Oxpens Road is a road 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 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 b ...

, linking west and south Oxford. It is named after the marshy area of Oxpens, next to one of the branches of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

in Oxford. It forms part of the

A420 road The A420 is a road between Bristol and Oxford in England. Between Swindon and Oxford it is a primary route. Present route Since the opening of the M4 motorway, the road has been in two sections. The first section begins on Old Market Stre ...

Locale

To the northwest, Oxpens Road becomes Hollybush Row, meeting at Frideswide Square, forming the major junction of the

Botley Road Botley Road is the main road into the centre of Oxford, England from the west. It stretches between Botley, on the Oxford Ring Road ( A34) to the west of the city, and Frideswide Square at the junction with Oxford railway station, close t ...

Park End Street Park End Street is a street in central Oxford, England, to the west of the centre of the city, close to the railway station at its western end. Location To the east, New Road links Park End Street to central Oxford. To the west, Frideswide ...

and

Hythe Bridge Street Hythe Bridge Street is in the west of central Oxford, England, forming part of the A4144 road. History There has been a road here since at least 1233. Previous names include Hide Brigge, Hithe Brigge, and Rewley Lane. It used to form part of ...

near the

Saïd Business School Saïd Business School (Oxford Saïd or SBS) is the business school of the University of Oxford. The School is a provider of management education and is consistently ranked as one of the world's top business schools. Oxford School of Management ...

and

Oxford railway station Oxford railway station is a mainline railway station, one of two serving the city of Oxford, England. It is about west of the city centre, north-west of Frideswide Square and the eastern end of Botley Road. It is on the line for trains between ...

(to the west of the city centre). To the southeast it becomes Thames Street, just north of the

, and meets the junction with the south end of St Aldates near Christ Church Meadow (to the south of the city centre). It forms part of an inner

ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

for the southwest part of the centre of Oxford. Halfway along is the

Oxford Ice Rink Oxford Ice Rink is a 56 × 26m ice rink located on Oxpens Road in Oxford, England. It is a ten-minute walk from Oxford city centre and railway station. In 1980, money was raised by the Oxford Ice Skating Trust (OXIST) for the construction of a ...

, a distinctive 1984 building by

Nicholas Grimshaw Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, CBE, PPRA (born 9 October 1939) is a prominent English architect, particularly noted for several modernist buildings, including London's Waterloo International railway station and the Eden Project in Cornwall. He was Pre ...

, which is the home of the Oxford City Stars ice hockey team. One of the campuses of the City of Oxford College is located here on the north side. The road crosses the southern end of the

Castle Mill Stream Castle Mill Stream is a backwater of the River Thames in the west of Oxford, England. It is 5.5 km long. Course The stream leaves the main course of the River Thames at the south end of Port Meadow, immediately upstream of Medley Footb ...

just before it reaches the River Thames. Oxpens Road also provides access to major

car park A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surfac ...

s for the centre of Oxford, including the Westgate Shopping Centre. A redeveloped and greatly expanded shopping centre opened in 2017, but there have been concerns over the imposing and largely windowless wall at the southwest of the redevelopment on Oxpens Road by conservationists, including the

Oxford Civic Society The Oxford Civic Society is a civic society that was founded in 1969 to oppose plans to build inner relief roads in Oxford, England. The Society comments on all aspects of urban planning and is a founder member of the Oxfordshire Blue Plaque ...

History

Before 1850, Oxpens Road was known as Nun's Walk. This area used to be the location of a

gasworks A gasworks or gas house is an industrial plant for the production of flammable gas. Many of these have been made redundant in the developed world by the use of natural gas, though they are still used for storage space. Early gasworks Coal ...

by the river. The locality was one of the poorer quarters of central Oxford. In the 1950s and 1960s there was large-scale clearance of the area, known as The Oxpens. Many residents were moved to

Blackbird Leys Blackbird Leys is a civil parish and ward in Oxford, England. According to the 2011 census, the population of the ward (whose boundaries may change occasionally so as to ensure minimal malapportionment) stood at 6,077. Unlike most parts of the ...

, an estate consisting largely of

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

on the outskirts of southeast Oxford and close to

Morris Motors Limited Morris Motors Limited was a British privately owned motor vehicle manufacturing company formed in 1919 to take over the assets of William Morris's WRM Motors Limited and continue production of the same vehicles. By 1926 its production represen ...

in Cowley, which provided employment. The area around Oxpens was almost entirely redeveloped during the second half of the 20th century. Close to Oxpens Road on St Thomas Street was the

Morrells Brewery Morrell's Brewing Company, also known as the Lion Brewery, was the only major brewery in Oxford, England. It operated between 1782 and 1998. Early history Morrell's was founded by Richard Tawney in 1743 as the Lion Brewery. In 1782 he formed ...

(aka The Lion Brewery), near the Castle Mill Stream, which closed in 1998.

Gallery

File:Looking back at the bend - geograph.org.uk - 1412417.jpg, View southeast along Oxpens Road. File:Oxpens Road, Oxford (1) - geograph.org.uk - 1571977.jpg, View northwest along Oxpens Road. File:Oxford Ice Rink.jpg,

on Oxpens Road. File:Holly Bush Row - geograph.org.uk - 1408202.jpg, View down Hollybush Row towards Oxpens Road. File:Post office over the road - geograph.org.uk - 1412444.jpg, Post office building on Oxpens Road.

References

External links

Oxford Directory information

Oxford Cherwell Valley College
{{Oxford Streets in Oxford

Locale

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links