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Port Meadow is a large meadow of open common land beside the River Thames to the north and west of Oxford, England. ==Overview== The meadow is an ancient area of grazing land, still used for horses and cattle, and has never been ploughed - at least for around 4,000 years. In return for helping to defend the kingdom against the marauding Danes, the Freemen of Oxford were given the of pasture next to the River Thames by Alfred the Great who founded the city in the 10th century. The Freemen's collective right to graze their animals free of charge is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 and has been exercised ever since. It runs from Jericho to Wolvercote (where it becomes Wolvercote Common) along the east (left) bank of the River Thames, with the Cotswold Line railway, Oxford Canal and the suburb of North Oxford further to the east, and the village of Binsey to the west. Access to Port Meadow is via Walton Well Road or Aristotle Lane in the south or from Wolvercote via Wolvercote Common in the north. It is a typical English flood-meadow and is a favourite area for walking, with easy access from the city of Oxford. It is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest. At the southern end of the meadow is Fiddler's Island in a loop of the River Thames. In the winter the meadow floods and if frozen forms a huge and safe area for skating. In late spring vast areas are carpeted with buttercups. Horses, cattle and geese graze the meadow and many birds can often be seen. The River Thames (known as the Isis at this point) flows through this large grazing meadow. This is where the Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll) and the Reverend Robinson Duckworth rowed in a boat on July 4, 1862 up the river with three young girls — Lorina, Alice, and Edith Liddell. While journeying slowly from Folly Bridge to near Godstow, Dodgson began at their request to make up a story that later was expanded into ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. Because the meadow has never been ploughed, it contains well preserved archaeological remains, some of which survive as residual earthworks. Of particular note are several Bronze Age round barrows, an area of Iron Age settlement, and the foundations of 17th-century fortifications from the Parliamentary siege of Oxford during the English Civil War. In the 17th and 18th centuries the meadow was used for horse racing, and low stone bridges laid over washes and ditches for this purpose still survive.〔(Historic Port Meadow to get revamp ), ''The Oxford Times'', 8 July 1998.〕 During the First World War part of Port Meadow was used to train the Royal Flying Corps and turned into a military aerodrome.15 air crew and pilots were killed either flying from Port Meadow or close by. In 1940, during the Second World War, a camp was set up on the meadow for military personnel evacuated from Dunkirk. In the 1980s and 1990s, the meadow was known as a location for free festivals and raves.〔(Oxford Free Festival 1986 ), ''(UK Rock Festivals )'', July 2012.〕〔(UK Police Halt Rave Party ), ''(Party Vibe )'', 11 August 1998.〕〔(May Morning Tips ), ''Road & Travel Magazine''.〕 In the southwestern corner of the meadow at Medley is Bossom's boatyard, a small marina and Medley Footbridge across the Thames. The Medley Sailing Club, the furthest upstream sailing club on the River Thames, is on the western riverbank. To the south is the start of the Castle Mill Stream and Cripley Meadow, largely consisting of allotments. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Port Meadow, Oxford」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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