St Helen's Passage, Oxford. Open at all times. Free admission.

Details

Accessibility:

Parking is extremely limited near to St Helen’s Passage, but there are car parks within Oxford city centre. Detailed information on all of these car parks and their current Blue Badge concessions can be found here: https://www.oxford.gov.uk/directory/8/car_parks_in_oxford/category/53/categoryInfo/10

The alleyway is quite narrow and runs between two buildings.  There are dropped-kerbs where New College Lane meets Catte Street and the pavement leading to the alleyway is flat.

The following public toilets have disability facilities: Market Street Public Toilets (SP513063); Gloucester Green Public Toilets (SP510063); Oxpens Public Toilets (SP507058). There are also other public toilets in the town centre, but they do not have disability facilities.

Oxford city has a Shopmobility service which is accessed from within the car park for the Westgate shopping centre (OX1 1TR). The car park itself has 50 disability parking spaces, which are located close to the lobby area. Scooters and wheelchairs can be hired free of charge from the Shopmobility office, which can be booked over the telephone on 01865 263600 (Mon-Fri: 8am-5pm). Further information can be requested via email: westgate.oxford@landsec.com.

Brief Description:

St Helen’s Passage (historically Hell’s Passage) is a narrow lane which runs from the north side of New College Lane next to Hertford Bridge to Turf Tavern.  Embroiderer, Jane Burden, the muse of William Morris, was born in a house in this passage in 1839.

Further Information:

Address:

St Helen’s Passage, off New College Lane, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 3SU (postcode is at New College Lane end)

Telephone:

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Email:

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Website:

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Opening Hours:

Open at all times. Free admission.

Directions:

The alley is in the centre of Oxford and can be tricky to get to by car. From the M40 J8a take the A40 west towards Oxford for 5 miles. At the roundabout continue straight to take the London Road/A420 for a further 2.5 miles. At the roundabout, take the 4th exit (past the pillared monument in the middle of the road) onto The Plain/A420 for around 400 metres/yards then turn right onto Longwall Street. Longwall Street turns slightly right and becomes St Cross Road. Turn left onto South Parks Road then, at the T-junction, turn left again onto Parks Road. Continue onto Catte Street and turn left onto New College Lane.  Pass under Hertford Bridge and the passage way is a few metres/yards along on the left.

OS SP 51659 06499 (north end at Turf Tavern)

OS SP 51615 06467 (south end on New College Lane)

Transport:

Oxford is a very old city and travelling by car can be a problem. However, there is an excellent pubic transport system, which you can find further details of here: http://www.oxfordcityguide.com/oxford-tourist-information/getting-around-oxford

There are six Park & Ride sites located around Oxford's ring road; Bicester, Oxford Parkway and Pear Tree to the North, Thornhill to the East, Redbridge to the South and Seacourt to the West. The parking and bus into town are charged separately and there are no concessions for Blue Badge drivers. Each Park & Ride also has EV charge points for electric car drivers. Further details of the locations and charges can be found here: https://www.oxford.gov.uk/directory/8/car_parks_in_oxford/category/56/categoryInfo/13

The main bus services in Oxford are run by the Oxford Bus Company, Stagecoach Oxfordshire and Thames Travel. The services run throughout the city as well as the surrounding villages. Further details can be found on the following websites: https://www.oxfordbus.co.uk/, https://www.stagecoachbus.com/about/oxfordshire and https://www.thames-travel.co.uk/.

Oxford’s main railway station is located on the west side of the city centre with bus stops and taxi ranks just outside. There are frequent services to/from London Paddington, London Marylebone and Birmingham New Street. Details of the station can be found here: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/OXF/details.html. For ticket information you can telephone National Rail on 03457 484 950.

Amenities:

There are no amenities on site, but Turf Tavern is at the end of the lane and there are cafes, coffee shops, public houses, restaurants and shops to cater for any taste within Oxford town centre.