St Clement's is a district in

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 ...

, on the east bank of the

River Cherwell The River Cherwell ( or ) is a tributary of the River Thames in central England. It rises near Hellidon, Northamptonshire and flows southwards for to meet the Thames at Oxford in Oxfordshire. The river gives its name to the Cherwell local g ...

. "St Clement's" is usually taken to describe a small triangular area from The Plain bounded by the Cherwell in the West, Cowley Road in the East. to the foot of Headington Hill in the South. It also refers to the ecclesiastical parish of St Clement's which includes some neighbouring areas and is used in the names of local City and County electoral districts. The area has a multicultural and socially diverse population ranging from owner occupiers, student accommodation and homes in multiple occupation to social housing. A number of properties in the area belong to The Charity of Thomas Dawson (The Dawson Trust) which was founded in 1521 to generate money for the benefit of the people of St Clement's and the parish church.

St Clement's Street (formerly High Street)

The area's main road, St Clement's Street (often shortened to just "St Clement's"), links

The Plain The Plain (french: La Plaine), better known as The Marsh (french: Le Marais), was the majority of independent deputies in the French National Convention during the French Revolution. They sat between the Girondists on their right and Montagnards ...

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

) near

Magdalen Bridge Magdalen Bridge spans the divided stream of the River Cherwell just to the east of the City of Oxford, England, and next to Magdalen College, whence it gets its name and pronunciation. It connects the High Street to the west with The Plain, no ...

with London Place at the foot of

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 ...

at the junction with

Marston Road Marston Road is a road in the east of Oxford, England. It links London Place, the junction of St Clements, the foot of Headington Hill ( Headington Road), and Morrell Avenue by South Park to the south with the suburb of New Marston to the n ...

to the north. The road continues east as Headington Road and is designated the A420. At the point where St Clement's reaches

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

, there is a junction with Morrell Avenue to the southwest. St Clement's Street was originally the main road between Oxford and London. The street is noted for its many small shops and restaurants Stone's

Almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

s in St Clement's Street were founded in 1700.Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 291 The artist William Turner of Oxford lived here with his wife Elizabeth Ilott after their marriage in 1824. The

Royal Microscopical Society The Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) is a learned society for the promotion of microscopy. It was founded in 1839 as the Microscopical Society of London making it the oldest organisation of its kind in the world. In 1866, the society gained it ...

, a

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for the promotion of

microscopy Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects and areas of objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are three well-known branches of micr ...

, has been based on St Clement's Street since 1967. The Old Black Horse (102 St Clement's Street) is a 17th century coaching inn and one of the few buildings in the area to survive the English Civil War. It belongs to The Dawson Trust.

Other streets

* Bath Street * Caroline Street * Cave Street (formerly George Street) * Cross Street * Dawson Street is named after Thomas Dawson. * London Place * Morrell Avenue is named after the Morrell family who lived at Headington Hill Hall in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Morrells were a wealthy brewing family who owned a large amount of land in St Clement's. * Rectory Road (formerly Pembroke Street) runs between St Clement's Street and Cowley Road. It was named after the St Clement's Rectory (now a home for the elderly) which originally stood on the corner of Rectory Road and St Clement's Street. * Marston Road St Clement's Church,St Clement's Church, Oxford
/ref> the area's

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

, is off the southern end of Marston Road. The original St Clement's parish church was at The Plain but was demolished in 1828.

Open spaces

* South Park * Angel & Greyhound Meadow

References

Sources and further reading

* * * *

External links

Oxford Restaurant Guide: St Clement's restaurants
Areas of Oxford Streets in Oxford {{Oxfordshire-geo-stub