Bonn Square in Oxford, England, [1] is named after the German city of Bonn with which Oxford is twinned. It is close to the original west gate of the city of Oxford, where the Westgate Shopping Centre is now located. To the east is Queen Street, a shopping street. New Inn Hall Street leads north from near here. Oxford Castle and the old Oxford Prison are also nearby, now converted into a hotel and restaurants.
For over 700 years, from the 12th century until 1870, the area was the graveyard of St Peter-le-Bailey Church. [2] Although no records exist for the first 400 years of the graveyard's existence, parish records for the period from 1585 to 1870 list around 6,800 burials. [2] The church stood at the front of the square, overlapping on to the present Queen Street. In 1874 the church was rebuilt further up the road (now St Peter's College chapel), and the old church was demolished to make way for a road widening scheme. [2] From 1874 to 2007 the churchyard was a memorial garden, and the Tirah Memorial, the first war memorial erected in Oxford, was appropriately placed there in 1900. [2] The area was named Bonn Square in 1974. [2] The new paved Bonn Square was opened on 28 November 2008. [3]
The Square has been a site favoured by the homeless in Oxford, and major redevelopment commenced in January 2008, although work was initially disrupted by protesters who objected to the felling of a sycamore tree in the square. [4] Meanwhile, protests also erupted about development work proposed as part of the Westgate Shopping Centre, with a Green Party county councillor being arrested during an attempt to stop the felling of London Plane trees and eventual demolition of the Westgate multi-storey car park. [5]
The redevelopment in 2008 made it possible to inspect and record a number of gravestones which had been buried since the church of St Peter-le-Bailey on the site was demolished in 1873. [2] During the redevelopment, Oxford Archaeology undertook the archaeological investigations on behalf of Oxford City Council. [6]
In May 2009 a multi-part sculpture by Diana Bell was set in the square "to commemorate sixty years of exchange" between the cities of Bonn and Oxford. Titled "Knowledge and Understanding" but known locally as "Books", the sculpture was cast from a set of real books, and bears the words "Knowledge", "Trust", "Friendship" and "Understanding" in English on one stack of books, and in German on the other. [7] [8] [9]
The Westgate Hotel, Commercial Street, Newport, Wales is a hotel building dating from the 19th century. On 4 November 1839 the hotel saw the major scenes of the Newport Rising, when 3,000 Chartists, some of them armed, led by John Frost marched on Newport to attempt to secure the release of five of their number who were being held under arrest at the hotel. Around 100 soldiers of the 45th Regiment of Foot killed 22 of the Chartists and wounded more than 50. The hotel is a Grade II listed building.
Cardiff city centre is the city centre and central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bound by the River Taff to the west, the Civic Centre to the north and railway lines and two railway stations – Central and Queen Street – to the south and east respectively. Cardiff became a city in 1905.
Aotea Square is a large paved public area in the CBD of Auckland, New Zealand. Officially opened in 1979 by Sir Dove-Myer Robinson next to Queen Street, it is used for open-air concerts and gatherings, and markets and political rallies. In November 2010, a major redevelopment of Aotea Square was completed. The square was redesigned to make it appropriate for use by crowds of up to 20,000 people.
The Newport Rising was the last large-scale armed rising in Wales, by Chartists whose demands included democracy and the right to vote with a secret ballot. On Monday 4 November 1839, approximately 4,000 Chartist sympathisers, under the leadership of John Frost, marched on the town of Newport, Monmouthshire. En route, some Newport chartists were arrested by police and held prisoner at the Westgate Hotel in central Newport. Marchers from industrial towns outside of Newport, including many coal-miners, some with home-made arms, were intent on liberating their fellow Chartists. Fighting began, and soldiers of the 45th Regiment of Foot, deployed in the protection of the police, were ordered to open fire. About 10-24 Chartists were confirmed killed, whilst reports of perhaps a further 50 injured. 4 soldiers were reported as injured. Subsequently, the leaders of the march were convicted of treason and were sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. The sentence was later commuted to transportation.
Castle Park is a public open space in Bristol, England, managed by Bristol City Council. It is bounded by the Floating Harbour and Castle Street to the south, Lower Castle Street to the east, and Broad Weir, Newgate and Wine Street to the north. Its western boundary is less obviously defined and has been the subject of controversy, perhaps because the area around High Street and St Mary le Port Church, though not part of the park and always intended for development, is often considered at the same time as the park.
The Headrow is an avenue in Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England.
Queen Street is a pedestrianised shopping street in central Oxford, England. It is one-way for buses and taxis, two-way for cyclists outside main shopping hours, and forbidden for cars. It runs west from the centre of Oxford at Carfax. Here it adjoins Cornmarket Street to the north, the High Street continuing east, and St Aldate's to the south.
Westgate Oxford is a major shopping centre in Oxford city centre, England, that was extensively remodelled and extended between 2016 and 2017.
The Purple March was an anti-apartheid protest held in Cape Town on 2 September 1989, four days before South Africa's racially segregated parliament held its elections. A police water cannon with purple dye was turned on thousands of Mass Democratic Movement supporters who poured into the city in an attempt to march on South Africa's Parliament. White office blocks adjacent to Greenmarket Square were sprayed purple four stories high as a protester leapt onto the roof of the water cannon vehicle, seized the nozzle and attempted to turn the jet away from the crowds.
Newport city centre is traditionally regarded as the area of Newport, Wales bounded by the west bank of the River Usk, the George Street Bridge, the eastern flank of Stow Hill and the South Wales Main Line. Most of the city centre is contained within two conservation areas: the central area and the area around Lower Dock Street. Most of the city centre is located in the Stow Hill district.
New Inn Hall Street is a street in central Oxford, England, and is one of Oxford's oldest streets. It is a shopping street running north–south parallel and to the west of Cornmarket Street, with George Street to the north and Bonn Square at the west end of Queen Street to the south. St Michael's Street leads off the street to the east near the northern end. Shoe Lane to the east leads to the Clarendon Centre, a modern shopping centre.
Cardiff Central bus station was the main bus transport interchange in the Cardiff city centre until it closed on 1 August 2015. With 34 stands, it was the largest bus station in Wales. It was located adjacent to Cardiff Central railway station forming a major interchange. Construction of a new bus and transport interchange on the site of the former NCP multi-storey car park in Wood Street, adjacent to the old bus station, is underway with an expected date of completion in Spring 2023.
Oxpens Road is a road in central Oxford, England, linking west and south Oxford. It is named after the marshy area of Oxpens, next to one of the branches of the River Thames in Oxford. It forms part of the A420 road.
The Tirah Memorial is a war memorial in Bonn Square, Oxford, England. It commemorates soldiers of the 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire Light Infantry who died in 1897–98 on the Tirah Expedition and Punjab Frontier Campaign to suppress rebel tribes on the North West Frontier of British India.
The Church of St Peter-le-Bailey is a church on New Inn Hall Street in central Oxford, England. It was formerly next to Bonn Square, which was originally the churchyard. Now it is located halfway up New Inn Hall Street to the north. Several churches have existed on or close to the site. The current church is now the chapel of St Peter's College, Oxford.
Westgate Hall is a hundred-year-old drill hall and community space in a Conservation area of Canterbury, Kent, notable for hosting community events. The Hall was threatened with closure or demolition in 2009, but a group of local people fought to save it and created the venue it is today. The building is now leased by Curzon Cinemas. Westgate Hall now hosts a range of events from parties to conferences, markets and fairs including the Westgate Hall Market.
Oxfordshire County Library is the main public library in the city of Oxford, England.
Francis Inigo Thomas was a British artist and garden designer.
St Columba's United Reformed Church is a congregation of the United Reformed Church (URC) in the centre of the city of Oxford. It is located on Alfred Street, off the High Street.
St Helen's Square is an open space in the city centre of York, England.