Museum of Oxford Walks: Pre-Raphaelite Adventures in Oxford

Oxford is exceptionally rich in its associations with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a 19th-century artistic movement known for its veneration of detail, elegance and beauty. This insightful 90-minute walk will bring the artistic spirit of mid-19th century Oxford to life, taking you to the key locations in Oxford associated with the movement and its artists, and with particular reference to Oxford-inspired paintings.

You’ll see where Jane Burden, embroiderer and muse, once lived at ‘Hell’s Passage’, the Oxford Union, home to Pre-Raphaelite murals and a noteworthy debacle involving Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Magdalen College Tower and the story of a particular May Morning, plus more locations significant to the works and lives of John Millais, William Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris, Jane Burden, Elizabeth Siddall – and not forgetting author-cum-photographer Lewis Carroll – plus their important patrons, John Ruskin and Thomas Combe.

The walk is near-circular, beginning at the Museum of Oxford and ending outside the Oxford Union (St Michael's Street).

Join a tour of Pre-Raphaelite Artists in Oxford to see Oxford through the eyes of an expert and uncover the artistic histories embedded in our city.

Accessibility and further information

Meeting point: Museum of Oxford shop (located inside the Oxford Town Hall). Please arrive 5 minutes before the start of the walk and check in at the Museum Shop with our friendly front of house team.

The walk lasts 1.5 hours.

The itinerary includes cobbled streets, uneven surfaces and narrow pavements. Additionally, one of the stops is accessed via a very narrow passageway (optional). Please email [email protected] if you would like to discuss any access requirements ahead of booking a walk.

Please note that this walk is recommended for ages 16+.

Tickets cost £15 and are available to purchase online (booking fee applies) or at the Museum shop.

is an Oxford local historian, public speaker, and guide. His publications include the social and cultural importance of the city’s waterways (A Towpath Walk in Oxford; Alice in Waterland; Alice’s Oxford on Foot; What a Liberty!); historical crime (Stories of Oxford Castle; The Abingdon Waterturnpike M**der) and a biography of the Oxford pastry cook who was the first Englishman to fly (King of all Balloons). Until 2020 he had lived on an Oxford residential narrowboat for nearly 30 years, and is the Chair of the Jericho (Oxford) Living Heritage Trust. He is also a trustee of the Lewis Carroll Society, a member of the Society of Authors, and on the committee of the Alliance of Literary Societies.

Access at the Museum

The Museum is accessible for wheelchair users, buggies and baby carriers. There is step-free, level entry access to the Town Hall via the entrance closest to Carfax (to the left of the main steps as you face the Town Hall). Inside the Museum, Museum Makers is accessible via a platform lift and lift to the basement level. Accessible toilets are available in the Museum (close to Museum Makers) and in the Town Hall on the ground floor, before entering the Museum.

Please contact the Museum team if you'd like to talk to a member of staff about your access requirements. Further access information can be found on our website: https://museumofoxford.org/plan-your-visit/access

Host or Publisher Museum of Oxford