Carfax Tower Oxford

About this experience

Carfax is the junction of St Aldate's (south), Cornmarket Street (north), Queen Street (west) and the High Street (east) in Oxford, England. It is considered to be the centre of the city. The name "Carfax" derives from the Latin quadrifurcus via the French carrefour, both of which mean "crossroads". The Carfax Tower, also known as St Martin's Tower (the remaining part of the City Church of St Martin of Tours) is a prominent landmark and provides a look-out over the town.

St Martin's Tower, popularly called "Carfax Tower", is on the northwest corner of Carfax. It is all that remains of the 12th-century St Martin's Church^[2] and is now owned by Oxford City Council. It was the official City Church of Oxford,^[3] where the Mayor and Corporation were expected to worship, between about 1122 and 1896, when the main part of the church was demolished to make more room for road traffic and All Saints' Church in the High Street became the City Church for 75 years. 

The St Scholastica Day riot of 1355 began with an altercation in the Swindlestock Tavern (now the site of the Santander Bank on the southwest corner of Carfax, between St Aldate's and Queen Street) between two students and the taverner.

In 1865 William Henry Butler, who had been Mayor of Oxford in 1836, was buried in St Martin's churchyard in the grave of his first wife Elizabeth Briggs and their two infant daughters. In 1900 the church was demolished to make way for road improvements and as a consequence the grave and tombstone were forgotten. It is probable the tombstone was made by either John Gibbs of Oxford (father of Butler's second wife) or one of Gibbs's employees. The tombstone is still in situ and can be seen behind the tower. There is a campaign to protect the tombstone for posterity.