High Street, Oxford

File:Arthur James Melhuish (XIX. century) View of High Street Oxford SFMOMA.jpg on the left and the spires of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin and All Saints Church in the distance.|left]]

The street has been described by Nikolaus Pevsner as "one of the world's great streets".{{cite book | title=The Encyclopaedia of Oxford | publisher=Macmillan | chapter=High Street | year=1988 | pages=183–185 | isbn=0-333-39917-X | editor-last=Hibbert |editor-first=Christopher |editor-link=Christopher Hibbert }} It forms a gentle curve and is the subject of many prints, paintings, photographs, etc. The looking west towards Carfax with University College on the left and The Queen's College on the right is an especially popular view. There are many historical buildings on the street, including the University of Oxford buildings and colleges.Stephanie Jenkins, [http://www.oxfordhistory.org.uk/high/history/ History of the High]. Locally the street is often known as "The High".

To the north are (west to east): Lincoln College (main entrance on Turl Street, including All Saints Church, now Lincoln College's library.), Brasenose College (main entrance in Radcliffe Square), St Mary's (the University Church), All Souls College, The Queen's College, St Edmund Hall (main entrance in Queen's Lane) and Magdalen College (including Magdalen Tower).

To the south are (west to east): Oriel College, University College (including the Boyle-Hooke plaque outside the Shelley Memorial), the Examination Schools, the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, the Eastgate Hotel (at the original entrance to the city) and the Botanic Garden.

File:Oxford High Street shoppers.jpg end.|left]]

Queen's Lane Coffee House (at the junction with Queen's Lane) was established in 1654 and was probably Oxford's first coffee house. This title is however disputed with 'The Grand Café' Coffee House, which claims that it was established in 1650 and stands opposite Queen's Lane coffee house.File:Magdalen College Oxford 20040613.jpg with its tower, at the eastern end of the High Street]]

Despite an influx of chain stores in nearby Cornmarket Street, the High is home to a number of specialist independent retailers. These include Shepherd & Woodward (University outfitters), Payne & Son (goldsmiths), Sanders of Oxford (print sellers) and Waterfield's Books. To the north at the western end between Cornmarket and the Turl is the historic traditional Covered Market, established in 1774.

William Henry Butler, later Mayor of Oxford, was a wine merchant with premises in the High Street during the early 19th century.[http://www.oxfordhistory.org.uk/mayors/1836_1962/butler_william_1836.html William Henry Butler: Mayor of Oxford, January–October 1836], [http://www.oxfordhistory.org.uk/mayors/ Mayors of Oxford].

Edward Bracher, a pioneering Victorian photographer, had a shop at 26 High Street. Henry Taunt, another photographer, joined him as a member of staff in 1856. Taunt later returned to 41 High Street after the lease for his own shop premises in Broad Street expired in 1894.

83 High Street bears a blue plaque (10 October 2001) commemorating Sarah Cooper (1848–1932) marmalade maker, wife of Frank Cooper whose shop at 83–84 High Street was the origin of the Frank Cooper jam business (a brand now owned by Premier Foods). The company made "Oxford Marmalade" famous.

In June 1879, George Claridge Druce (also a noted botanist and later mayor of the city) moved to Oxford and set up a chemist's shop, Druce & Co., at 118 High Street. This continued until his death 1932.

The Old Bank Hotel was the first new hotel for 135 years in the centre of Oxford. Quod Restaurant & Bar is also part of the hotel, located between the junctions with Oriel Street and Logic Lane.

The architectural critic Nikolaus Pevsner wrote in 1974 that

"The High Street is one of the world's great streets. It has everything."Stephanie Jenkins, [http://www.oxfordhistory.org.uk/high/quotes/index.html The High – Quotations][http://archive.oxfordmail.net/2008/5/3/243066.html Article on the street]{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} in the Oxford Mail

He may have been echoing Thomas Hardy's comment in Jude the Obscure:

"And there's a street in the place – the main street – that ha'n't another like it in the world."[https://books.google.com/books?id=RudgpOrL69sC&dq=And+there%27s+a+street+in+the+place+%E2%80%93+the+main+street+%E2%80%93+that+ha%27n%27t+another+like+it+in+the+world&pg=PA25 Jude the Obscure] in Google Books. The comment is made by a carter describing Christminster, Hardy's pseudonym for Oxford.

The following streets, also of historical significance, are off the High Street:

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• Alfred Street
• Catte Street
• Cornmarket Street
• King Edward Street
• Logic Lane
• Longwall Street
• Magpie Lane
• Merton Street
• Oriel Street
• Queen Street
• Queen's Lane
• St Aldate's
• Turl Street

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File:View over Oxford High Street.jpg|View down to buildings on the south side.

File:High Street Oxford Queens College.jpg|View eastwards towards The Queen's College.

File:All Saints Church Oxford (1).jpg|All Saints Church, now Lincoln College's library

File:Oxford Mitre Hotel 1.jpg|The Mitre Hotel

File:Oriel College Rhodes Building.JPG|The Rhodes Building of Oriel College on the south side of the High Street.

File:Carfax tower oxford england.jpg|Carfax, at the western end of the High Street.

File:Magdalen-may-morning-2007-panorama.jpg|Magdalen College and the High Street on May Morning, 2007.

File:High Street in Oxford by Night 2009 LL.jpg|Night view of the High Street with Christmas lights, looking east from Carfax.

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|caption = Panoramic view of the High Street looking south from the tower of St Mary's Church.

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• High Street, Oxford, an oil painting by J. M. W. Turner, exhibited in 1810

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{{Commons category|High Street, Oxford}}

• [http://www.oxfordhistory.org.uk/high/ The High, Oxford] including [http://www.oxfordhistory.org.uk/high/tour/ tour] and [http://www.oxfordhistory.org.uk/high/history/ history]
• [http://www.bbc.co.uk/oxford/content/webcams/oxford_high_st_webcam.shtml Webcam] from Carfax tower looking east down the High Street
• [http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/oxfordtour/carfaxtower/default.html 360° QuickTime view from the top of Carfax Tower] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716192031/http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/oxfordtour/carfaxtower/default.html |date=16 July 2012 }}
• [http://www.oxfordcityguide.com/ Oxford City Guide] including list of shops on The High

Category:Academic enclaves

Category:Shopping streets in Oxford

Category:Streets in Oxford

Category:Tourist attractions in Oxford