Thornton's Bookshop (locally known as Thornton's) was the oldest

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

bookshop 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 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 founded in 1835 by Joseph Thornton (1808–1891) in Magdalen Street. From 1870, the bookshop was located at 11 Broad Street (opposite

Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...

), continued as a family business by five generations of the Thornton family and from 1983 by the Meeuws family, but closed at the end of 2002. The shop premises on Broad Street were frequently used for television adaptations like the final ''

Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John ...

'' episode, '' The Remorseful Day''.

References

1835 establishments in England Retail companies established in 1835 2002 disestablishments in England Retail companies disestablished in 2002 Shops in Oxford History of Oxford Bookshops of England Former shops in England {{UK-retail-company-stub

See also

References