The centre of Oxford is set to get even brighter this winter, with yet more historic buildings being illuminated.

The Wesley Memorial Church in New Inn Hall Street and Exeter College in Turl Street are to be in the next wave of celebrated buildings to be lit up as part of an ambitious plan to create "a cross of light" across Oxford.

The Saxon tower of St Michael at the Northgate in Cornmarket and St Mary Magdalen Church, in Magdalen Street, are already benefiting from lighting.

Architectural lighting has begun to make the city centre feel a safer and more attractive place, said the former Oxford Lord Mayor Maureen Christian, who has been pressing for the lighting over three years.

Supporters of the plan believe Oxford has been slow to follow the lead of other historic cities such as Edinburgh and Bath in using lighting to make their cities more appealing to visitors after nightfall.

Ian Laing, the former High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, has funded the lighting introduced so far.

Lighting will be introduced on Tuesday, November 13, at the Gothic style Wesley Memorial Church, which was built in the late 1870s and dominates New Inn Hall Street.

Exeter College, Oxford University's fourth oldest college, has a commanding presence from both Broad Street and Turl Street. Its chapel built in the 1850s, was designed as a copy of Sainte Chapelle in Paris, and its thin turreted spire is a beautiful landmark on the central Oxford skyline.

Ms Christian said: "The lighting is contributing greatly to the beauty of the city and also to safety. Areas that are quite dark, where people can feel quite threatened, are being gently lit up.

"The places where it is up and running have been greatly admired. It has added to the attractiveness of the city centre."

Mrs Christian moved to deflect earlier criticisms that the lighting would be costly and damaging to the environment.

She said: "It's important that people realise that it is very low cost to run and does not consume a great deal of energy.

Based on an average of five hours per day, lighting the Wesley Memorial Church would cost only 66p a day and Exeter College Tower 39p a day.

She hoped that lighting could eventually be extended to Radcliffe Square.