Episode Details

|A tradition apparently dating back 400 years, the Palm Sunday procession at Christchurch College, Oxford University. A donkey (called Monty!) leads a procession of worshippers holding palm leaves and crosses from the gardens of the college, along a main street, around the college quadrangle and into the chapel for a service. 

Around 100 worshippers take part, singing a hymn as they proceed, accompanied by the college choir and a small brass band. The donkey seems quite calm and nonplussed by the whole affair. This is an Oxford tradition going back for many, many years - and this is the first time I've managed to catch it and record the sounds. 

Recorded in March 2026 by Cities and Memory.