Post-medieval Oxford - Oxford City Council

however, the extent of modern disturbance made any further investigation into the
site impossible.
Nixon's Free Grammar School
Nixon's Free Grammar School opened in 1659 behind the Guildhall (Loggan's Map of
Oxford 1673). It was established by John Nixon, a former mayor. The school closed
in 1894 (VCH iv). The building was demolished for the new Town Hall (UAD 148),
although the gateway was moved to 94 Woodstock Road (UAD 1284).
Legal and penal administration
During the early post-medieval period, the centre of County Administration remained
at the Castle, where the Sheriff held courts and the assizes met. The sheriff’s hall or
shire hall was abandoned after an outbreak of gaol fever known as the ‘Black
Assizes’ in 1577 when the courts were transferred to the Oxford Guildhall and the
Castle site sold to Christ Church, with the agreement that it should remain in use as
the prison. The ruins of the shire hall survived (and remained in use for the hustings
at county elections); and parts of its structure may have been encountered during the
1999-2005 Castle precinct excavations (Poore,Norton and Dodd 2009: 14). Following
the demolition of the old gildhall in 1750, a joint town and shire hall was built in St
Aldates. A separate County Hall was built in the Castle in 1841.
Castle prison
By the 14 th century, the Castle was already primarily used as a prison comprising of
buildings in the western part of the precinct near St George’s Tower. Formalised by
Act of Parliament in 1531, the Castle became the county gaol. Loggan’s map of 1675
depicts several enclosed areas near the Tower. Conditions in the prison were
sufficiently bad to warrant a major phase of rebuilding in the late 18 th century when
the old structures were largely removed. The prison was almost completely rebuilt in
the 1780s, to a three block pavilion plan designed by William Blackburn. The
buildings were located to the south of the Castle motte comprising a central structure
and two separate wings to the north-east, adjoining St George’s Tower and southwest
enclosed by a wall with the gatehouse to the north (Brodie et al. 2002: 49-50).
Archaeological investigations at Borehams Yard (UAD 378) recorded evidence for
the foundations of the 18 th century prison wall (Booth et al. 2003). A section of the
wall some 12 metres in length was exposed and recorded as truncating much of the
earlier medieval deposits (ibid.: 391). Recent archaeological investigations at the
Castle between 1999 and 2004 (Norton 2006a) have revealed evidence for the
prison including a number of 16 th -18 th century inhumations within the castle ditch
immediately east of the mound (ibid.: 12). The investigations recorded a total of 64
post-medieval inhumations close to the location of the gallows, with evidence for their
use by the university anatomists.
The Bocardo Prison
The town prison, known as the Bocardo, was located at the Northgate from at least
13th century onwards and demolished in 1771. Foundations which are likely to
belong to the structure were located during excavations in 1906 and 1998 (Salter
1912; Oxford Archaeological Unit 2001c; Booth 1999). The gate and prison are
depicted in a drawing by John Malchair in 1771 (UAD 63).
City goal, Gloucester Green
A new town prison was built at Gloucester Green c.1789, although this failed to
maintain good conditions and various improvements were made in the mid-19 th
century. The octagonal prison building was surrounded by a substantial 6 metre high
wall, the remains of which were seen during a watching brief in 1987. The watching
OXFORD ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCE ASSESSMENT- POST MEDIEVAL
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