In reaction to yesterday's excitement (meeting Monty Don, and yes he as delicious as he appears be*) it seemed a good idea to have a brisk walk around Jericho and along the canal. It was a lovely morning with the odd flurry of snow; lots of very perky ducks in courtship mode.
Jericho is a community of tiny terraces and interesting pubs in the shadow of the Oxford University Press. This area grew in the19th century because of the canal; it crops up in Hardy's Jude the Obscure. In the 1950s it was a red-light district and in the 1960s they tried to demolish it - and replace the terraces with light industrial units! The fight to secure Jericho was successful, but the 160 year old boatyard has been closed by British Waterways who hope to sell the site for flats. At present it is being run by Jericho Community Boatyard Ltd so that there are services for the many boats moored on the canalside. The fight to keep the boatyard a working part of the Jericho community has been fiercely supported by Philip Pullman; in Northern Lights Jericho is the home of the water dwelling "Gyptians".
The desire to get rid of anything that might remotely be interesting continues; one of the colleges had applied for planning permission to knock down this old shop and replace it with modern flats for students.
Again local residents disapproved, as did the Oxford Preservation Trust, and the Council has seen sense and turned down the planning application. The battle for Jericho continues; hooray for Jericho ........
* Today's Guardian describes Monty Don as a "fine blend of posh and romantic, and just a hint of mad that sets a certain kind of lady's heart a flutter" - not going to quibble with that!!!!
Jericho is a community of tiny terraces and interesting pubs in the shadow of the Oxford University Press. This area grew in the19th century because of the canal; it crops up in Hardy's Jude the Obscure. In the 1950s it was a red-light district and in the 1960s they tried to demolish it - and replace the terraces with light industrial units! The fight to secure Jericho was successful, but the 160 year old boatyard has been closed by British Waterways who hope to sell the site for flats. At present it is being run by Jericho Community Boatyard Ltd so that there are services for the many boats moored on the canalside. The fight to keep the boatyard a working part of the Jericho community has been fiercely supported by Philip Pullman; in Northern Lights Jericho is the home of the water dwelling "Gyptians".
The desire to get rid of anything that might remotely be interesting continues; one of the colleges had applied for planning permission to knock down this old shop and replace it with modern flats for students.
Again local residents disapproved, as did the Oxford Preservation Trust, and the Council has seen sense and turned down the planning application. The battle for Jericho continues; hooray for Jericho ........
* Today's Guardian describes Monty Don as a "fine blend of posh and romantic, and just a hint of mad that sets a certain kind of lady's heart a flutter" - not going to quibble with that!!!!
Post Title
→Hooray for Jericho
Post URL
→http://guidice-galleries.blogspot.com/2010/02/hooray-for-jericho.html
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