Binsey: Oxford's Holy Place: Its Saint, Village, and People

Binsey is a village to the west of Oxford, on the south bank of the main channel of the River Thames, opposite Port Meadow, which has been an open space belonging to the burgesses of Oxford since late Saxon times.Although now within the ring-road, the village is essentially rural and unspoilt.The hub of Binsey is a row of cottages and the Perch Inn on one side of the village green.At one time when the river was wider there was a ferry here taking travelers across to Oxford.The church, its present building no earlier than the 12th century though on an older site, lies a third of a mile distant.Its association with Oxford’s patron saint St Frideswide alone makes this an evocative place for anyone with an interest in the origins of this great University city.Its holy well, dedicated to St Margaret like the church itself, was a place of resort for those with eye problems or desirous of a child: Katharine of Aragon’s lack of success in conceiving a male heir after resort to the well in a se