The High Street in
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, known locally as the High, runs between
Carfax, generally seen as the centre of the city, and
Magdalen Bridge to the east.
Overview
The street has been described by
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...
as "''one of the world's great streets''".
It forms a gentle curve and is the subject of many prints, paintings, photographs, etc. The looking west towards Carfax with
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 f ...
on the left and
The Queen's College on the right is an especially popular view. There are many historical buildings on the street, including 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 ...
buildings and colleges. Locally the street is often known as "The High".
Major buildings
To the north are (west to east):
Lincoln College (main entrance on
Turl Street, including
All Saints Church, now Lincoln College's library.),
Brasenose College (main entrance in
Radcliffe Square),
St Mary's (the University Church),
All Souls College,
The Queen's College,
St Edmund Hall (main entrance in
Queen's Lane) and
Magdalen College (including
Magdalen Tower).
To the south are (west to east):
Oriel College,
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 f ...
(including the
Boyle-Hooke plaque outside the
Shelley Memorial), the
Examination Schools, the
Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, the
Eastgate Hotel (at the original entrance to the city) and the
Botanic Garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
.
Commerce
Queen's Lane Coffee House (at the junction with
Queen's Lane) was established in 1654 and was probably Oxford's first
coffee house. This title is however disputed with 'The Grand Café' Coffee House, which claims that it was established in 1650 and stands opposite Queen's Lane coffee house.

Despite an influx of chain stores in nearby
Cornmarket Street, the High is home to a number of specialist independent retailers. These include
Shepherd & Woodward (University outfitters), Payne & Son (goldsmiths),
Sanders of Oxford (print sellers) and Waterfield's Books. To the north at the western end between Cornmarket and the
Turl is the historic traditional
Covered Market, established in 1774.
William Henry Butler, later
Mayor of Oxford, was a
wine merchant with premises in the High Street during the early 19th century.
[William Henry Butler: Mayor of Oxford, January–October 1836](_blank)
Mayors of Oxford
Edward Bracher, a pioneering
Victorian photographer, had a shop at 26 High Street.
Henry Taunt, another photographer, joined him as a member of staff in 1856. Taunt later returned to 41 High Street after the lease for his own shop premises in
Broad Street expired in 1894.
83 High Street bears 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 ...
(10 October 2001) commemorating
Sarah Cooper (1848–1932)
marmalade maker, wife of Frank Cooper whose shop at 83–84 High Street was the origin of the
Frank Cooper jam business (a brand now owned by
Premier Foods
Premier Foods plc is a British food manufacturer headquartered in St Albans, Hertfordshire. The group owns many well-known brands, including Mr Kipling, Ambrosia (food), Ambrosia, Bird's Custard, Angel Delight, Homepride cooking sauces, J. Lyons ...
). The company made "
Oxford Marmalade" famous.
In June 1879,
George Claridge Druce (also a noted botanist and later mayor of the city) moved to Oxford and set up a chemist's shop, Druce & Co., at 118 High Street. This continued until his death 1932.
The
Old Bank Hotel was the first new hotel for 135 years in the centre of Oxford. Quod Restaurant & Bar is also part of the hotel, located between the junctions with
Oriel Street
Oriel Street is a narrow but historic street running between the High Street, Oxford, High Street to the north and Oriel Square to the south in central Oxford, England. The street is now blocked off to traffic by bollards at the High Street en ...
and
Logic Lane.
Commentary
The architectural critic
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...
wrote in 1974 that
"The High Street is one of the world's great streets. It has everything."[Stephanie Jenkins]
The High – Quotations
/ref>
He may have been echoing
Thomas Hardy's comment in ''
Jude the Obscure'':
"And there's a street in the place – the main street – that ha'n't another like it in the world."Jude the Obscure
in Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
. The comment is made by a carter describing Christminster, Hardy's pseudonym for Oxford.
Adjoining streets
The following streets, also of historical significance, are off the High Street:
*
Alfred Street
*
Catte Street
*
Cornmarket Street
*
King Edward Street
*
Logic Lane
*
Longwall Street
*
Magpie Lane
*
Merton Street
*
Oriel Street
Oriel Street is a narrow but historic street running between the High Street, Oxford, High Street to the north and Oriel Square to the south in central Oxford, England. The street is now blocked off to traffic by bollards at the High Street en ...
*
Queen Street
*
Queen's Lane
*
St Aldate's
*
Turl Street
Gallery
File:View over Oxford High Street.jpg, View down to buildings on the south side.
File:High Street Oxford Queens College.jpg, View eastwards towards The Queen's College.
File:All Saints Church Oxford (1).jpg, All Saints Church, now Lincoln College's library
File:Oxford Mitre Hotel 1.jpg, The Mitre Hotel
File:Oriel College Rhodes Building.JPG, The Rhodes Building of Oriel College on the south side of the High Street.
File:Carfax tower oxford england.jpg, Carfax, at the western end of the High Street.
File:Magdalen-may-morning-2007-panorama.jpg, Magdalen College and the High Street on May Morning, 2007.
File:High Street in Oxford by Night 2009 LL.jpg, Night view of the High Street with Christmas lights, looking east from Carfax.
See also
* ''
High Street, Oxford'', an oil painting by
J. M. W. Turner, exhibited in 1810
References
External links
The High, Oxfordincludin
touran
historyWebcamfrom Carfax tower looking east down the High Street
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716192031/http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/oxfordtour/carfaxtower/default.html , date=16 July 2012
Oxford City Guideincluding list of shops on The High
Academic enclaves
Shopping streets in Oxford
Streets in Oxford
Tourist attractions in Oxford