North Oxford
Encyclopedia
St John's College, Oxford
__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...
and many of the area's Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
houses were initially sold on leasehold by the College.
The leafy roads of Woodstock Road to the west and Banbury Road
Banbury Road
Banbury Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England, running from St Giles' at the south end, north towards Banbury through the leafy suburb of North Oxford and Summertown, with its local shopping centre. Parallel and to the west is the Woodstock Road, which it meets at the junction with St...
to the east (leading to Woodstock
Woodstock, Oxfordshire
Woodstock is a small town northwest of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. It is the location of Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Winston Churchill was born in Blenheim Palace in 1874 and is buried in the nearby village of Bladon....
and Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
respectively) run north-south through the area, meeting at their southern ends to become St Giles' Street. North Oxford is noted for its schools, especially its private schools. These include the Dragon School
Dragon School
The Dragon School is a British coeducational, preparatory school in the city of Oxford, founded in 1877 as the Oxford Preparatory School, or OPS. It is primarily known as a boarding school, although it also takes day pupils...
and Summer Fields (formerly Summerfield), which are preparatory schools
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
, and St Edward's School
St Edward's School (Oxford)
St. Edward's School is a co-educational independent boarding school located in Oxford, England. The school is located on the Woodstock Road in the north of the city close to the suburb of Summertown. In 2007 it was voted by the Country Life Magazine as number one in the top ten schools in the UK...
and the Oxford High School for Girls, which are secondary schools.
Geography
Four of Oxford University's former women's colleges, Lady Margaret HallLady Margaret Hall, Oxford
Lady Margaret Hall is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located at the end of Norham Gardens in north Oxford. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £34m....
, St Anne's, St Hugh's
St Hugh's College, Oxford
St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a fourteen and a half acre site on St Margaret's Road, to the North of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 as a women's college, and accepted its first male students in its centenary year in 1986...
and Somerville
Somerville College, Oxford
Somerville College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and was one of the first women's colleges to be founded there...
(at the southern extreme) are located in North Oxford. There are also four graduate colleges, Green College
Green College, Oxford
Green College was a graduate college of the University of Oxford in England. It was centred around an architecturally appealing 18th century building: the Radcliffe Observatory, which is modelled after the ancient "Tower of the Winds" in Athens....
, St Antony's
St Antony's College, Oxford
St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.St Antony's is the most international of the seven all-graduate colleges of the University of Oxford, specialising in international relations, economics, politics, and history of particular parts of the...
, both off the Woodstock Road, Kellogg
Kellogg College, Oxford
Kellogg College is one of the largest and most international graduate constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Kellogg College is a graduate college and admissions are not open to undergraduates. The college focuses on the concept of higher, postgraduate and lifelong learning...
on Banbury Road, and to the east Wolfson
Wolfson College, Oxford
Wolfson College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Located in north Oxford along the River Cherwell, Wolfson is an all-graduate college with over sixty governing body fellows, in addition to both research and junior research fellows. It caters to a wide range of...
, on the River Cherwell
River Cherwell
The River Cherwell is a river which flows through the Midlands of England. It is a major tributary of the River Thames.The general course of the River Cherwell is north to south and the 'straight-line' distance from its source to the Thames is about...
. Further south, also bordering the Cherwell, are the University Parks
University Parks
The Oxford University Parks, more normally the University Parks, or just The Parks to members of the local community, is one large parkland area slightly northeast of the Oxford city centre in England...
. A large open area of ancient common land, Port Meadow
Port Meadow, Oxford
Port Meadow is a large area of common land beside the River Thames to the north and west of Oxford, England.The meadow is an ancient area of grazing land, still used for horses and cattle, and has never been ploughed...
, adjoining the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
, is located to the west.
Much of the central area contains excellent examples of late 19th century Victorian Gothic architecture, and is now a conservation area
Conservation area
A conservation areas is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded...
. There are Regency
Regency architecture
The Regency style of architecture refers primarily to buildings built in Britain during the period in the early 19th century when George IV was Prince Regent, and also to later buildings following the same style...
-style houses built in the mid-19th century in the crescents of Park Town
Park Town, Oxford
Park Town is a small residential area in central North Oxford, a suburb of Oxford, England. It was one of the earliest planned suburban developments in the area.-History and overview:...
, initially in the middle of the countryside but now surrounded by the rest of the suburb.
Central North Oxford between the city centre and Summertown
Summertown, Oxford
Summertown in North Oxford is a suburb of Oxford, England.Summertown is a residential area, one mile square north of St Giles, the beautiful boulevard leading out of Oxford’s city centre. Summertown is home to exclusive schools and the city’s most expensive houses. On both sides of Banbury Road are...
, has been described as the most desirable suburb of Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is popularly supposed that it was originally developed for the dons
University don
A don is a fellow or tutor of a college or university, especially traditional collegiate universities such as Oxford and Cambridge in England.The term — similar to the title still used for Catholic priests — is a historical remnant of Oxford and Cambridge having started as ecclesiastical...
of the University once they were allowed to marry. However central North Oxford in particular includes many large houses which were then unaffordable by most dons, and the houses were instead occupied by successful tradesmen of the city. Today, many homes are occupied by rich London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
commuters, attracted by the good schools. A number of the larger houses are used by Oxford colleges and other educational establishments.
At the northern extremity of North Oxford, which is approximately the line of the A40
A40 road
The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Fishguard, Wales and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road in all legal documents and Acts...
(the northern bypass, part of the Oxford ring road
Oxford Ring Road
The Oxford ring road is a ring road around the city of Oxford, England. It is a dual carriageway for most of its length apart from a short section to the North between the Woodstock and Banbury Roads....
) are three suburbs, Sunnymead
Sunnymead
Sunnymead is a suburb in the northern part of Oxford, England, just south of the Oxford Ring Road .Close by are the suburbs of Cutteslowe to the north, Summertown to the south and Upper Wolvercote to the west. To the east is the River Cherwell, which flows south towards central Oxford....
and Cutteslowe
Cutteslowe
Cutteslowe is a suburb of north Oxford, England, between Sunnymead and Water Eaton.-Manor:By AD 1004 St. Frideswide's Minster in Oxford held two hides of land at Cutteslowe. St. Frideswide's became an Augustinian Priory that continued to hold Cutteslowe until it was suppressed in 1525. It then...
(to the east of Banbury Road) and Wolvercote
Wolvercote
Wolvercote is a village that is part of the City of Oxford, England, though still retaining its own identity. It is about northwest of the centre of Oxford, on the northern edge of Wolvercote Common, which is itself north of Port Meadow.-History:The village is listed in the Domesday Book as...
to the west of Woodstock Road. Beyond the bypass is the village of Kidlington
Kidlington
Kidlington is a large village and civil parish between the River Cherwell and the Oxford Canal, north of Oxford and southwest of Bicester.-History:...
. Wolvercote Cemetery
Wolvercote Cemetery
Wolvercote Cemetery is a cemetery close to the north Oxford suburb of Wolvercote, England, off the Banbury Road. Unusually, this single cemetery is divided into areas to accommodate graves of the Jewish and Muslim communities, as well as all categories of Christians. Many Russians, Poles and other...
contains the grave of J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
(note that Wolvercote Cemetery is not in Wolvercote itself, but beside Banbury Road north of the A40). Cutteslowe Park
Cutteslowe Park, Oxford
Cutteslowe Park is a public park in Cutteslowe in North Oxford, England. It wasestablished in 1935 when Oxford City Council acquired land of the former Cutteslowe Manor farm, whose house still stands at its centre. More land was acquired in 1937...
is a large open area just to the north of this bypass.
Notable people
North Oxford has attracted famous residents, such as the authors and academics J. R. R. TolkienJ. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
(1892–1973) and Iris Murdoch
Iris Murdoch
Dame Iris Murdoch DBE was an Irish-born British author and philosopher, best known for her novels about political and social questions of good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious...
(1919–1999). Murdoch lived with her husband and fellow academic John Bayley, and the area was featured in the biographical film, Iris. T. E. Lawrence
T. E. Lawrence
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO , known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18...
(known as Lawrence of Arabia) grew up in Polstead Road
Polstead Road
Polstead Road is a residential road that runs between Kingston Road and Hayfield Road to the west and the Woodstock Road to the east, in the suburb of North Oxford, England. Half way along it forms the southern junction of Chalfont Road...
, North Oxford. Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
of the BBC TV Series Top Gear is also resident in North Oxford.
Sir John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
(1906–1984), Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
, was an enthusiast about North Oxford and wrote poems mentioning the area, such as May-Day Song for North Oxford:
Belbroughton RoadBelbroughton RoadBelbroughton Road is a residential road in the suburb of North Oxford, England. The road runs east from Banbury Road. At the other end is Oxford High School, a girls' school. South from the road about half way along is Northmoor Road, where J.R.R. Tolkien lived for a while in the 1930s. At the...
is bonny, and pinkly bursts the spray
Of prunus and forsythia across the public way,
For a full spring-tide of blossom seethed and departed hence,
Leaving land-locked pools of jonquils by sunny garden fence.
And a constant sound of flushing runneth from windows whence
The toothbrush too is airing in this new North Oxford air.
See also
- Norham ManorNorham ManorThe Norham Manor estate is a residential suburb in Oxford, England. It is part of central North Oxford. To the north is Park Town with its crescents, to the east is the River Cherwell, to the south are the University Parks and to the west is Walton Manor, on the other side of Banbury Road.The...
- Walton ManorWalton ManorWalton Manor is a residential suburb in Oxford, England. It is north of Jericho and the former site of the Radcliffe Infirmary hospital and forms part of North Oxford. The street layout and many of the area's buildings date from the mid-19th century...
- Acland HospitalAcland HospitalThe Acland Hospital was a private nursing home and hospital in central North Oxford, England, located in a prominent position at the southern end of the Banbury Road.-1878-1903:It was founded in memory of Sarah Acland The Acland Hospital (also previously known as the Acland Nursing Home, Acland...
- Cherwell BoathouseCherwell BoathouseThe Cherwell Boathouse is a boathouse on the River Cherwell in Oxford, England. It is located down a small lane off the junction between Chadlington Road and Bardwell Road, which itself is off the Banbury Road in North Oxford....
- Oxford EcohouseOxford EcohousePlease provide references for below informationOxford Ecohouse is a house in Oxford designed to maximise energy efficiency. It is equipped with the first photovoltaic cell roof installed in Britain . Situated in a suburban street in North Oxford, it was designed by Susan Roaf, a professor at...
- St Philip and St James Church