsenic she put in her father’s food was a love potion that would encourage her father’s blessing of her relationship with William Cranstoun. She alleged that William had sent her the ‘potion’, with directions for dosage, from his home in Scotland. She was publicly hanged outside Oxford Prison in 1752.