George Street, Oxford

For other places with the same name, see George Street.
George Street

The former City of Oxford High School for Boys in George Street
Length 0.2 mi[1] (0.3 km)
Location Oxford, England
Postal code OX1 2
east end 51°45′14″N 1°15′32″W / 51.7540°N 1.2589°W / 51.7540; -1.2589
west end 51°45′13″N 1°15′48″W / 51.7536°N 1.2634°W / 51.7536; -1.2634
Location of George Street in central Oxford
The Grapes public house on George Street.

George Street is a street in central Oxford, England.[2] It is a shopping street running east-west.

Overview

Its eastern end meets Broad Street at a crossroads with Cornmarket Street to the south and Magdalen Street to the north. Its western end meets Hythe Bridge Street at a crossroads with Worcester Street.

The New Theatre Oxford, Oxford's main commercial theatre, is on the north side of the street. For a time it was the Apollo Theatre but it has now reverted to its earlier name. The Burton Taylor Studio is in Gloucester Street, which runs off the north side of George Street. Number 40 on the north side is the OFS Studio.

Gloucester Green bus station is off the north of George Street at the western end. Companies including the Oxford Bus Company and Stagecoach in Oxfordshire operate services from here.

Oxford Business College is at 65 George Street.[3]

History

George Street is just outside the formerly walled part of Oxford, running parallel with the medieval wall. Buildings on the south side of the street occupy plots that were formerly part of the defensive ditch outside the wall.

The former City of Oxford High School for Boys building on the south side of the street was designed by T.G. Jackson and built in 1880-81.[4] In 1966 the school moved to the Southfields Grammar School site and its former building became the University of Oxford Classics Department. Since 2007 the building has housed the University's History Faculty.

W.F. Lucas' ready-to-wear clothing factory on the south side of the street was designed by Harry Drinkwater and built by local contractor T.H. Kingerlee in 1892.[5] As a factory it employed 300 workers.[5] It is now divided into a number of retail and office premises.

The brick buildings of the former fire station and Corn Exchange on the north side of the street were designed by H.W. Moore and built in 1894.[6] By 1974 the fire station had moved to Rewley Road and its former building had been converted to a community arts centre (The Old Fire Station Arts Centre) run by the charity Oxford Area Arts Council and used occasionally by Anvil Productions, the Oxford Playhouse Company, for rehearsals.[6] It has since been the Old Fire Station Theatre and is now the OFS Studio.

The present New Theatre was built in 1933. It is the third New Theatre on the site, replacing successive buildings completed in 1836 and 1886.

The Ritz Cinema on the north side of George Street was built in 1936.[7] Since then it has changed owners and names a number of times. It is now the Odeon George Street.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Walking directions to George St". Google. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  2. ↑ George Street, Oxford History
  3. ↑ Oxford Business College
  4. ↑ Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 303
  5. 1 2 Woolley, 2010, page 88
  6. 1 2 Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 324
  7. ↑ "New Oxford Cinema Opened". The Oxford Times. 24 April 1936.
  8. ↑ ODEON — Oxford George St, Odeon, UK.

Sources

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Coordinates: 51°45′13″N 1°15′42″W / 51.7535°N 1.2617°W / 51.7535; -1.2617

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