Along the wall that runs along Deadman's Walk and borders Christ Church Meadow is a plaque in honour of James Sadler, the first English aeronaut. He was the son of a pastry cook and became an assistant at the old Ashmolean Museum, before taking to the air and earning himself the title "The King of the Balloon". The plaque commemorates his flight in 1784, in a "fire balloon", to Woodeaton, a small place about six miles from Oxford. Imagine the amazement of the inhabitants of the village. In October 1811 Sadler flew from Birmingham to Boston, Lincolnshire, in under four hours. The following year he attempted to cross the Irish Sea and very nearly succeeded, having to ditch off Anglesey. During the flight he mended a tear in the balloon's fabric with his neckcloth. Ironically the fishing boat that rescued him from the sea ran its bowsprit through the balloon. King George III was a keen admirer of Sadler's exploits.