Ruined by the Reformation
After the Reformation, Osney Abbey initially became a cathedral for the new diocese of Oxford in 1542, and the last abbot, Robert King, became the first bishop of Oxford. In 1546, the cathedral was moved to Christ Church. Though almost nothing remains of the abbey, its bell continues to sound in Tom Tower, and its stones were used to build the rapidly expanding post-Reformation City of Oxford.
Osney Abbey may also be the site of the first Oxford recorded martyrdom, long before the Reformation. Following the Norman conquest in 1066, there was a sizeable Jewish community in England; officially granted royal protection, they often suffered persecution. In 1222, a young Christian deacon in Oxford converted to Judaism and married a Jewish woman. He is said to have declared: ‘I renounce the new-fangled Law and the comments of Jesus, the false prophet’. He was burnt at the stake at Osney Abbey. Though we do not know the name of this martyr, his death was commemorated with a plaque in 1931.
