Oxford News
When Oxford City played at the White House ground
The pub, the Slow and Steady in Abingdon Road, was originally called the White House and behind it was the White House ground, where Oxford City played for many years.
City could not generate such large crowds as Oxford United, but they had a strong following of supporters who would cheer on the team in their home matches.
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However, one of the most memorable matches at the ground involved not Oxford City but Oxford Boys.
In 1966, the young team had a great run in the major national competition, the English Schools’ Trophy.
In the year that England won the World Cup, the Oxford under-15s fought their way through every round to the final.
They excited thousands of fans throughout the city in their finest season since 1908.
Those in the picture above were among 6,062 who packed into the White House ground to see Oxford defeat Luton 2-1 in an enthralling semi-final.
Led by team manager Michael Hammett, a teacher at Wheatley Park School, they had beaten High Wycombe, Swindon, Woking, Cambridge and Havant in the early rounds.
In the quarter finals, Oxford faced a long trip to Seaham in County Durham, where they triumphed again to earn the right to face Luton.
Everything looked lost when Luton broke away to take the lead early in the second half, but a calmly-taken penalty by skipper Tony Tompkins spurred Oxford into action.
With 10 minutes left, Stephen Whelan scored after the Luton goalkeeper dropped a cross and from then on, Oxford’s superiority was never in doubt.
The final whistle brought a huge roar from the crowd, who filled every side of the ground.
The first leg of the final at Oxford United’s Manor Ground at Headington attracted an even bigger crowd – 9,062.
Sadly, East London proved too strong for Oxford, winning the first game 3-2 and the return leg at Millwall 2-1.
But Oxford were not disgraced. The Oxford Mail, in an editorial, summed up the city’s feelings: “We have a team to be proud of.”
The Oxford Boys that year weren’t the only ones to enjoy playing at the White House ground – the club often welcomed junior sides to play competition matches.
However, all that changed in 1988 when City were evicted by their landlords, Brasenose College, which sold the site for housing.
They were forced to leave the Isthmian League, but after a spell of inactivity, they reformed in 1990 and, based at Cutteslowe Park in North Oxford, joined the South Midlands League, winning promotion in their first season.
There was further joy in 1993 when they moved to their current ground, Court Place Farm, in Marsh Lane, Marston.
The Slow and Steady pub, on the corner of Whitehouse Road, where former Lord Mayor John Tanner held his party (Memory Lane, March 9), is owned by Brasenose College and opened in 1897 as the White House Inn.
It was designed by architect Henry Thomas Hare, whose grandest Oxford building, the Town Hall, was completed the same year.
The Change.org surpassed the 500,000 milestone just before Thursday afternoon, August 6 and continues to rise at speed.
Hundreds of thousands of people across the UK are demanding the government do not let Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole out of jail early.
Some 5,000 people are expected to be released early under sentencing changes, down from 6,000 after ministers exempted rapists and “serious” child sex offenders as part of the scheme to tackle overcrowding in jails.
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Cole and Bowers remain eligible to be freed halfway through their 13-year sentences after they were convicted of manslaughter in 2020 following Pc Harper’s death in 2019
As she backed the calls, widow Lissie Harper said: “Government has punched us in the gut… they should be ashamed of themselves.
“Hopefully we can make the current Government come to their senses and realise we cannot put people like this back on our streets. Justice should mean justice and serving the sentence given.”
Aileen O’Connor, who chairs the Thames Valley Police Federation, said releasing Cole and Bowers would anger and demoralise serving officers in the area.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said she supported the Police Federation in considering a judicial review.
She told Today: “I’m not arguing against early release. We’ve had early release even under Conservatives.
“I’m against early release of this dangerous category of rapists, paedophiles, killers, including the killers of Pc Andrew Harper.”
Thames Valley Police has released a CCTV image of a man they are searching for in relation to money reportedly being fraudulently withdrawn in Oxfordshire, Ascot and London.
The force said that on May 20, the suspected offender obtained the bank card and PIN number of the victim, a woman in her 20s, which were being posted to her address.
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They then proceeded to withdraw thousands of pounds from the victim’s account over the next 12 days, before the woman became aware and blocked the card.
The money was withdrawn from cash machines at several locations, including NatWest, TSB and Nationwide branches in Witney, HSBC in Chiswick, Nationwide in Oxford, and cash machines at Tesco and Sainsbury’s in Ascot.
This was between 20 May and 1 June 2026.
Investigating officer, Detective Constable David Mathieson, said: “I am appealing to anyone who witnessed any suspicious activity at the cash machines between the dates we are investigating, or has information that may assist us to please get in touch.
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“If you recognise the man in the image, or if this is you, please contact us.
“Anyone with information should call 101 or make an online report, via our website, quoting crime reference number 43260273378.
“If you don’t want to speak directly with police, you can also call the independent charity Crimestoppers 100 per cent anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
“If you suspect your card or account has been compromised, contact your bank immediately.”
Comedian David Mitchell stars as John “Ludwig” Taylor, a reclusive puzzle designer who assumes the identity of his twin brother – a detective chief inspector – after he goes missing.
The hit series also features Motherland’s Anna Maxwell Martin, with Fleabag star Sian Clifford and Scottish actor Mark Bonnar joining the cast as regulars in the second series which is due to be broadcast in August, with a third series already commissioned.
READ MORE: Ludwig creator reveals secret of series success
The detective drama set in Cambridge is one of the BBC’s most successful in terms of viewing figures for many years.
Mr Mitchell has strong Oxfordshire connections – he grew up in Oxford where he enjoyed watching Inspector Morse on ITV, and was a pupil at Abingdon School.
The BBC has confirmed that Ludwig will return for its second series later this month, with all six episodes to be released as a box set on iPlayer from the same date.
The newly confirmed release date is Thursday, August 20 at 9pm on BBC One, confirming what the BBC had previously teased only as an August 2026 return.
Perhaps an added bonus for fans is that, rather than waiting week by week, they will be able to binge the entire box set on iPlayer as soon as the opening episode airs.
David Mitchell returns in his role as John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor, now working officially as a Crime Scene Consultant for the Cambridge Police Authority, teaming up with DCI Russell Carter on seemingly “impossible” crimes.
No longer masquerading as James, he is “more Ludwig than ever”, brilliant at puzzles but hopeless at almost everything else – the fate of his brother, though, still eludes him.
Returning alongside Mitchell are Anna Maxwell Martin as Lucy Betts-Taylor, Dipo Ola as DI Russell Carter, Dorothy Atkinson as DCS Carol Shaw, Ralph Ineson as Chief Constable Ziegler, Karl Pilkington as DI Matt Neville and Dylan Hughes as Henry Betts-Taylor.
The new series also introduces new faces, including Mark Bonnar (Guilt, Line of Duty) as newspaper editor Gareth Fisher and Sian Clifford (Fleabag) as local MP Joanne Kemper.
Ben Ashenden and Rumi Sutton co-star as DC Ethan Cole and DC Caitlin Sullivan respectively.
The BBC will be hoping to repeat the runaway success of the first series.
Ludwig launched in 2024 to strong reviews and sizeable audiences, drawing more than 9.5 million viewers and ranking among the BBC’s biggest scripted hits of the year, according to the Radio Times.
It also earned a 97 per cent score on reviews site Rotten Tomatoes, cementing its reputation as a quirky detective drama with puzzles at the heart of the plot.
Mark Brotherhood is the series creator.
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