Adults
£4.00
Visit the last remaining remnant of a twelfth-century parish church in central Oxford. Climb the tower's ninety-nine steps to reach its summit, which offers clear, sweeping views across the university city's historic rooftops and famous skyline.
This historic seventy-four-foot tower is the sole remnant of a twelfth-century church, offering panoramic views from its ninety-nine-step summit.
Carfax Tower stands as a prominent historical landmark in the City Centre of Oxford, serving as the sole surviving remnant of the twelfth-century St Martin's Church. Measuring seventy-four feet tall, this architectural anchor remains the tallest permitted building height in the central district. Visitors climb its ninety-nine steps to experience panoramic views over the historic city skyline.
Carfax Tower stands as a historic twelfth-century landmark in the City Centre of Oxford, representing the sole surviving remnant of St Martin’s Church. Inside the seventy-four-foot structure, visitors can climb a narrow spiral staircase of ninety-nine steps to reach the open-air summit. This viewpoint serves as the highest permitted architectural height in the historic core, offering an unobstructed vantage point. From the top, you can enjoy panoramic views of the city's famous skyline, including Christ Church College and the Covered Market.
Established around 1122, St Martin's Church served as the official City Church of Oxford for centuries. In 1896, the main church building was demolished to improve traffic, leaving only the **Grade II listed** Carfax Tower standing. Its architectural features include an 1898 clock designed by Sir Thomas Graham Jackson and bells recast in the late seventeenth century. The clock mechanism was later electrified between 1938 and 1939, preserving this historic landmark in the city center.
Exterior images of Carfax Tower highlight its medieval stone masonry, battlements, and prominent clock face standing above the bustling central intersection of Oxford. From its summit, visitors can expect sweeping, elevated views of the city's historic spires and streets, complete with red double-decker buses passing below.
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