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Oxford Tour...
Interior con'd, pg 3
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 Tour
Home
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Part V:
Motte |
| [092]: This is the motte or mound of the original Oxford
Castle, which was the site of the earliest Norman occupation in the Upper
Thames area. A defensive position near the river was chosen, at the edge of
the Saxon town defences which were already in place. Built in 1071 by Robert
d'Oilly for William the Conqueror, the mound would have been constructed
from earth and stone that had been removed to build a moat to surround the
motte and bailey (the open area inside the outer wall of a castle). On the
summit would have been the castle keep, initially built of wood, and then of
stone. This surviving motte is over 64' high and about 250' at its base, and
would have been adjacent to Nikki's garden just outside the boundary wall of
the prison.
 If
you look at the thumbnail to the right you can see where D-wing and Nikki's
garden would have been in relation to the base of the motte. In the
thumbnail you can also see the remains of the prison boundary wall to the
left of the photo, behind yet another green and white stripey cart. To the
right of the photograph is St George's Tower, which may have served as the
keep in the early stages of the castle development, until it was replaced by
the motte and the keep on its summit. The arrow loop to the left at the top
of the tower, is the one from which you saw the aerial view of G-wing in
photo [68]. The entrance to the Unlocked Museum is directly to the right of
the red and white stripey cart, below the tower. The area to the right of
the stripey cart is approximately where Nikki's shed would have been—just
inside the boundary wall.
You may well think that you haven't ever seen the motte in Bad Girls,
but if you look closely at the aerial shot of the entrance courtyard in S2
Ep5 [28:04-28:08] (see thumbnail beside main photo) in a sequence of the
cattle truck driving into the yard (the end of the sequence being the same
stock shot that they use in S3 Ep16 (28:14) and also in S1 Ep6 (00:10 to
00:13) )—you can see the green grass and a tree on the motte at the top
right-hand corner of the shot. At the very top of this shot, just right of
centre, you can also just make out the top of the crenellated parapet of the
Debtors' Tower and its conical lead roof, at the far end of the G-wing gable
and behind the so-called hospital wing. |
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| | [093]: Moving up the motte, this is the view from the
northeastern side of it looking south. (Apologies for the builders' mess and
the porta-loo near the foreground of the shot!) The building directly behind
the builders' mess and to the left of the photo, is the other side of the
Governor's House, which you saw in photo [36]. The pair of towers to the
left are those just behind the front entrance to the hotel. The
cream-coloured building just behind the Governor's House is the new
building, part of which could be seen to the left of the shot in photo [27].
You can again see the remains of the outer perimeter wall in the foreground
near the base of the motte; just behind it the end of G-wing, and to its
right the Debtors' Tower and part of D-wing. |
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| | [094]: Moving slightly higher up the motte now and looking
from its southwestern side looking down at the end of G-wing and the
Debtors' tower, with D-wing and St George's Tower partially obscured by the
motte and a tree. |
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...nearing the end, thus able to rationalise slightly gratuitous thumbnail.
| | [095]: At the summit of the motte—unfortunately, the large
trees obscure a full view of the whole expanse of the buildings below, but
from between them you can see this view of G-wing and the Debtors' Tower.
The area behind the railings next to G-wing is where the steps are that
Dominic ran up to speak to Nikki (photo [26]). Just behind the remains of
the outer wall at the lower left of the photo is where Nikki would have been
sunning herself in S1 Ep6 [01:41], in the area of the garden that would
originally have been the 1st Class Debtors' Yard. |
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| | [096]: Still at the summit of the motte, but looking at the
motte itself now—this is the entrance to the well, which in the 13th century
was covered by a groined chamber, which you can see if you click on the
accompanying thumbnail. |
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| | [097]: Looking through the gate down the flight of steps to
the well chamber—sadly the gate was locked, and there was no getting down
the stairs to have a look at the chamber itself. |
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PART V:
Restaurant |
Having left the D-Wing museum, we now head to the Malmaison
restaurant in the lower reaches of the old A-Wing. (Bad Girls' G-Wing
of course.)
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| | [098]: An old cell door entrance—looking rather different
than what we're used to! The main dining area is in the central floor space,
but they have also broken down some of the internal walls between cells and
joined a few of the cells together, to create separate dining rooms. |
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| | [099]: Looking down the side of the wing towards the arched
gable-end window of [60] and [63]. There is a bar to the right, and the
restaurant seating is beyond that. Note the artwork on the walls—naked women
in black ink. They have them in the loos too! These 'cell doorways' look
decidedly more glamorous than the ones in S2 Ep7 [21:15], S2 Ep3 [09:42] and
S2 Ep3 [09:44]. |
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| | [100]: The base of the arched gable-end window from inside
the restaurant. It is below ground level here—you can see the glow of light
from the barred light well that you saw in photo [061] of the exterior tour. |
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| | [101]: Another shot of the base of the arched window;
without the flash it's easier to see just how far below ground level it is
(even if it does make it a bit blurry!) You can just see the little space at
the top that is above ground. |
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| | [102]: Entrance to another cell. Note the low black
ceiling—unfortunately this shot is very dark as I didn't want to be caught
'flashing' in the restaurant. The ceiling is an industrial-looking thing
with big pipes or ducts running along it. The walls have a rustic-looking
plaster finish. |
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| | [103]: The ironwork staircase, now painted black, which
inexplicably leads up to end at the new low ceiling! I was wondering if that
isn't a trapdoor or something at the top of it. Note the huge black duct
pipe overhead (we brightened the photo overmuch so you could see it). |
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Coda:
Odds 'n Sods |
| [104]: So there I was, about to eat my distinctly
un-prisonlike meal in the hotel restaurant, when I reached for the salt....
Imagine my delight then when the salt & pepper mills turned out to be
Peugeot ones! Okay, okay! They weren't red, they didn't have wheels and they
weren't operated by a woman called Helen—but it was good enough for me! In
the twilight world of Bad Girls fandom they deserved to be recorded
for posterity.
So I set about trying to get them and their logo in focus without using a
flash, which at such close quarters at our little table only served to burn
out the shot. I'm afraid that after several efforts, I realised that the
watchful stares of my dinner companions meant they were witnessing possibly
the final stages of my slide into Bad Girls muppet-dom (yes I know,
they were a bit slow to notice, but I suspect they were wishing it wasn't
true); I could only hope the other diners were not witnessing it too. It
takes a fairly brave lot to remain seated, looking like you know the person
who is taking a whole bunch of shots of salt & pepper pots, trying to get
the logo in focus. This was the best that I could come up with: a pair of
brunette Peugeot salt and pepper mills!
 I
have since discovered that Pizza Express, located in what was the Bad
Girls Reception building, has blonde Peugeot salt and pepper mills. And
of course... I photographed those too! Don't believe it? Look, look!!
Remember this shot from Item 56? Behind the head of the eighth person in
from the left, the woman with the rose appliqué on her shirt...! |
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| [105]: Leaving the restaurant now and heading for home. This
is a very tiny lapel pin or something, just over a half-inch in diameter, we
discovered cemented in to the foundations of the building, which on the 20th
century prison plan featured in [087] in the Maps section of our Interior
tour, is referred to as the Governor's House. It is the building at the far
right-hand side of the Malmaison façade. If you refer to the old 1878 map
[see blow-up, next tour item below] it is the structure situated to the left
of the Governor's House caption (see small red circle on map). There are a
few steps on the outside (shown on the 1878 map), and it is at the top of
those, to the lower right-hand side of the plaque. Peugeot salt & pepper
mills! A Scottish flag pin! Was there to be no end to my photographic
opportunites?
(Note: Tragically, there was an end: in a flagrant act of
architectural wickedness, when I returned to take more photos... the Scot
pin had been covered over! A close-up of this has not been included so as to
spare the delicate sensitivities of any younger members of the household who
may be tuning in to join us—or, for that matter, any right-thinking fans who
may not wish to sully their eyes with such pointless defacements.) |
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| | [106]: Location of the now-less-visible Scot-pin: if you can
see the little steps that come out of the building on the left at the top
left corner of the image on the left, it was imbedded in the foundations at
the top of those stairs. In the photo on the right it is just around the
right-hand corner of the building—see the accompanying thumbnail. All that's
left is the tiny rusted spot visible above the pin in our Now Historic
Photo. Honestly, what point did this serve? We thus conclude our own
argument for historic preservation in all its many guises. |
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| [107]: Well, it was inevitable I suppose—all the signs were
there. I turned around after several trips' worth of taking 850 or so
photographs, including Peugeot salt and pepper grinders and Scottish flag
pins buried in foundations, to cross Paradise Street to return to the
car—and there it was, directly opposite, a building with this sign above the
door.
"You ain't gonna put me on the Muppet Wing! I ain't a bleedin'
loony!
From our evening-wear line... we call it "Chilling Little Afterthought"
For a view of the fate that I suspect awaits me, you can click on the
accompanying thumbnail, to see the fetching designer-wear that I shall be
sporting this summer—complete with delicate arrow designs, to mark it as
Crown property! ('Wearing the broad arrow' was Victorian slang for being in
prison.) Hmmm... yes, I can see Her Majesty turning up at the Opening of
Parliament in this little number! Definitely not very dressy! |
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Home
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Thanks to JT for very helpful suggestions about structure &
for being so patient, supportive, and technically savvy; On the Drift for
technical assistance, advice and feedback; and Jeanna for the twist on the
idea that made the pseudo-easter-egg crack open.(You do
realize there are several others hidden on this site, don't you?)
Also, Kerry has been a saint & shown enormous fortitude & determination
throughout the parts that were Ordeal-like, although she wouldn't like me
saying so 'cause it sounds too wanky to thank each other so I had to sneak
it in under the wire.
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Phew! After all that, we're in need of a drink!
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