George Street is a street in central

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is a shopping street running east–west.

Overview

Its eastern end meets Broad Street at a crossroads with Cornmarket Street to the south and

Magdalen Street Magdalen Street is a short shopping street in central Oxford, England, just north of the original north gate in the city walls. Traditionally, the name of the street is pronounced and not as the name of the Magdalen College, Oxford, Magdale ...

to the north. Its western end meets Hythe Bridge Street at a crossroads with Worcester Street. The

New Theatre Oxford New Theatre Oxford (formerly the Apollo Theatre Oxford and the Apollo, from 1977–2003) is the main commercial Theater (structure), theatre in Oxford, England. It has a capacity of 1,785 people; is on George Street, Oxford, George Street, in t ...

, Oxford's main commercial theatre, is on the north side of the street. For a period, it was the Apollo Theatre but it has regained its earlier name. The Burton Taylor Studio is in Gloucester Street, which runs off the north side of George Street. Number 40 on the north side is occupied by Arts at the Old Fire Station. Gloucester Green bus station is off the north of George Street at the western end. Companies including the

Oxford Bus Company The City of Oxford Motor Services Limited, trading as Oxford Bus Company, is a bus operator serving the city and surrounding area of Oxford, England. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. History Horse trams and horse buses The City of Oxf ...

and Stagecoach in Oxfordshire operate services from here.

History

George Street is outside the formerly walled section of Oxford, running parallel with the medieval wall. Buildings on the south side of the street occupy plots that were formerly part of the defensive ditch outside the wall. The former

City of Oxford High School for Boys The City of Oxford High School for Boys (a.k.a. Oxford High School for Boys and City of Oxford School) was founded in 1881 by Thomas Hill Green to provide Oxford boys with an education which would enable them to prepare for University. History ...

building on the south side of the street was designed by T. G. Jackson and built in 1880-81.Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, p. 303 In 1966, the school moved to the Southfields Grammar School site and its former building became the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

Classics Department. Since 2007, the building has housed the University's Faculty of History. W.F. Lucas' ready-to-wear clothing factory on the south side of the street was designed by Harry Drinkwater and built by local contractor T. H. Kingerlee in 1892.Woolley, 2010, page 88 As a factory, 300 employees worked on the site. It is now divided into multiple retail and office premises. The brick buildings of the former fire station and Corn Exchange on the north side of the street were designed by H.W. Moore and built in 1894.Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 324 By 1974, the fire station had moved to Rewley Road and its former building had been converted to a community arts centre ( Arts at the Old Fire Station) run by the charity Oxford Area Arts Council and used occasionally by Anvil Productions, the

Oxford Playhouse The Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F. G. M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road (Oxford), W ...

Company, for rehearsals. The present New Theatre was built in 1933. It is the third New Theatre on the site, replacing successive buildings completed in 1836 and 1886. The Ritz Cinema on the north side of George Street was built in 1936. From 2000 to 2025, the building was occupied by an Odeon cinema.

References

Sources

* * {{portal bar, Roads, Oxfordshire Streets in Oxford Shopping streets in Oxford