Turl Street is an historic street in central Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Location

The street is located in the city centre, linking Broad Street

Broad Street, Oxford

Broad Street is a wide street in central Oxford, England, located just north of the old city wall.The street is known for its bookshops, including the original Blackwell's bookshop at number 50, located here due to the University...

 at the north and High Street

High Street, Oxford

The High Street in Oxford, England runs between Carfax, generally recognized as the centre of the city, and Magdalen Bridge to the east. Locally the street is often known as The High. It forms a gentle curve and is the subject of many prints, paintings, photographs, etc...

 at the south. It is colloquially known as The Turl and runs past three of Oxford's historic colleges: Exeter

Exeter College, Oxford

Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...

, Jesus

Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...

 and Lincoln

Lincoln College, Oxford

Lincoln College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is situated on Turl Street in central Oxford, backing onto Brasenose College and adjacent to Exeter College...

. It meets the High Street by the early 18th century All Saints

All Saints Church, Oxford

All Saints Church is on the north side of the High Street in central Oxford, England, on the corner of Turl Street. It is now the library of Lincoln College. This former church is Grade I listed.-History:...

 church, now the library of Lincoln College. To the west are Ship Street

Ship Street, Oxford

Ship Street is a historic street that runs east–west in central Oxford, England.- Location :The street lies north of Jesus College and west of Exeter College, two of Oxford University's historic colleges. To the south, at the western end is the Junior Common Room and to the eastern end is the...

 and Market Street

Market Street, Oxford

Market Street runs east-west in central Oxford, England.The street lies north of the Covered Market, a historic roofed market with permanent stalls that is still very much active today, and north of Lincoln College's Lincoln House accommodation complex. To the west is the major pedestrianised...

, north and south of Jesus College respectively, both leading to the busy Cornmarket

Cornmarket Street

Cornmarket Street is a major shopping street and pedestrian precinct in Oxford, England that runs north-south between Carfax Tower and Magdalen Street.Retailers in Cornmarket include:* Austin Reed...

, a pedestrianised shopping street. To the east is Brasenose Lane

Brasenose Lane

Brasenose Lane runs east-west in central Oxford, England, between Turl Street and Radcliffe Square. It is accessible only to pedestrians at its west end, but vehicles can enter from Radcliffe Square...

, between Exeter College and Lincoln College, leading to the historic Radcliffe Square

Radcliffe Square

Radcliffe Square is a square in central Oxford, England. It is completely surrounded by historic Oxford University and college buildings. The square is cobbled, laid to grass surrounded by railings in the centre, and is pedestrianised except for access....

.

History

Turl Street was called St Mildred's Street in 1363, but was known as Turl Gate Street by the mid-seventeenth century. It acquired this name from a twirling gate (demolished in 1722) which was in a postern

Postern

A postern is a secondary door or gate, particularly in a fortification such as a city wall or castle curtain wall. Posterns were often located in a concealed location, allowing the occupants to come and go inconspicuously. In the event of a siege, a postern could act as a sally port, allowing...

 in the city wall. The part to the south of Ship Street was known as Lincoln College Lane in 1751.

Originally the Turl came to an abrupt halt at its junction with Ship Street, where it hit the city wall and the twirling gate. By 1551, it was extended by a path (known as "The path leading from the Hole in the Wall") to reach what is now Broad Street, and in 1722 the gate was removed altogether.

The Turl has been closed to traffic (except for access) since 1985. A rising bollard, installed by the Oxford City Council

Oxford City Council

The Oxford City Council provides local government for the city of Oxford in England.- Overview :Between the 2004 local elections, and 2010 the council was in minority administration, first by councillors from the Labour Party, with the Liberal Democrats being the official opposition...

, cuts it off in the middle.

Commerce

The street houses several shops, including the traditional gentleman's tailors, Walters of Oxford. In addition, the QI Building ("QI Oxford"), including a private club, bookshop and café/bar (associated with the Quite Interesting

QI

QI is a British comedy panel game television quiz show created and co-produced by John Lloyd, hosted by Stephen Fry, and featuring permanent panellist Alan Davies. Most of the questions are extremely obscure, making it unlikely that the correct answer will be given...

 television show) was based here from 2004 to 2007.

Miscellaneous

Turl Street is the subject of an obscure ecclesiastical joke, based on its location. "In what way is the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 like the Turl? It runs from the High

High church

The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...

 to the Broad

Broad church

Broad church is a term referring to latitudinarian churchmanship in the Church of England, in particular, and Anglicanism, in general. From this, the term is often used to refer to secular political organisations, meaning that they encompass a broad range of opinion.-Usage:After the terms high...

 and goes straight past Jesus

Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...

."

Turl Street Wanderers FC is a football club playing in the London Football League Sunday PM Premier Division. For the first four years of its existence the club played in the West End (London) Amateur Football Association. The club was founded in 2004 by alumni of Lincoln College and Jesus College.

The Turl Street Arts Festival

Turl Street Arts Festival

The Turl Street Arts Festival is an annual week-long festival held in February, involving students from the three Turl Street Colleges in Oxford, England: Jesus College, Exeter College and Lincoln College....

is organized annually by students from the three colleges in the street, Exeter, Jesus and Lincoln.