Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford

Image: © David Hallam-Jones Taken: 29 Jul 2013

Although Oxford University Press (OUP) has premises in at least one other office block nearby, this is its oldest, largest and most impressive local building. In 1825 its "Delegates" bought this plot of land at the corner of Walton Street and Great Clarendon Street in the north-west of the city. The buildings were designed by Edward Blore and Daniel Robertson; the latter of whom it was said worked best after two bottles of sherry even if this necessitated him sometimes having to be transported around the building site in a wheelbarrow. The new printing house was finished in 1830 and looked out over orchards and meadows in the vicinity of Oxford Canal. This, however, is a southerly view, in the direction of the city centre with the commercial heart of Jericho behind the photographer. Jericho soon expanded around this new employment source, becoming an unplanned mish-mash of houses and pubs that quickly developed a bad reputation; Walton Street in fact became home to a Victorian workhouse. Interestingly, Thomas Combe (1796-1872), printer to the University and his wife Martha, spent much of their earnings on trying to raise the moral tone of the area. They funded night school classes and social groups inside the OUP premises and also endowed nearby St. Barnabas' Church. Thus it seems that OUP and Jericho have had a longstanding, symbiotic relationship.

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0