Dead Man's Walk, Oxford

Dead Man's Walk at the northern side of Merton Field with Merton College on the left and Magdalen Tower in the distance.

Dead Man's Walk (or Deadman's Walk^[1]) is a footpath running east–west in central Oxford, England, situated immediately to the south of Merton College and just outside the old city wall, with Corpus Christi College at the western end.^[2][3] To the north, Grove Walk connects with Merton Street through a gateway. Immediately to the south is Merton Field^[4] with Merton Walk connecting to the wide tree-lined Broad Walk, which runs parallel with Dead Man's Walk. Beyond that is Christ Church Meadow.

History

The walkway itself appears to be the route of medieval Jewish funeral processions.^[1][3] A procession would begin at the synagogue (near to where Tom Tower now stands) and proceed towards the Jewish burial ground (now the site of the University of Oxford Botanic Garden).^[5]

Historical markers

Near to the eastern end of the walkway is a plaque marking the first hot air balloonnearby i

^[6]

References

1. Hibbert, Christopher, ed. (1988). "Deadman's Walk". The Encyclopaedia of Oxford. Macmillan. p. 117. ISBN 0-333-39917-X.
2. Horan, David (2002). Oxford: A Cultural and Literary Companion (3rd ed.). Oxford: Signal Books. p. 29. ISBN 1-902669-05-3.
3. Morris, Jan. Oxford (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 234. ISBN 0-19-282065-6.
4. Rhodes, John (1988). "Merton College from Merton Field, 30 April 1908". Oxford: The University in Old Photographs. Alan Sutton Publishing. p. 42. ISBN 0-86299-461-6.
5. Symonds, Ann Spokes; Morgan, Nigel (2010). "Deadmans Walk". The Origins of Oxford Street Names. Witney, Oxfordshire: Robert Boyd Publications. p. 99. ISBN 978-1-899536-99-3.
6. Yurdan, Marilyn (2002). Unexplained Oxford and Oxfordshire. Dunstable, Bedfordshire: The Book Castle. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-9037-4721-6.

Coordinates: 51°45′03″N 1°15′04″W / 51.7507°N 1.2510°W