"Longing for Freedom" in Oxford Castle Gallery, Oxford

"The essense of liberty has always lain in the ability to choose as you wish to choose, because you wish so to choose, uncoerced, unbullied, not swallowed up in some vast system; and in the right to resist, to be unpopular, to stand up for your convictions merely because they are your convictions. That is true freedom, and without it there is neither freedom of any kind, nor even the illusion of it"
Isaiah Berlin, "Freedom and its Betrayal", 1952

Oxford Castle is a large, partly ruined Norman medieval castle situated on the west edge of Oxford. The original moated, wooden motte and bailey castle was replaced with stone in the 11th century and played an important role in the conflict of the Anarchy. In the 14th century the military value of the castle diminished and the site became used primarily for county administration and for detaining prisoners. Most of the castle was destroyed during the English Civil War and by the 18th century the remaining buildings were used as Oxford's local prison. The prison closed in 1996 and was redeveloped as the Oxford Castle Quarter which was opened by Her Majesty The Queen in May 2006.  Today the medieval remains of the castle, including the motte and St George's Tower, are classed as a Grade I listed building and as a Scheduled Monument.