Headington Hill Hall stands on

Headington Hill Headington Hill is a hill in the east of Oxford, England, in the suburb of Headington. The Headington Road goes up the hill leading out of the city. There are good views of the spires of Oxford from the hill, especially from the top of South Park ...

in the east of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It was built in 1824 for the Morrell family, who remained in residence for 114 years. It became the home to

Pergamon Press Pergamon Press was an Oxford-based publishing house, founded by Paul Rosbaud and Robert Maxwell, that published scientific and medical books and journals. Originally called Butterworth-Springer, it is now an imprint of Elsevier. History The c ...

and to media tycoon

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, Parliament of the United Kingdom, member of parliament (MP), suspected spy, and fraudster. Early i ...

. It currently houses Oxford Brookes School of Law.

History

The hall was built in 1824 for the Morrell family, local brewers, and was extended between 1856 and 1858 by James Morrell Jr. (1810–1863) who built an

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

mansion designed by the architect John Thomas. James Morrell and his wife Alicia died in 1863 and 1864, leaving their possessions including the hall and the brewery on trust for their 10 year old daughter Emily Morrell. The three trustees tried to deal with Emily's crush on a distant cousin by sending her away to an aunt and forbidding any communication between the pair. Emily married her cousin and made her home at the Hall.

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

, gaudily dressed as

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist caval ...

, attended an all-night fancy dress

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Tr ...

Ball given by Emily and Herbert Morrell at the Hall for around 300 guests on 1 May 1878.

Lady Ottoline Morrell Lady Ottoline Violet Anne Morrell (16 June 1873 – 21 April 1938) was an English aristocrat and society hostess. Her patronage was influential in artistic and intellectual circles, where she befriended writers including Aldous Huxley, Siegfr ...

(1873–1938), who owned the Hall for a period, was particularly associated with the

Bloomsbury Group The Bloomsbury Group—or Bloomsbury Set—was a group of associated English writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the first half of the 20th century, including Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster and Lytton St ...

as a hostess. From 1939, the property was requisitioned by the government for use as a military hospital during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. After the war, it became a rehabilitation centre, run by the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

and the Order of St John. In 1953 James Morrell III sold Headington Hill Hall to

Oxford City Council Oxford City Council is the lower-tier local government authority for the city of Oxford in England, providing such services as leisure centres and parking. Social Services, Education and Highways services (amongst others) are provided by Oxfor ...

. It continued to be used as a rehabilitation centre until 1958. Subsequently, the publisher

(1923–1991), founder of

, took a lease of the building rented from the Council for 32 years as a residence and offices. He described it as the "best

council house A council house is a form of British public housing built by local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing a number of council houses and other amenities like schools and shops. Construction took place mainly from 1919 ...

in the country." Maxwell commissioned a stained-glass window depicting ''Samson at the Gates of Gaza'' by

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli (b ...

sculptor

Nehemia Azaz Nehemia Azaz ( he, נחמיה עזז), also Nehemiah, Henri or N H Azaz (9 October 1923 – 27 October 2008), was an Israeli sculptor, ceramicist and architectural artist, who spent half of his working life in the UK. Best known in Israel as found ...

for the imperial staircase. Since 1992, the Council has leased the property to

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The university was named ...

. It houses the Oxford Brookes University School of Law.

References

External links

* {{coord, 51, 45, 18, N, 1, 13, 52, W, display=title Country houses in Oxfordshire Grade II* listed buildings in Oxford History of Oxford Houses completed in 1824 Oxford Brookes University Robert Maxwell

History

See also

References

External links