Ship Street is a short 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 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 ...

that runs east–west.

Location

The street lies north of Jesus College and west of Exeter College, two of

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a 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 second-oldest continuously operating u ...

's colleges. To the south, at the western end is the Junior Common Room of Jesus and to the eastern end is the same college's

Principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

's (private) garden. At the western end is

St Michael at the Northgate __NOTOC__ St Michael at the North Gate is a church in Cornmarket Street, at the junction with Ship Street, in central Oxford, England. The name derives from the church's location on the site of the north gate of Oxford when it was surrounded ...

church, near the site of the original north gate in the city wall. Originally Oxford's wall ran just to the north of Ship Street. At the eastern end once stood the QI Building, a member's club, bookshop and café associated with the comedic quiz show QI television series on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

, and established by the comedy producer John Lloyd. The entrance to the building was in

Turl Street Turl Street is a historic street in central Oxford, England. Location The street is located in the city centre, linking Broad Street at the north and High Street at the south. It intersects with Brasenose Lane to the east, and Market St ...

. The building now plays host to Turl Street Kitchen, a

Social Enterprise A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners. Social enterprises ha ...

cafe-bar-restaurant which raises money for the student volunteering charity, Student Hubs. To the west is the major shopping street,

Cornmarket Street Cornmarket Street (colloquially referred to as Cornmarket or historically The Corn) is a major shopping street and pedestrian zone, pedestrian precinct in Oxford, England that runs north to south between Magdalen Street and Carfax, Oxford, Carfax ...

, with St Michael's Street opposite, and to the east is the Turl. Market Street runs parallel with Ship Street to the south and Broad Street runs similarly to the north.

History

The street has had a number of names. It was known as Dewy's Lane in the 13th century, after a family who lived there. Its name was Somenor's Lane in 1385. For a time the street was known by the name of Lawrence Hall, which was on the south side of the street, 30–40 yards from Turl Street. The name of "Ship Street" was used from about 1762, after an

alehouse A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

in the street. At one time, there was a sheep market in the street and its name is a possible corruption of this. The street used to be much longer than it is today, running east through

Catte Street Catte Street is a historic street in central Oxford, England. Location Catte Street runs north–south, continuing as Parks Road to the north (beyond a junction with Broad Street and Holywell Street). The street passes along the eastern si ...

to the city wall at

Eastgate Eastgate may refer to: Places Canada * Eastgate, Alberta, Canada * Eastgate, British Columbia, Canada United Kingdom * Eastgate, Bourne, Lincolnshire * Eastgate, Chester, a gate through the Roman walls, with a clock above * Eastgate, County Du ...

. St Anne's College, when it was still known as the Society of Oxford Home-Students, had its first

common room A common room is a type of shared lounge, most often found in halls of residence or dormitories, at (for example) universities, colleges, military bases, hospitals, rest homes, hostels, and even minimum-security prisons. They are generall ...

at 16 Ship Street. The annual magazine for former members of the college is entitled '' The Ship''. There are still many 16th to early 18th century houses in the street that are

Grade II listed building 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 ...

Gallery

File:Ship Street Oxford looking west.jpg, View west from the Turl along Ship Street. File:Ship Street houses.jpg, Ship Street, with Jesus College on the left. File:Jesus College Ship Street gate.jpg, The Jesus College Ship Street entrance on the corner with the Turl, with Exeter College on the left. File:St Michael Northgate Oxford 20040124.jpg, The Saxon tower of

at the eastern end of Ship Street.

References

{{coord, 51.75377, N, 1.25721, W, source:placeopedia, display=title Streets in Oxford Jesus College, Oxford St Anne's College, Oxford

Location

History

Gallery

See also

References