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'Parson's Pleasure' in the University Parks at Oxford, England, was a secluded area for male-only nude bathing on the River Cherwell. It is now closed, but was located next to the path on the way to Mesopotamia at the south-east corner of the Parks.
It was traditionally frequented by dons of the University. To save the embarrassment of ladies who might be sitting in passing punts, a special by-pass across a bend in the river was built for the punts, consisting of a track made of concrete with metal rollers. The occupants of the punt would alight, and follow the punt as it would be rolled along and then back into the river further downstream, although this practice was largely ignored towards the end of its existence. The facility was closed and the area was incorporated as part of the Parks in 1991.
It is now part of the folklore of the university. One anecdote goes that a number of dons were skinny-sunbathing on the Pleasure when a group of students floated by in a punt. All but one of the startled dons covered their modesty — one placed a flannel over his head instead. When asked why he had done that, he replied haughtily, "Oh, well ''my'' students know me by my face.".
There are many variations of this joke. One, which appeared as a series of cartoons on a weekly wallpaper in Oxford about 1990, had a punt of camera toting Japanese tourists glide past the Pleasure, flashbulbs popping, much to the disgust of the dons enjoying their Sunday Times crossword. All but one of the dons covered their modesty with the crossword, and of course, the caption below stated something along the lines of" "Old Chap, I am rather known by my face in these parts!"
In 1996, the Oxford University Beer Appreciation Society commissioned a local brewery to produce a barley wine that was called 'Parson's Pleasure Ale'.
A similar Dame's Delight for female bathers also existed nearby, but this closed even earlier than Parson's Pleasure.
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External links

External links

★ Oxford University Parks: A Historical Guide

★ Oxford University Facts (see #7)