Brewer Street is a historic narrow 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, south of Carfax. The street runs east–west, connecting with St Aldate's to the east and St Ebbe's Street to the west.

History

Originally, the area was occupied by butchers and slaughters, giving it the name Sleyng Lane (in 1478). The lane became known as Sleyne Lane (in 1690), Slaying Lane (in 1811), Slaughter Lane (in 1840). In 1772, it became Brewer Street and Lane. In 1932, the street was marked with a sign of "Brewers Street" at the St Aldate's end and "Brewer Street" at the St Ebbe's end. The latter was adopted on 14 January 1932. The current street name derives from a

brewhouse A brewhouse is a building made for brewing beer and ale. This could be a part of a specialized brewery operation, but historically a brewhouse is a private building only meant for domestic production. Larger households, such as noble estates, o ...

in the location, dating from the 17th century.

Institutions

Campion Hall Campion Hall is one of the four permanent private halls of the University of Oxford in England. A Catholic hall, it is run by the Society of Jesus and named after Edmund Campion, a martyr and fellow of St John's College, Oxford. The hall is lo ...

, a

permanent private hall A permanent private hall (PPH) in the University of Oxford is an educational institution within the University. There are four permanent private halls at Oxford, three of which admit undergraduates. They were founded by different Christian denomina ...

of 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 ...

, is on the south side. The hall is run by the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

. It is the only building in Oxford designed by Sir

Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...

and was opened in 1936. The building was

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 2000. Rose Place is further to the south.

Christ Church Cathedral School Christ Church Cathedral School is an independent preparatory school for boys in Oxford, England. It is one of three choral foundation schools in the city and educates choristers of Christ Church Cathedral, and the Chapels of Worcester College ...

, associated with Christ Church Cathedral and

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

close to the school on the other side of St Aldate's, is located at 3 Brewer Street. The school educates the

chorister A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

s for the cathedral and college. The house of

Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( ; – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling f ...

, the founder of the college, is still used for teaching. Pembroke College, a college of the

, is on the north side of the street, with its main entrance in Pembroke Square. Part of the

city wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or Earthworks (military), earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as ...

is preserved in the exterior wall of Pembroke College on Brewer Street. Other parts can be found in the gardens of New College and

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

. In 2010, Pembroke College began a major new development south of the main site, to which it is linked by a bridge over Brewer Street. The new buildings were expected to be completed in 2012.

Famous people

The author

Dorothy L. Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers ( ; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime novelist, playwright, translator and critic. Born in Oxford, Sayers was brought up in rural East Anglia and educated at Godolphin School in Salisbury and Somerv ...

(1893–1957) was born at 1 Brewer Street on 13 June 1893. The house is marked with a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

Gallery

File:Campion Hall.jpg, View of

, including the chapel, on the south side of Brewer Street. File:Campion Hall door.jpg, Doorway of Campion Hall on Brewer Street. File:Christ Church Cathedral School - geograph.org.uk - 792607.jpg,

at 3 Brewer Street.

References

{{coord, 51.7497, -1.2582, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title 1772 establishments in England Streets in Oxford Pembroke College, Oxford Campion Hall, Oxford