Iffley Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England. It leads from The Plain, near Magdalen Bridge, south-east towards the village of Iffley. While it becomes Henley Avenue at Iffley Turn, and then Rose Hill, many people will refer to the whole stretch from the ring road to The Plain as Iffley Road. This whole route (including all of Iffley Road) is designated the A4158.
The road is famous for the Oxford University athletics venue, the Iffley Road Track, now known as the Roger Bannister running track, where Sir Roger Bannister ran a mile in under four minutes for the first time ever on 6 May 1954. A blue plaque now records the event for passers by on the road. Also in Iffley Road is Greyfriars, a Capucin priory that was formerly a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford.
Iffley Road used to be known as the Henley Road in the 19th century since it leads towards Henley-on-Thames, the historic centre of the sport of rowing in the United Kingdom, with its famous Henley Royal Regatta further down the River Thames. Now only the few hundred metres before Rose Hill carry any mention of Henley, as Henley Avenue.
There are a number of historic public houses including the Cape of Good Hope at the Plain and 1 Iffley Road, the Cricketers' Arms, and the Fir Tree Tavern.
Famous quotes containing the word road:
“If any ambitious man have a fancy to revolutionize, at one effort, the universal world of human thought, human opinion, and human sentiment, the opportunity is his own—the road to immortal renown lies straight, open, and unencumbered before him. All that he has to do is to write and publish a very little book. Its title should be simple—a few plain words—”My Heart Laid Bare.” But—this little book must be true to its title.”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1845)