Cripley Meadow Allotments Association

Before 1891 Cripley Meadow was probably used to graze horses and cut hay but by March 1891 just over 14 acres was let to the North Oxford and Jericho Allotments Association to be laid out as allotments.  Over the next few years the city engineer was instructed to deposit street refuse to raise the levels for cultivation.  Street sweepings would have been horse manure and grit and household waste would have been ashes and bucket closets. This combination has led to the very fertile soil that still is a great asset to Cripley Meadow. However it is also thought that local industrial waste found its way onto the site and this would have been slag, sand and other hard waste that would have been good material for the roadways. 

We know now that this and the more recent history of history of bottle digging has contributed to the heavy metals readings that were found when the site was surveyed in 1996. Cripley Meadow was tested along with a number of other city sites including Trap Grounds.    Advice about this is kept on our notice board and more is available here. The site has been in use as allotments for a long time and there is no sign of photo toxicity in the luxuriant growth but times change and we are keen that our members understand the soil and work with it with whatever care is needed. The advice is that with proper hygiene precautions the site is safe and Oxford City Council keeps this under review.