Carfax is the name of the central crossroads in the centre of Oxford. It is the intersection of two roads which both change their name.

  • North - Cornmarket, Pedestrianised
  • South - St. Aldate's, Open to traffic.
  • East - High Street (also known as The High), Open to traffic with restricted hours.
  • West - [Queen Street]? (also known as [Queens]?), pedestrianised, buses and taxis only

The name 'Carfax' is a corruption of the Latin Quadrifurcus, or the French "Quatre faces". What would 17th Century inhabitants make of the modern meaning of car-fax I wonder?

[Carfax Tower]? sits on the North-west corner of the junction. This is part of what was St. Martin's Church, which was demolished in 1896 for road widening. The building is now a tourist attraction.

OS X co-ord: 451250     OS Y co-ord: 206250     (Latitude: 51.752142 Longitude: -1.257483)
Last edited 2003-05-22 14:44:31 (version 4; diff). List all versions.