Park End Street

Park End Street. . , You are standing on Pacey's Bridge which crosses two branches of the Castle Mill Stream, itself a branch of the River Thames. The original bridge was constructed in 1770 when Park End Street and New Road were built as a turnpike road to provide a direct route to the west. The area developed as a small industrial suburb where people made their living from fishing, river and later canal transport, brewing and milling. , Making a living on the river , In early medieval times, this area was riverside meadows dominated by the stone keep of Oxford Castle (on the castle mound or motte behind you). The first houses in what became Fisher Row were built in the 13th century on the island between the two streams. Locally-caught fish were an important part of people's diet, particularly before the Reformation when fast days were still observed. , There was plenty of variety and Archbishop Thomas Cranmer sampled 15 different types of fish while he was imprisoned in Oxford before his execution in 1556. Local fishermen made extra money by cultivating osiers, a type of willow, for basket-making and by supplying ducks for sale in the market. , From the late 16th century, Fisher Row boatmen were transporting goods on the upper Thames and on the Oxford Canal after 1790. Fisher Row declined as commercial fishing and boating lost their importance and most of its older houses were cleared to create a public garden (to your left) in 1954. , A Royal Warrant , ‘The New Road' that blasted its way through this waterside community in 1770 led to the development of breweries, warehouses, wharves – Park End Wharf lasted until 1880 – and other industries. Frank Cooper's Oxford marmalade was made in the building now called the Jam Factory (ahead of you in Frideswide Square). It began production on a much smaller scale when, in 1874, Frank Cooper's wife, Sarah, made 76 pounds of marmalade to her own recipe. It proved popular and eventually the factory was built to supply the demand. The marmalade now holds a Royal Warrant and it is said the Queen sometimes enjoys it with her breakfast! Wheels of Industry , You're in Oxford's old beer district. There were once four breweries nearby. Later the street became known as the ‘street of wheels', lined with garages and car showrooms. You can still see their names set into mosaics at some shop entrances. ( photo caption ) , Exterior of Frank Cooper's marmalade factory on Park End Street, 1904. , Oxford Canal wharf. , Interior of Frank Cooper's marmalade factory on Park End Street showing the packers at work.