Partial perambulation of the City Boundary of Oxford in 2021
Lord Mayor Mark Lygo “perambulated” the city boundary of Oxford on Monday 4 October 2021, the first Oxford mayor to do so since Frank Arnold Garside undertook this traditional duty in 1984. It was only a very partial tour, as the city boundary today encompasses such a large area, including Risinghurst to the east, Cutteslowe and Wolvercote to the north, Barton Park to the north-east, and Littlemore and Blackbird Leys to the south. The current city boundary map can be downloaded here.
The only Oxford boundary that has remained much the same for hundreds of years is the one to the west (although it no longer marks the county as well as the city limit), and hence the boundary stone visited was the the one behind The Fishes pub in North Hinksey. There was also a visit to the Free Water Stone on the Thames towpath near Long Bridges, which was historically an obligatory detour.
The Lord Mayor and guests met at the jetty of the Folly Restaurant at Folly Bridge and at 10 a.m. set off in the Golden Slumbers, an electrically propelled Edwardian-style launch provided by Oxford River Cruises. On board were three members of the Oxford Waits band, who provided music on period instruments as the boat sailed along the Thames to Long Bridges. The rest of the group walked along the towpath.
Here is the boat coming into land beside the Free Water Stone:
Traditionally there was a ritual challenge to authority at this stone in the form of a lord of misrule or mock mayor, known originally as the King or Judge of Slovens Hall and later as the King of Slavonia or of the Slavonians/Sclavonians: he was usually a waterman, as was the case with John Bossom, pictured here in 1892. While all the other boundary stones on the route were at the edge of the city's land (marking the area within which only those who were Freemen could trade), this stone related to their rights on the river: the free waters to the north of this stone were inside the city and could only be fished by Freemen. The current stone is dated 1786 on the back, and replaced an earlier stone.
In 2021 there was a Queen of the Sclavonians instead of a King, namely Susanna Pressel, City and County Councillor and the Vice-Chair of Oxfordshire County Council, and she was waiting at the Free Water Stone for the Lord Mayor's arrival by boat:
Below: Caroline Butler of the Oxford Waits sings a song to the Queen of the Sclavonians that was composed by Henry Taunt after he observed the ceremony in 1892. The Lord Mayor and the two other Oxford Waits (Edwin Pritchard and Tim Healey) are looking on:
The boat then returned with the Lord Mayor, guests, and musicians to the jetty at the Folly Restaurant, where refreshments were provided:
Most of the participants including the Lord Mayor then walked from Folly Bridge to North Hinksey through the fields alongside the Hogacre Ditch:
The Lord Mayor Mark Lygo climbed over the stile to North Hinksey, wearing his robes and the mayoral chain.
Fortunately there were no mishaps such as the one that occurred in 1892, when the Mayor's punt in the River Cherwell near Marston, and the precious city mace of 1660 had to be retrieved from the bottom of the river. The Mayor was then Frederick William Ansell, and his grandson attended the 2021 perambulation.
The group then reached The Fishes restaurant in North Hinksey. Here outside the entrance is Tim Healey of the Oxford Waits playing the shawm, with Howard Crapper, Chair of the Freemen of Oxford, on the left and Mark Davies, local historian and author, on the right:
The group then went down into the back garden of The Fishes to view the boundary stone on the Hinksey stream (right) that was specially installed when the Oxford city boundaries were last inspected (by Frank Garside in 1984). More details about that stone can be found here.
This marked the end of the 2021 partial perambulation.
Press release about this perambulation
Oxford City Council: “Lord Mayor of Oxford to participate in first
city boundaries ceremony since 1984”
Oxfordshire Live:
“Ancient Oxford ceremony revived for first time since the eighties”
(film of the Lord Mayor's speech on the pontoon at the start of the ceremony)
Mark Davies's illustrated booklet What a Liberty! Memorable Moments along Oxford's Ancient Ridden Boundaries, published by the Museum of Oxford, is availble for sale at that museum