Al Fresco & Wild · Oxford, Oxfordshire
Dame's Delight
Dame's Delight was Oxford's comparatively short-lived answer to Parson's Pleasure: a documented women's and family bathing place downstream on the Cherwell.
The story
Established downstream from the better-known male bathing place in 1934, Dame's Delight provided space for women and families until 1970. Its shorter history is a useful counterpoint: outdoor bathing was never just an eccentric male preserve, but access, visibility and propriety were organised differently by gender.
Sources
Nearby on the map
Parson's Pleasure was Oxford's men-only nude river-bathing place for well over a century, complete with screens, punt etiquette and a folklore polished by generations of dons.
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Documented historyHot spotSpotted an error, or hold a better source? Write to marquis@marquisdemayfair.com — corrections are made, never defended. Our methodology.