Oxford Central

Oxford Central is arranged around Carfax, the crossroads of High Street, Cornmarket, St Aldate's and Queen Street. Cornmarket is a pedestrian shopping street leading north to the Covered Market, established in 1774, where aisles hold independent stalls, bakers and butchers. High Street runs east-west past the Sheldonian Theatre by Christopher Wren. Radcliffe Square sits south of High Street: the circular Radcliffe Camera, designed by James Gibbs and completed in 1749, forms part of the Bodleian and adjoins the Old Schools; Hertford Bridge links the Bodleian to Hertford College.
The University Church of St Mary the Virgin marks the junction of High Street and St Mary's Passage; its tower is part of the central skyline. College gates and small quads open onto the streets, and academic buildings, libraries and museums sit close together. Carfax Tower, the remaining part of 12th-century St Martin's, stands at the city's centre. Buses and cycle routes converge here; shops, pubs and cafés fill side streets. The area functions as the administrative and cultural heart of the city, with markets, college ceremonies and research activity concentrated within a short walk.