Swindlestock Tavern

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0><script> (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-47423994-1', 'fortunecity.ws'); ga('send', 'pageview'); </script> <center> <br> <div> <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://ad.broadcaststation.net/ads/show_ad.php?width=728&height=90"></script> </div> </center> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=168 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="069a11c3.gif"> <div> <B>Links</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Visitors Guide to Oxford "><U>home</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Colleges and Halls"><U>Colleges</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Walking tours"><U>walking tours</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Other areas of interest"><U>other places of interest</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFCC" TEXT="#080000"> <div> A Visitors Guide to Oxford </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="068f4010.gif" border=0 width="500" height="1" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Swindlestock Tavern</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="1de07850.jpg" border=0 width="519" height="389" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="15" VSPACE="15"></div> <div> On the site where the Abbey National Building Society now stands on the corner of Queens Street and St. Aldates stood the Swindlestock Tavern, built 1250 and demolished in 1709.</div> <bR> <div> It was in this Tavern in 1353 the St. Scholastica's Day Riots started.  </div> <bR> <div> Some students and priests drinking  in the tavern complained about the quality of the wine being served by the Landlord, John Croiden.  The person leading the complaints was the senior member of the University,  Walter Spranghouse.  After insults were thrown a quart of wine was tipped over the Landlords head.  The situation deteriorated rapidly  and various townsfolk gathered together and rang the bells of St. Martin's church (now Carfax Tower)  to warn other townsfolk, the students in turn  rang the bells of the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin to alert their colleagues and  a tense situation developed.</div> <bR> <div> The next day a pitched battle took place at Beaumont Fields and several students were killed.  About this time approximately 2000 countrymen arrived by the West gate and joined in the fight, going around the town looking for students and priests..  The following day more students were killed and several clergymen were scalped. whilst others were "carrying their entrails in a most lamentable manner".  It took the Royal Guard stationed at what is now Blenheim Palace Woodstock to restore calm with the University winning the power fight and Oxford coming firmly under the control of the University.  As a penance for these riots the Lord Mayor of Oxford was required to make his way on hands and knees to the University Church once a year from his residence at the Town Hall and pay a penance of 1 shilling for every student killed.  This practice only ended in 1825.</div> <bR> <div> This bad blood between town and gown has manifested itself throughout the history of the University, even before the St. Scholastica's Day Riots there had been trouble, in 1205 a woman had been killed by a student and a couple of students had been lynched by the townsfolk  Other students fearing for their lives had run away from Oxford and made their way to the fens of East Anglia to a small place called Cambridge where they set up their own teaching establishments and so the University of Cambridge was born.  It is probably fair to say, therefore, that Cambridge owes its foundation to Oxford..</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id67_as.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Walk 3 South"><U>Return to  Walk</U></A></div> <bR> <div> .</div> </td> </tr></table></body>