Oxford 1863 directory index
Directory of Pubs in the UK, historical public houses, Taverns, Inns, Beer Houses and Hotels in Oxfordshire. The Oxfordshire listing uses information from census, Trade Directories and History to add licensees, bar staff, Lodgers and Visitors.
The following entries are in this format:
Year/Publican or other Resident/Relationship to Head and or Occupation/Age/Where Born/Source.
Oxford Churches.
The city and suburbs of Oxford comprise fifteen parishes and three
ecclesiastical districts, viz., St. Aldate, All Saints', Binsey, St. Ebbe,
St. Giles', St. Cross or Holywell, St. Clement, St. John the Baptist, St.
Mary the Virgin, St. Martin, St. Mary Magdalen, St. Michael, St. Paul, St.
Peter-le-Bailey, St. Peter-in-the-East, St. Thomas a Becket, the Holy
Trinity, and St. John's, or Summertown. The district termed the Holy Trinity
was formed of a portion of the parish of St. Ebbe. St. Paul's comprises
parts of the parishes of St. Giles and St. Thomas, and Summertown was a
portion of St. Giles.
St. Aldate's Church, is a large irregular edifice, of ancient structure,
with tower containing five bells, and surmounted by an octagonal spire; it
is said to have been founded about 1004. The living is a rectory in the gift
of Pembroke College, to which it was granted by. Charles I., in 1636. This
parish includes the hamlet of Grand-pont, situated locally in Berkshire.
All Saints' Church, adjoining Lincoln College, was erected in the year 1708,
from designs by Dr. Henry Aldrich, the learned Dean of Christ Church, on the
site of the old church of All Hallows, which fell down from decay in 1699.
It is a fine building, 72 feet by 42, in the style of architecture which was
brought into popularity by Sir Christopher Wren. Corinthian pilasters occur
in duplicates between the windows of the lower tier and plentifully
introduced in the interior; the steeple is of three stages, and consists of
a rustic square tower, with five bells, a turret encircled by Corinthian
pillars, and a handsome tapering spire. The living is a perpetual curacy in
the gift of Lincoln College.
St. Clement's is a parish at the eastern end of the city, on the Marston
road. The church is a modern building, in the Norman style, with massive
pillars, having small varied capitals, and low semi-circular arches. The
general effect of the structure is pleasing. The living is a rectory in the
gift of the Lord Chancellor. There is also a temporary district church,
constructed of iron, lately erected in the parish of Cowley, near to and for
the use of the populous parish of St. Clement.
St. Cross, or Holywell Church is situate at the junction of Long Wall, and
Holywell-streets, on the north side of the city, and was erected by Robert
D'Oyley. The chancel contains a fine stained-glass window, representing
Christ with St. Peter and St. Paul on either side. The principal members of
Wadham College, which is in this parish, have seats in this church. The
tower, erected in 1464, contains a fine peal of six bells. The living is a
perpetual curacy, in the gift of Merton College.
St. Ebbe's Church, in St- Ebbe's-street, is a church bearing date from the
earliest Saxon ages. The tower composed of very massive masonry is the only
remaining part of the original building. The modern portion of the edifice
is in the pointed style of architecture, corresponding with the tower, and
was erected in 1817, at a cost of £3,000, This church was formerly attached
to the Abbey of Eynsham, and was dedicated to St. Ebbe, daughter of
Ethelfrid, King of Northumberland, who died in the year 683. The living is a
rectory in the patronage of the Lord Chancellor.
St. Giles' Church is situated between two roads, the one leading to Banbury,
the other to Woodstock; it was erected in the 12th century, as some have
supposed on the site of an " ancient British temple." It consists of nave,
two aisles, chancel, an embattled tower at the western end, and has two
highly ornamented windows. Here lie the remains of Dr. Rawlinson, founder of
the Anglo Saxon professorship. There is a beautifully designed font. The
living is a vicarage in the patronage of St. John's College. A new district
church, in a very beautiful style of Gothic architecture, has recently been
erected in St. Giles' fields from the designs of Mr. G. E. Street. The
estimated cost of the work is about £7,000; its execution was entrusted to
Messrs. Castle and Co., of this city. The building of a new suburb of Oxford
on land in this parish, consisting of Park town (including Park crescent,
Park terrace, and many very elegant villas), Norham manor, Walton manor, and
Northbourne, has led to the necessity of a separation of this district, for
parochial purposes. The church is dedicated to St. Philip and St. James, and
is endowed by St. John's college.
Holt Trinity Church is a neat modern Gothic erection, situated in
Blackfriars Road. It was built by subscription, at a cost of £3,400 and
consecrated on the 14th October, 1845. The living is a perpetual curacy, in
the gift of the Crown and Bishop of Oxford, alternately.
St. John The Baptist Church, Merton Street, used also as the chapel of
Merton. College, originally belonged to the monks of Reading Abbey, who gave
it to Walter de Merton. The present edifice was built in 1424, on the ruins
of a very ancient pile, and is one of the finest ecclesiastical structures
in Oxford. It consists of the choir and transept of a cruciform building
without the nave. The tower was erected by Thomas Rodbourne, Bishop of St.
David's, and "Warden of Merton College, and is in the perpendicular style.
The windows of the transept are a happy specimen of the florid or
perpendicular style; those of the choir are in the decorated style, richly
painted with representations of saints. The great eastern window is of
exquisitely delicate masonry, and has a St. Catharine wheel finely worked
and completely filled with coloured glass; this window is perhaps the most
perfect instance of spreading the mullions with so fine an eflect, in
existence. The interior was decorated in 1850 in a very beautiful style,
principally by the Rev. John Hungerford Pollen, fellow of the college. The
corbels on the northern side of the church are better designed and executed
than any others of the same kind in Oxford; the elevation of the northern
transept towards the street, with its windows and recesses, presents a very
fine coup-d'oeil. The altar-piece is a fine picture, by Tintoretto, of the
crucifixion. There is a monument to the memory of Sir Thomas Bodley, founder
of the Bodleian library, on the north side of the altar and near it, another
to Bishop Earle, author of "Microscosmography." There is also a memorial to
the celebrated antiquary of Oxford, Anthony Wood, who died in 1695, and is
buried in the ante-chapel.
St. John The Baptist, Summertown. This church was erected in 1833, at a cost
of £1,600, obtained partly by subscription and partly from the Church
Building Society. It is rather a handsome structure, of lancet architecture.
The living is a perpetual curacy in the gift of St. John's College.
St. Margaret's, Binsey, is an ancient structure, the living of which is in
the presentation of the Dean and Canons of Christ Church. The village is
situate on the western bank of the river Thames, and forms a distinct parish
within the liberty of Oxford, from which place it is distant 1 mile.
St. Martin's, or Carfax, is the city church, where the Mayor and Corporation
attend divine service; the body of the structure is of recent erection, and
wag opened June 16, 1822; the only part of the original edifice left is the
tower, which appears very ancient, and was reduced from its former more
lofty and imposing dimensions to its present condition, in the reign of
Edward III., in consequence of a complaint by the students that "in time of
combat" the townspeople would retire to it as their castle, and annoy them
with stones and arrows. This church ia situate at the meeting of the four
main streets of the city, let guatre vois, from which Norman designation the
word Carfax is a corruption. The living is a rectory in the gift of the Lord
Chancellor.
St. Mary The Virgin, the present University Church, is one of the principal
ornaments of High street, and is a vicarage in the patronage of Oriel
College; it is a handsome Gothic structure erected by the contributions of
several Bishops and other wealthy persons in 1498, on the site of a very
ancient church. The fine and imposing appearance of the tower and spire
cannot fail to attract the attention of the stranger. The church consists of
a spacious nave, aisles, and large chancel, and is about 260 feet in length
and 50 in breadth; the height of the roof is 70 feet. The tower contains a
peal of six fine-toned bells, and the octagonal spire with which it ia
surmounted is 180 feet high. Over the entablature of the southern porch, in
the High Street, is a statue of the Virgin Mary placed there in 1637 by
Morgan Owen, D.D. Chaplain to Archbishop Laud, but defaced soon after its
erection; in the accusations against the Archbishop, who was then Chancellor
of the University, the placing it there made one of the articles of his
impeachment. The Common Law School is on the northern side of the chancel,
where the Vinerian Professor reads his lectures.
St. Mary Magdalen.— This church, situate in Magdalen Street, is supposed to
have been built before the Norman Conquest; it was enlarged by Bishop Hugh,
in the reign of King John, and partly re-built in the time of Henry VIII. It
possesses a very singular and interesting east window, of the decorated
style, which has been the subject of much discussion as to its age. There is
also a very curious window on the west side of the tower of the French
flamboyant order, which has all the appearance of having been brought from
another building. This church ia thought to possess the best specimens of
sculpture in Oxford, and contains a very ancient font. One aisle has been
re-built, as a part of the martyrs' memorial, and is called the " martyrs'
aisle." The living is a vicarage in the gift of the Dean and Canons of
Christ Church.
The Chapel Of Ease, in George Street, dedicated to St. George the martyr, is
a neat modern structure, attached to the living of St. Mary Magdalen.
St. Michael's Church, Corn Market Street. This edifice is very ancient and
once formed part of St. Frideswida's Priory, then styled St. Mildred. The
tower is supposed to date from Saxon times. The living is a perpetual curacy
in the gift of the Rector and Fellows of Lincoln College.
St. Paul's Church is a handsome church of the Ionic order, situate opposite
to the University Printing Office, and was built by public subscription in
the year 1836. It is 80 feet long and 39 broad, and capable of seating 900
persons. The living is a perpetual curacy in the gift of the Bishop of
Oxford.
St. Peter-le-Bailey.—This church is situate in Queen Street, near the
castle, and was re-built in 1740; it is supposed to derive its name from
having been in the Bailey of the castle, and is said to have belonged
originally to St. Frideswida'a Priory. The living is a vicarage in the gift
of the crown.
St. Peter-in-the-east, situate in High Street, is said by Wood to have been
"the first church that was built of stone that appeared in these parts." It
is believed to have been partly erected by St. Grimbald, in the 9th century.
This was formerly the University church. Its length, exclusive of the
chancel, is 76 feet, and its width 12. The interior contains some fine
stained-glass windows and other architectural beauties. Beneath the chancel
is one of the finest and best-preserved crypts in England, the arches of
which are supported by four ranges of short Saxon columns. The living is a
vicarage, in the presentation of Merton College.
St. Thomas's Church, St. Thomas's Street, is a fine old structure, to which
a new aisle was added, by the present incumbent, in 1817. The abbacies of
Osney and Rewley were both in this parish; at the dissolution of the former
it was granted to Christ Church, to which it still belongs. The living is a
perpetual curacy in the gift of Christ Church. The chapelry of St.
Frideswida, at New Osney, with the Boatmen's Chapel, is in connection with
St. Thomas'.
The dissenting denominations have chapels as follows:—The General Baptist, a
moderate-sized structure at the top of the New Road; the Particular Baptist,
a large edifice in the Commercial Road; the Independent Chapel, a large and
ornamental building in George Street; the Wesleyan Chapel, a large handsome
structure, erected in 1817, situate in New Inn Hall Street; the Reformed
Wesleyans, a plain building situate in Paradise Square, and the Primitive
Methodist a small brick structure in New Street; besides these, the Society
of Friends have a meeting house in St. Giles', the Jews a synagogue in
Paradise Square, and the Roman Catholics a church in High Street, St.
Clement's; there is also a Wesleyan Centenary Chapel, in Caroline Street,
St. Clement's.
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