Broad Street

Today's pic looks like a 'must see' when I am in Oxford.

Famous for its bookshops, Broad Street was originally the site of a deep town ditch outside the city wall where the Protestant Bishops Latimer, Ridley and Cramner were burned at the stake. A cross in the road outside Balliol marks the spot where they died in 1555 and 1556 for rejecting the doctrine of the catholic church. In the 13th century, Broad Street was used for horse trading but the advent of many beautiful buildings has since given it a distinguished air. Among these buildings are: Balliol College, founded in the 1260's by John De Balliol as a penance for insulting the Bishop of Durham. Trinity College, built on the site of an early college that educated the monks of Durham. Exeter College, founded in 1314 by the Bishop of Exeter, a prominent courtier who was murdered by enemies of the king. The Sheldonian Theatre, a marvellous classical building that opened in 1669 and was the first large scale work of Sir Christopher Wren, who modelled it on the Roman theatre of Marcellus. The Museum of the History of Science, and Blackwell's Bookshop, which was opened in 1879 by Benjamin Blackwell, founder of the now world famous family business. Submitted by: PicturesOfEngland ©