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 Par ...

in the east of

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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. 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 Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, politician and fraudster. After escaping the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, ...

. It currently houses Oxford Brookes School of Law.

History

The hall was built in 1824 for the Morrell family, local brewers. It 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 combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

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'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

, gaudily dressed as

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 ( O.S.) 7 December 1619 (N.S.)– 29 November 1682 (O.S.) December 1682 (N.S) was an English-German army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first rose to ...

, 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 Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...

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 (née Cavendish-Bentinck; 16 June 1873 – 21 April 1938) was an English Aristocracy (class), aristocrat and society hostess. Her patronage was influential in artistic and intellectual circles, where she befri ...

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

Bloomsbury Group The Bloomsbury Group was a group of associated British writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the early 20th century. Among the people involved in the group were Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster, Vanessa Bell, a ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

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

Oxford City Council Oxford City Council is the local authority for the city of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. Oxford has had a council since medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974, Oxford has been a non-metropolitan district, wi ...

. 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, corporation house or council flat is a form of British Public housing in the United Kingdom, public housing built by Local government in the United Kingdom, local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing ...

in the country." Maxwell commissioned a stained-glass window depicting ''Samson at the Gates of Gaza'' by Israeli sculptor Nehemia Azaz for the imperial staircase. Since 1992, the Council has leased the property to

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

. 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