Gunfield is a large detached

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

house in

Norham Gardens __NOTOC__ Norham Gardens is a residential road in central North Oxford, England. It adjoins the north end of Parks Road near the junction with Banbury Road, directly opposite St Anne's College, Oxford, St Anne's College. From here it skirts the ...

North Oxford North Oxford is a suburban part of the city of Oxford in England. It was owned for many centuries largely by St John's College, Oxford and many of the area's Victorian architecture, Victorian houses were initially sold on leasehold by the co ...

, a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

suburb of

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 ...

, England. It was designed by the architect

Frederick Codd Frederick Codd (17 July 1831 – 19 October 1888) was a British Gothic Revival architect and speculative builder who designed and built many Victorian houses in North Oxford, England. Codd was born in 1831 in East Dereham in Norfolk, the sixt ...

(1799–1881) and completed in 1877. It is located on the

Norham Manor The Norham Manor estate is a residential suburb in Oxford, England. It is part of central North Oxford. To the north is Park Town with its crescents, to the east is the River Cherwell, to the south are the University Parks and to the west is ...

estate, backing onto the

University Parks The Oxford University Parks, commonly referred to locally as the University Parks, or just The Parks, is a large parkland area slightly northeast of the city centre in Oxford, England. The park is bounded to the east by the River Cherwell, tho ...

, at the junction of Norham Gardens and

Fyfield Road Fyfield Road is a residential road in North Oxford, England, on the Norham Manor estate. At the northern end of the road is a junction with Norham Road and at the southern end is a junction with Norham Gardens, was the University Parks ...

, close to

Lady Margaret Hall Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located on a bank of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formally known under ...

, an

college. The house was

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 1992. The house is built in

red brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

with stone dressings. It has tall

chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typical ...

s and

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s separated by a tower at the front, and with a tiled roof. There are two main storeys, attic rooms, and a semi-basement (four storeys in total). A

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...

with a

balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

was added to the rear in the early 20th century. The house included fireplaces with

William De Morgan William Frend De Morgan (16 November 1839 – 15 January 1917) was an English potter, tile designer and novelist. A lifelong friend of William Morris, he designed tiles, stained glass and furniture for Morris & Co. from 1863 to 1872. His tile ...

tiles.

History

The first leaseholder was the

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

Mary Jephson (1823–1892), who named the house "Gunfield". She lived there with her mother Ann Sarah Jephson (1796–1878), widow of the Rev. William Jephson, M.A., and some of her sisters. She died at Gunfield in 1892 and was buried in

St Sepulchre's Cemetery __NOTOC__ St Sepulchre's Cemetery is a historic cemetery located on Walton Street, Oxford, Walton Street, Jericho, Oxford, Jericho, central Oxford, England. The cemetery was opened in 1848 as a cemetery for the Oxford parishes of St Giles, St ...

, Oxford. Her sister Norah Jephson, also a philanthropist, who was still living at Gunfield, died in 1899 at the home of her brother-in-law Harry Webb in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

. Norah Jephson left Gunfield in her will to her friend

Elizabeth Wordsworth Dame Elizabeth Wordsworth (22 June 1840 – 30 November 1932) was founding Principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and she funded and founded St Hugh's College. She was also an author, sometimes writing under the name Grant Lloyd. Life Word ...

(1840–1932), the first Principal of the nearby women-only

(LMH) during 1879–1909, for the use of the Hall. ENG Oxford Norham Gardens 03

In 1909, a

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

was added to the site, designed by NW & GA Harrison. In 1915, the house and chapel were joined by Arthur Hamilton Moberly. A loggia looking onto the rear garden was also added by Moberly. An extension and garage were built by the former chapel (later a music room), and the main chapel window was changed during the 1930s. In the 20th century for almost five decades, Gunfield was the home of the Deneke family, including Helena Deneke (1878–1973), a bursar and German tutor at

, and her younger sister, the pianist Margaret Deneke (1882–1969). The sisters held musical soirees at Gunfield, attended by guests including

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

and

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German and French polymath from Alsace. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. As a Lutheran minister, ...

. By the 1970s, the windows on the south side of the chapel had been blocked off by a fireplace and chimney, with the space occupied by a college Fellow. In 1979, Gunfield came into the possession of

St Edmund Hall St Edmund Hall (also known as The Hall and Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university" and was the last ...

, another Oxford college, which used the former chapel and music room as its Middle Common Room (MCR) for graduate students. In 1992, Howes, Montgomery & Allen refurbished Gunfield for

. The

Rhodes Trust Rhodes House is a building part of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on South Parks Road in central Oxford, and was built in memory of Cecil Rhodes, an alumnus of the university and a major benefactor. It is listed Grade II* ...

donated £25,000 towards the refurbishment. The work undertaken included an extension to the link building, enclosure of the previously open verandah, rebuilding of the chimneys and roof, and new windows. At the same time, the building was Grade II listed.

Present day

The building is now a Graduate Centre for

, one of the

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

colleges, along with other houses in Norham Gardens used for its student accommodation. , the college is developing the site and the adjacent 17 Norham Gardens as "Norham St Edmund" (NSE). During the initial archaeological search, a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

copper-alloy brooch dating from around 40AD to 200AD was discovered on the site.

References

External links

* 1877 establishments in England Buildings and structures completed in 1877 Grade II listed buildings in Oxford Grade II listed houses in Oxfordshire Gothic Revival architecture in Oxfordshire Brick buildings and structures in the United Kingdom Mansions Historic houses Chapels of the University of Oxford Former churches in Oxford Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford St Edmund Hall, Oxford {{UOxford-stub