Jarn Mound

View of Jarn Mound as it appears in the original 1933 booklet by Sir Arthur Evans which is reproduced below.

.And here is the view which could then be seen from the top – but sadly not any longer due to the many trees which have grown up all around.

Jarn Mound View June 1933 – the original caption is below:

“THE TOWERS AND SPIRES OF OXFORD – Reference was made at the annual meeting of the Oxford Preservation Trust yesterday to the new view of the City to be obtained from Jarn Mound. This is the mound which has been built by Sir Arthur Evans on Boar’s Hill. It rises to a height of 50ft. and the summit platform is 530ft. above sea level. In addition to this view of Oxford, taken by a staff photographer of The Times, from Jarn Mound extensive panoramas can be obtained in all directions, including the Chilterns and the Vale of White Horse.”

We are indebted to Prof. Ray Allen for kindly allowing us to scan his very rare copy of the above picture from The Times newspaper of June 1933.

My own, much less rare, copy of Sir Arthur Evans complete booklet of nearly 50 pages has also been scanned – see below:

Jarn Mound 1933 by Sir Arthur Evans – click image for a searchable pdf

Although the following two images appear in the above pdf booklet, they are set out again below to enable a more detailed view of both to be obtained.

Sir Arthur’s very detailed plan of Jarn Mound and the Wild Garden which he created.

Jarn Mound & Garden Plan by Sir Arthur Evans 1933

A scan of the Panorama Indication Plate, the original of which was affixed to the pedestal which can be seen at the top of the Mound.  Click on the image, and then again, to obtain a very detailed view.

Jarn Panorama Indication Plate 1933  –  Oxford is more less to the north.

The various places to be viewed from the top of the mound are shown so that they may be read by the viewer as he walks around the pedestal looking in each direction. In order that you may do the same without contorting your neck, the following three versions of the indication plate are set out looking south, east and west respectively. Click on the image to view in detail.

In 2026, we are now 93 years on since the events shown and recounted above. and indeed 95 years since the Mound itself was completed in 1931.  Unfortunately in that time not only have trees grown up all around to block the view from the top of the Mound but also the Wild Garden has indeed been abandoned to grow wild in the true sense of the word. Here is a photo from 2026 which seeks to emulate that of 1933 but without success. The pond in foreground is dried up and the shelter can just be made out at the extreme centre left of the photo. Trees and undergrowth completely obscure the Mound which, but for them, would still be seen in the centre of the picture – as it is in the picture at the top of this page.  Having said that, there is clearly an equally good argument in favour of the lush woodland, as it now exists, over the starker look of 100 years ago.

View of Jarn Mound from the “pond”, 2026