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About Port Meadow - Wikipedia Information | |
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Around 400 acres of common land within the Oxford ring road Port Meadow provides a large wild space for the people of Oxford. This area of land was given to the freemen of Oxford (which now includes women as of Nov 2008) by king Alfred in the 10 th century in return for their help in defeating the Danes.
Both the Freeman of Oxford and the Wolvercote commoners have grazing rights and currently there are around 25 horses, 100 cattle and a large flock of geese. In November 2008 the freeman admitted women. This flood meadow has been continually grazed since this date and has never been ploughed giving rise to some unique flora and fauna. The meadow is a SSSi and has recently achieved National Monument status affording it further protection. |
Apart from its farming and biodiversity qualities it is a particularly special place. Its unusual to be able to see a horizon within a ring road and the place has remained relatively wild and unchanged for centuries. In recent years with the higher rainfall that we have been experiencing it floods providing a buffer zone; offering some protection to stretches of the Thames below from flash flooding.
In these pictures Adrian has tried to celebrate its beauty as well as explore peoples relationship to the land. The portraits, he hopes, go some of the way to illustrate the human usage of the land. Once essential for grazing dairy and beef cattle, the demographics and economics have changed and a surfeit of horses now means that the flora is changing. Luxury development around the edges has given rise to increase run off from rainfall and an increase in pet numbers is affecting bird life. |
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Port Meadow film by Tim Piers and Michael Borst, believed to be made in 1980. |
Port Meadow song by The Egg, an Oxford based band. With thanks to the band for permission to use this song on the website. |
| About the photographer | |
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Adrian Arbib is an Oxford based photographer. He has been photographing Port Meadow for around 10 years; capturing the changing seasons and the people that pass through. This work was recently featured in the photographic arts magazine Source.
Adrian has spent many years travelling the globe for the national and international newspapers and organisations like Oxfam and Christian Aid (and has photographed several Christian Aid week campaigns). His work has primarily focused on indigenous land rights and in 1997 he was awarded the Royal Geographical Societys Cherry Kearton Medal for his work in this area. |
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| About the photographs | |
| The colour landscapes are taken on Fuji Velvia film using a 6x17cm Art Panorama camera, on a 90 mm Schneider lens. Scanned on an Imacon 848. Colourmatched to the film using a calibrated monitor, what you see is what was shot. The images are then archivally printed onto either glossy or fine art paper via a custom calibrated printer. Some of these same images are now on the walls of the new Churchill Hospital in Oxford as 2 metre long panels. The black and white images are taken on a Hasselblad using an 80mm lens. The film is Plus x and Tmax 400, hand printed and selenium toned onto Oriental Seagull paper. | |
