There is a secret tunnel beneath the busy city streets of Oxford and it is called the Trill Mill
Stream. It is a branch of a branch of the River Thames and begins life as the Castle Mill Stream
in the wonderful expanse of Port Meadow and then winds its way down to the tower of Oxford Castle
where the mill that gave it its name once stood. Just after this it passes under Paradise Street
and then runs alongside the back gardens of Paradise Square and it here that the
Trill Mill Stream branches off leaving the main course to rejoin the Thames.
This putative map of the entire route of the stream is taken from a lyrical and well researched
website with text by Jack Pritchard referenced in the credits if you want more details. But you
cannot see the Trill Mill Stream nowadays no one can. The entrance is barely visible
behind protective spikes and if you do manage to get closer you ll see a rusty sluice gate
and grill where the stream disappears into a tunnel constructed some 150 years ago.
And a good job too it stank to high heaven. It had become the city s main sewer. Yes,
that is a toilet on stilts above the stream of those days. What a convenient crapper!
Here s a description by Mr Richard Walker back in 1848:
a mass of stagnant filth, not a little increased by the neighbouring pig-styes, by no means
gratifying to the nasal organs . And these 19th century Punch cartoons of the Thames certainly
help to complete the picture. So, in Victorian times they encased the stream in a brick tunnel
like this one least seen soonest forgotten. The Trill Mill tunnel is around a 1/3 of a mile
long and has a rather picturesque exit into Christ Church s Memorial Gardens just off St Aldates,
from which it flows sluggishly down to the Thames. This tunnel fascinates some people so much
that they have tried to traverse it, and in this video I am going to introduce you to just three
attempts. The first is the least likely to be true. It tells the story of a rotting punt
discovered in the sewer in the 1920 s which was said to contain the skeletal
remains of unknown Victorians. The second is very likely true and
involves a rather famous and colourful Oxford character, Laurence of Arabia.
He undertook this odd journey by canoe during his undergraduate years at Jesus College
from 1907 to 1910 and survived the challenge to boast of firing blanks from a revolver in order to
startle the Oxford citizens above! (shot noises) The third is certainly true. In 2020 two stalwart
Oxford explorers donned their booted waders to explore the length of the tunnel
with a video camera. Here s Stuart Panter s able assistant Russell
descending into the gloom beside the sluice gate and here they are inside the tunnel.
Soon they came across a low modern concrete box section beneath the Westgate shopping centre.
Pretty squelchy there even though the stream was mostly clear, and they actually spotted fish
but, surprisingly, no rats. Ha! The water level was at crotch height
at times and the adventure became a bit scary towards the end. And then, after nearly an hour
of claustrophobic traipsing they gratefully emerged into Christ Church Memorial Gardens
leaving the Trill Mill Stream to continue its journey to the Thames. Great video
chaps. I ve put a link in the credits so that viewers can share your adventure in full.
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Crikey, what a fascinating glimpse of what s going on under our feet in Oxford. I used
to live in Paradise Square and was hardly aware of this subterranean waterway and its history.
Hope you enjoyed this insight into hidden Oxford. There s more to come so do
subscribe to the channel and hit that notification bell. And there s plenty more
videos to explore at Rob s Oxford channel you know. Have a look. Bye-bye.