The King's Gate, Corpus Christi College

Between mid-July 1643 and late-April 1646, Charles I resided principally in Christ Church, sleeping in the best rooms and dining in the Great Hall, where he also attempted to set up his own parliament. During the autumn and winter of 1643-4, Henrietta Maria joined him in Oxford, occuping the Warden’s Lodgings in Merton. Christ Church and Merton both abut the southern range of the city wall, with only one college – Corpus Christi – between them. The king had doorways cut through the walls between Christ Church and Corpus and – at the other end of Corpus garden – between Corpus and Merton Grove, creating a safe and convenient passage through which he could visit the queen without entering the streets. Walking down Merton Grove from Merton Street to Christ Church Meadow, the bricked-up doorway can still be seen on the Corpus garden wall to the right.