Frideswide Square

{{Short description|Square in Oxford, England}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}

{{Use British English|date=April 2017}}

File:Frideswide Square.jpg

Frideswide Square is a square to the west of central Oxford, England. The square is named after the patron saint of Oxford, St Frideswide.

The "square" is actually more of a tapered rectangle in shape. Immediately to the north, the modern Saïd Business School of Oxford University dominates the square, established in 1996 on the site of the former Oxford Rewley Road railway station. To the east are Hythe Bridge Street (A4144) and Park End Street, both leading into central Oxford. Between them is the Royal Oxford Hotel.[http://www.royaloxfordhotel.co.uk/ Royal Oxford Hotel], Park End Street, Oxford, UK. To the south, Hollybush Row and then Oxpens Road (A4144 road) act as an inner ring road leading to Abingdon Road, the main arterial road south out of the city. On the corner with Hollybush Row is the old Frank Cooper's jam factory, now used as office space for Nuffield College and a restaurant.[https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/18742628.big-clean-up-oxfords-jam-factory-complete/ "Big clean-up at Oxford's Jam Factory is complete"], Oxford Mail. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.[https://www.thejamfactoryoxford.com/ The Jam Factory], Hollybush Row, Oxford, UK To the west, Botley Road (A420 road) leads out of the city centre, under a railway bridge just south of the main Oxford railway station, situated to the northwest.

The square is a major traffic hub in Oxford and is often a bottleneck to traffic flow.[http://www.cyclox.org/what-we-say/frideswide-square/ Frideswide Square], [http://www.cyclox.org/ Cyclox: The Cycling Campaign for Oxford].Andrew Malcolm, [https://archive.today/20120730125754/http://www.btinternet.com/~akme/Frideswd.html Are you going to Frideswide Square?], June 2009. Many buses stop in the square.[http://www.livebus.org/oxfordshire/stops/340002070R7/ Frideswide Square — Stop R7], [http://www.livebus.org/oxfordshire/ Oxfordshire], [http://www.livebus.org/ LiveBus.org].

In 2015, work began to transform the square from a congested area to a more attractive public space.Hamilton-Baillie Associates, [http://www.oxford.gov.uk/Direct/69455CD99FrideswideSquareOptionsStudy.pdf Frideswide Square: Initial Analysis Option Appraisal], Oxford City Council, May 2006.[http://www.oxfordwestend.co.uk/PageRender/oxfordwestend/FrideswadeSquare.htm Frideswide Square], [http://www.oxfordwestend.co.uk/ Oxford West End], UK. The main phase of construction works started in February 2015 and continued until December 2015.[https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/content/frideswide-square-and-oxford-station-0 Frideswide Square and Oxford Station], Oxfordshire County Council, February 2015 The new design removes traffic lights from the square and makes use of shared spaces.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-35106202 "Oxford's Frideswide Square redevelopment opens"], BBC. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2021.