Every year, 10th February marks St Scholastica’s Day, a lesser known but significant date in Oxford’s history. While it honours St Scholastica, the twin sister of St Benedict, in Oxford, the date is infamous for one of the bloodiest town-and-gown conflicts ever recorded: the St Scholastica’s Day Riot of 1355. The riot was a defining moment in the struggle between Oxford’s university community (sometimes referred to as gown) and the local townspeople (known as town), shaping the power dynamics of the city for generations.
How it all started...
The events of St Scholastica’s Day in 1355 all began when two Oxford scholars were drinking at the Swindlestock Tavern, located at the crossroads at Carfax. They found their drinks unsatisfactory and took their complaint up with the landlord. Words turned to violence, and the bar brawl turned into an all-out riot. The townspeople gathered, summoned by the bells of St Martin’s Church (whose tower is now Carfax Tower), and fed up with years of seeing the privileged and arrogant students, they armed themselves and attacked the scholars. The university responded by calling in reinforcements, summoned by the bells at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin. By the third day, the conflict had spiralled into chaos, with armed mobs battling across the city.
Crimes and punishments
By the end of the riot, the death toll was shocking. An estimated 30 townspeople and 63 students lost their lives. King Edward III, siding with the university, issued harsh penalties against the town’s leaders. The mayor and townspeople were forced to submit to the university’s authority, and a humiliating punishment was imposed. Every year, on St Scholastica’s Day, the mayor and town officials had to march to the University Church of St Mary the Virgin and offer penance by paying a fine of one penny for each of the 63 students killed. This annual ritual continued for nearly 500 years until it was finally abolished in 1825.
St Scholastica’s Day Today
Now, St Scholastica’s Day is not widely observed, and many in Oxford are unaware of its bloody past. However, the story remains an important part of the city’s history, highlighting the complex relationship between the university and the town. The site of the Swindlestock Tavern, where it all began, is now marked only by a plaque, but the echoes of that turbulent February in 1355 still resonate through Oxford’s historic streets.
