Merton Street is a historic and picturesque

cobbled street Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fr ...

in central

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.Merton StreetHigh Street, Oxford
It joins the

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

at its northeastern end, between the

Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art The Ruskin School of Art, known as the Ruskin, is an art school at the University of Oxford, England. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division. History The Ruskin grew out the Oxford School of Art, which was founded in 1865 and later became ...

(together with the

Examination Schools The Examination Schools of the University of Oxford are located at 75–81 High Street, Oxford, England. The building was designed by Sir Thomas Jackson (1835–1924), who also designed several other University buildings, such as much of Brasen ...

) and the

Eastgate Hotel The Mercure Eastgate Hotel (aka The Eastgate locally) is a hotel located in the historic university city of Oxford, England. It is located on the south side of Oxford's High Street near to the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art and the Examin ...

at the historic east gate of the city. It then runs east–west, parallel and to the south of the High Street for most of its length.

Location

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ch ...

, one of Oxford's older colleges, is situated to the south of the street. To the west of Merton, Corpus Christi College, one of Oxford's smallest colleges, also fronts onto the street. At the very western end, actually in

Oriel Square Oriel Square, formerly known as Canterbury Square,Hibbert, Christopher, ''The Encyclopedia of Oxford''. London: Pan Macmillan, 1988, pp. 295–296. . is a square in central Oxford, England, located south of the High Street. The name was changed ...

, is an entrance to Christ Church, Oxford's largest college. At the eastern end can be found the notorious 'Pink House', as well as an entrance to

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

Logic Lane __NOTOC__ Logic Lane is a small historic cobbled lane that runs through University College in Oxford, England, so called because it was the location of a school of logicians. It links the High Street at the front of the college with Merton Str ...

(through University College, which backs onto the street) and

Magpie Lane Magpie Lane is an English folk group, based in Oxford, England. The musicians of Magpie Lane first came together in the winter of 1992–93 to record ''The Oxford Ramble'', a collection of songs and tunes from, or about, Oxfordshire. Originally ...

, both narrow lanes, lead off the street to the north. Also located here is the

Merton Street tennis court Merton Street tennis court is the home of the Oxford University Real Tennis Club. It stands on the north side of Merton Street in central Oxford, England, and forms part of Merton College, Oxford, Merton College. There has been a tennis court in ...

, a rare example of an extant

real tennis Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United Sta ...

court. To the south is Merton Grove (opposite Magpie Lane), providing pedestrian access between Merton College and Corpus Christi College to Christ Church Meadow to the south. The street is designated the A420 due to the blockage of the High Street to normal traffic. To the west it continues through Oriel Square, where

Oriel College Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, w ...

is located. Despite being cobbled, the street has been repaired by

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 Oxfo ...

using

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

History

The part of modern-day Merton Street adjoining the High Street used to be known as Coach & Horses Lane, named after a public house on the west side of the lane. From the early 18th to the late 19th century, it became known as King Street. The rest of the street (the part running east–west) was originally known as St John Baptist's Street, named after the church which is now Merton College's chapel. In 1751, the whole street had become King Street, but by 1772 just the east–west part was called Merton Street. The entire street became known as Merton Street only in the 20th century.

Notable residents

Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...

briefly took rooms in no 14 during 1919, on the recommendation of

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 ...

Jean Moorcroft Wilson Jean Moorcroft Wilson (born 3 October 1941) is a British academic and writer, best known as a biographer and critic of First World War poets and poetry. A lecturer in English at Birkbeck, University of London, she has written a two-volume biogra ...

, ''Siegfried Sassoon: the Journey from the Trenches'' (Duckworth, 2003) p33 The historian

Michael Brock Michael George Brock (9 March 1920 – 30 April 2014) was a British historian who was associated with several Oxford colleges during his academic career. He was Warden of Nuffield College, Oxford, from 1978 to 1988. Youth and education Michae ...

(1920–2014) and his wife (and co-editor) Eleanor lived in the street in the early 1950s. The academic and author

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

had rooms in Merton Street towards the end of his life in the early 1970s.

Gallery

File:Merton Street looking towards Merton College.jpg, Looking down Merton Street, at the corner with

, looking east towards

. File:Oxford Winter.jpg, Looking east along Merton Street from the south side at the junction with

References

External links

* {{coord , 51.7514, -1.2518, scale:10000_region:GB, display=title Streets in Oxford Cobbled streets Merton College, Oxford Corpus Christi College, Oxford University College, Oxford J. R. R. Tolkien