An ancient ceremony traditionally carried out to mark parish boundaries will take place in Oxford tomorrow.
Participants will go on a three-hour walk from St Michael at the Northgate Church, in Cornmarket Street, around the parish boundaries in the city centre.
They will leave the church at about 9am and stop off at shops, university colleges and the Town Hall, to beat boundary marks with bamboo canes while saying prayers to bless the parish.
The Beating of the Bounds ceremony, which dates back to at least 1428, once played an important role in letting people know where parish boundaries were.
John Kinahan, St Michael's development co-ordinator, said: "When literacy and map-reading were not widespread skills, the ceremony served to ensure parish boundaries were still intact, known by local people and passed on from generation to generation.
"It's good to keep traditions alive and there's always a great response from the public, particularly tourists."
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