St Michael at the Northgate

St Michael at the Northgate is a church in Cornmarket Street, at the junction with Ship Street, central Oxford, England. The church is so-called because this is the location of the original north gate of Oxford when it was surrounded by a city wall. Dating from 1040, it is Oxford's oldest building. The church tower is Saxon.

The Oxford Martyrs were imprisoned in the Bocardo Prison by the church before they were burnt at the stake in what is now Broad Street nearby, then immediately outside the city walls, in 1555 and 1556. Their cell door can be seen on display in the church's tower.

St Michael at the Northgate is the City Church of Oxford. That title was originally held by the Church of St Martin, Carfax, and then by All Saint's, High Street when St Martin's was demolished in 1896. City Church status passed to St Michael's when All Saints was declared redundant in 1971 (it was subsequently converted into the library of Lincoln College, Oxford) [http://www.headington.org.uk/oxon/high/tour/north/allsaints_church.htm] . The parishes of St Martin's and All Saints are now amalgamated with St Michael's.

People

William Morris and Jane Burden (who lived off Holywell Street nearby) were married here on 26 April, 1859. The marriage certificate is on view in the Saxon tower [http://www.10best.com/Oxford/Sights_&_Activities/Historic_Sites/] . John Wesley's pulpit is also on view here.

See also

* St Mary Magdalen, Oxford, to the north
* Anglo-Saxon architecture

External links

* [http://www.smng.org.uk/ St Michael at the Northgate website]
* [http://www.smng.org.uk/see/history.htm A brief history of St Michael at the Northgate Church, Oxford]
* [http://www.oxfordcityguide.com/SeeAndDo/SightSeeing.html Photograph and other information on OxfordCityGuide.com]
* [http://www.mytravelguide.com/attractions/profile-78713605-United_Kingdom_Oxford_St_Michael_at_the_Northgate.html MyTravelGuide.com information]