VISITORS can take a tour of Oxford's old Crown Court and the secret tunnel to the former Oxford Prison when it opens its doors for charity this weekend.

Tours of the court at the old County Hall in New Road, which was built in 1841 and is now used as the Coroner's Court, will take place between 11am and 4pm on Saturday and Sunday.

For a minimum donation of £1 to the BBC's Children in Need appeal, visitors will be able to hear how justice has been served on the site for hundreds of years.

The court has been the scene of numerous famous trials over the years, and has featured in TV programmes.

A former court on the site was brought to a standstill in 1577 by an outbreak of gaol fever, which killed 400 people. But the case of Rowland Jenks, charged with uttering scandalous words against the Queen, was eventually continued and he had his ears cut off.

In 1912, the suffragette Helen Craggs was sentenced to nine months hard labour for attempting to set fire to the Nuneham Courtenay home of Government minister Lewis Harcourt.

She went on hunger strike in Holloway Prison and was released after 11 days.

The Traveller's Tale, a book written by Oxfordshire schoolchildren and authors, will also be on sale.