Magpie Lane
One of Oxford's narrowest lanes — a pedestrian shortcut from the High Street to Merton Street.
Magpie Lane is a narrow medieval lane running south from the High Street — at one of its narrowest points — to the cobbled Merton Street. Almost completely pedestrianised, it is one of the few surviving examples of the tight thirteenth-century street pattern that once filled the area south of the High.
The lane has changed names several times. Its medieval name, recorded in thirteenth-century documents, is now considered too coarse for modern signposts; it became "Grope Lane", then "Grove Lane", and finally — by the eighteenth century — "Magpie Lane", apparently after a sign at one of the inns that once stood at its head.
The lane is bordered on its eastern side by Oriel College's Rhodes Building, and on its western side by the back of the Bear Inn. From Merton Street it is a short walk to Merton, Corpus Christi and Christ Church, or back up Logic Lane to the High.
Historical names: Gropecunt Lane, Grope Lane
Sources: Wikipedia: Magpie Lane, Oxford · OpenStreetMap