ANNIVERSARIES
10 FEBRUARY 1355
Oxford students spark a riot
A row over bad wine spills over into violence
It was St Scholastica Day in 1355 and Oxford’s students were in the mood to celebrate. Among them were Walter de Spryngeheuse and Roger de Chesterfield, who went for a drink at the Swindlestock Tavern on the Carfax junction, but they ended up painting the town much redder than they had anticipated.
No sooner had the students ordered some wine than passions rose. It began with the pair complaining that the wine was poor and demanding fresh drinks. The landlord refused. A few terse words were exchanged, peppered with “stubborn and saucy language”. The students started throwing wine and hit the barman with his own pot.
The argument
