The Bridge Of Sigh

Look for the pale stone bridge overhead: an enclosed, curved skyway with rows of windows and a carved coat of arms set into its face.

Its proper name is Hertford Bridge, and it links Hertford College’s old and new quads - meaning its college courtyards - across New College Lane. Oxford borrowed the nickname “Bridge of Sighs” from Venice, though that is rather optimistic branding. A favorite legend claims college officials closed the bridge because Hertford students were the heaviest in Oxford and needed extra exercise on the stairs. Nice story, completely false... and backwards, too, because skipping the bridge actually means fewer stairs, not more. Sir Thomas Jackson designed much of the architecture here, and the bridge opened in nineteen fourteen, despite New College objecting to it. If you glance at your screen, you can see how it stitches the two college sides together. The south side holds offices, the north mostly student rooms, and the bridge remains open to college members. It’s even Grade two listed, meaning the law protects it as historically important.

Oxford does love turning a practical shortcut into a local legend. When you’re ready, continue on to the Bodleian Library.