Look straight ahead for a lively, wide pedestrian street lined with busy shops and a mix of modern storefronts and historic timbered buildings-Cornmarket is the stretch bustling with shoppers and topped with the distant square tower of St Michael at the North Gate.
Welcome to the beating heart of Oxford-Cornmarket Street! Take a moment to soak it all in: the chattering crowds, the shuffling footsteps, the mix of inviting shop windows and ancient stonework. If you listen closely, underneath the hum of today’s shoppers, you might almost catch the echoes of traders haggling, the clatter of wagon wheels, or perhaps the comforting tap of a photographer setting up his gear in days long gone.
But corn, you ask? There’s no corn in sight! That’s because “Cornmarket” never sold vegetables-it was actually the trading place for cereal grains back in the day, known by locals as “The Corn.” Today, it’s a major shopping street and a pedestrian heaven, teeming with stores, buskers, and hungry pigeons hoping for a dropped sandwich crumb or two.
On your left is the alleyway to Golden Cross, a secret world of glittering jewellers and quirky craft shops, almost like stepping into a jewelry box tucked away from the crowd. And on the right is the Clarendon Shopping Centre, which wraps around in an L-shape, offering enough retail temptation to test even the strongest wills.
Now, not everything here is shiny and new. Pause by the famous 14th-century timbered building on the corner of Ship Street-the sole survivor of a medieval inn called the New Inn, dating back to 1386. That’s about 100 years older than the first “official” playing cards in England! Today it’s part of Jesus College and stands as a remarkable slice of history peeking out between the pizza shops.
But Cornmarket’s story isn’t all glory… In fact, in 2002, the street was voted Britain’s second worst! The reason? A botched repaving job turned the street into a giant cracked jigsaw. The company doing it went out of business, leaving everyone in a bit of a pickle until things were sorted (and repaved, again) the next year.
This colourful street was once home to Boswells, Oxford’s largest department store, since 1738, and to Henry Taunt, a photographer whose shop caught more of Oxford’s soul than any Instagram filter ever could. If walls could talk, they’d whisper about Zac’s waterproofs, old hotels with Norman cellars, and Woolworth’s grand schemes-some wonderful, some less so!
As you wander further, look ahead to St Michael at the North Gate, the oldest building in Oxford, still standing tall and watching the centuries roll by. Just imagine: above your head once hung the city’s old north gate, and just down the street was Bocardo Prison, where the Oxford Martyrs spent their final days.
Cornmarket isn’t just a shopping street; it’s history, hustle, and a pinch of drama all rolled into one. Now, onwards-try not to be distracted by the sweet smell of pastries from the Covered Market just nearby!
