By Lore

It’s a little known fact among those who don’t live here that an ancient Oxford bye-law enforces streets as one-way for pedestrians by gender. On the High Street women may walk only from east to west while men walk in the opposite direction. Women wanting to walk eastwards must go to Broad Street, slightly further to the north where they will encounter men walking westwards. The origins of this bye-law are lost in history but it is thought that it was introduced to increase the chances of encountering a potential spouse. (This, of course, was in the days before equal marriage.)
 
Oxford’s Royal Charter stipulates that the city must introduce annually at least one bye-law that distinguishes it from other towns of the realm. The law of 2013 was that to use a mobile phone in a public place you must be wearing, or be in possession of, a grey jacket.




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