Dorset House was a large house in

Headington Headington is an eastern suburb of Oxford, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is at the top of Headington Hill overlooking the city in the Thames valley below, and bordering Marston, Oxford, Marston to the north-west, Cowley, Oxfordshire ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, England. This

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

, known in its later years as Dorset House, was built in 1878 on the south side of London Road, Oxford. It had several names during its lifetime: * 1878–1899: Ellerslie * 1899–1920: Hillstow * 1920–1961: Hillstow Annexe, Headington School * 1961–2004: Dorset House, School of

Occupational Therapy Occupational therapy (OT), also known as ergotherapy, is a healthcare profession. Ergotherapy is derived from the Greek wiktionary:ergon, ergon which is allied to work, to act and to be active. Occupational therapy is based on the assumption t ...

(named after

Dorset House, Bristol Dorset House is an historic building at Litfield Place on Clifton Down, Bristol, England. The building, which was used as a school of occupational therapy and then as the regional headquarters of the Royal Marines Reserve, is a Grade II* listed ...

, where the School of Occupational Therapy had been originally established) Catherine Caughey (1923–2008), who worked on codebreaking at

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and Bletchley Park estate, estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire), that became the principal centre of Allies of World War II, Allied World War II cryptography, code-breaking during the S ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, subsequently trained as an

occupational therapist Occupational therapists (OTs) are health care professionals specializing in occupational therapy and occupational science. OTs and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) use evidence-based practice, scientific bases and a Holism, holistic perspec ...

at Dorset House. The house was acquired by Quintain property developers in 2006 and demolished in 2009. Quintain sold the site to

Berkeley Homes The Berkeley Group Holdings plc is a British property developer and house-builder based in Cobham, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The firm was founded in 1976 by Tony Pidgl ...

in September 2010 for £5m. The site was developed as

student housing A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

for

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...

students during 2011–12. and is managed by Unite, still under the name of Dorset House.

References

1878 establishments in England 2009 disestablishments in England Houses completed in 1878 Buildings and structures demolished in 2009 Occupational therapy organizations Former buildings and structures in Oxford Houses in Oxfordshire Demolished buildings and structures in Oxfordshire Defunct schools in Oxfordshire Oxford Brookes University Halls of residence in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in Oxford History of Oxford {{Oxfordshire-struct-stub