Magpie Lane, Oxford
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Magpie Lane is a very narrow historic lane in central Oxford, England. It leads south from the High Street where it is at its narrowest, now completely pedestrianised as a pavement, and north from the cobbled Merton Street.
To the west is Oriel College (including the Rhodes building of 1910 at the northern end) and to the east is University College, two of the oldest Oxford colleges. On the north-east corner there is a 1902 house, now the Quod restaurant. A small cul-de-sac street, Kybald Street, leads off Magpie Lane at the southern end to the east, giving access to the rear of University College.
South from Merton Street, the lane continues as Merton Grove (or Grove Passage) between Merton College to the east and Corpus Christi College to the west, giving pedestrian access via railinged gates to Christ Church Meadows. The building in the south-western corner of Merton College is also called Grove. The name perhaps derives because this area used to be an orchard.
[edit] History
The lane was disreputatable the 13th century, when it was known as Grope Lane or even Gropecunt Lane. In the 17th century, it was named Magpie Lane because of an alehouse in the lane that used a magpie as a sign. By the late 19th century, the lane was known as Grove Street but by the late 1920s the name was changed back to Magpie Lane.
The houses between Kybald Street and Merton Street were demolished in the 1960s by Corpus Christi College to provide space for more modern student accommodation.
[edit] See also
- Magpie Lane, an Oxford-based folk music group
