Oxpens Road is a road in central

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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, linking west and south Oxford. It is named after the marshy area of Oxpens, next to one of the branches of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

in Oxford. It forms part of the

A420 road The A420 is a road between Bristol and Oxford in England. Between Swindon and Oxford it is a primary route. Route Since the opening of the M4 motorway in the 1970s, the road has been in two sections. The first section begins on Old Market ...

Locale

To the northwest, Oxpens Road becomes Hollybush Row, meeting at

Frideswide Square Frideswide Square is a Town square, 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, th ...

, forming the major junction of the

Botley Road Botley Road is the main road into the centre of Oxford, England from the west. It stretches between Botley, on the Oxford Ring Road ( A34) to the west of the city, and Frideswide Square at the junction with Oxford railway station, close to ...

Park End Street Park End Street is a street in central Oxford, England, to the west of the centre of the city, close to the Oxford railway station, railway station at its western end. Location To the east, New Road, Oxford, New Road links Park End Street to ...

and Hythe Bridge Street near the

Saïd Business School Saïd Business School (Oxford Saïd or SBS) is the business school of the University of Oxford. The school is a provider of management education. Business and management classes started at Oxford in 1965 when the Centre of Management Studies, ...

and

Oxford railway station Oxford railway station is a mainline railway station, one of two serving the city of Oxford, England. It is about west of the city centre, north-west of Frideswide Square and the eastern end of Botley Road. It is the busiest station in Oxfords ...

(to the west of the city centre). To the southeast it becomes Thames Street, just north of the

, and meets the junction with the south end of St Aldates near Christ Church Meadow (to the south of the city centre). It forms part of an inner

ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist in reducin ...

for the southwest part of the centre of Oxford. Halfway along is the

Oxford Ice Rink Oxford Ice Rink is a 56 × 26m ice rink with capacity for 1025, located on Oxpens Road in Oxford, England. It is a ten-minute walk from Oxford city centre and railway station. In 1980, money was raised by the Oxford Ice Skating Trust (OXIST) ...

, a distinctive 1984 building by

Nicholas Grimshaw Sir Nicholas Grimshaw (born 9 October 1939) is a prominent English architect, particularly noted for several modernist buildings, including London's Waterloo International railway station and the Eden Project in Cornwall. He was President of ...

, which is the home of the

Oxford City Stars The Oxford City Stars are an ice hockey team based in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.The team was founded in 1984. They currently play in the NIHL South Division 1 at Oxford Ice Rink, Oxford. History The British Hockey League (1984–1996) ...

ice hockey team. One of the campuses of the

City of Oxford College City of Oxford College is a further education college in Oxford, England. It has two campuses: the City Centre campus in Oxford city centre, and the Technology Campus in Blackbird Leys, south-east of Oxford city. Introduction It used to be c ...

is located here on the north side. The road crosses the southern end of the

Castle Mill Stream Castle Mill Stream is a long Backwater (river), backwater of the River Thames in the west of Oxford, England. It has its own secondary backwater, known as the Wareham Stream, that is long. Course Castle Mill Stream The Castle Mill Stream l ...

just before it reaches the River Thames. Oxpens Road also provides access to major

car park A parking lot or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdic ...

s for the centre of Oxford, including the Westgate Shopping Centre. A redeveloped and greatly expanded shopping centre opened in 2017, but there have been concerns over the imposing and largely windowless wall at the southwest of the redevelopment on Oxpens Road by conservationists, including the

Oxford Civic Society The Oxford Civic Society is a civic society that was founded in 1969 to oppose plans to build inner relief roads in Oxford, England. The Society comments on all aspects of urban planning and is a founder member of the Oxfordshire Blue Plaque ...

History

Before 1850, Oxpens Road was known as Nun's Walk. This area used to be the location of a

gasworks A gasworks or gas house is an industrial plant for the production of flammable gas. Many of these have been made redundant in the developed world by the use of natural gas, though they are still used for storage space. Early gasworks Coal ...

by the river. The locality was one of the poorer quarters of central Oxford. In the 1950s and 1960s there was large-scale clearance of the area, known as The Oxpens. Many residents were moved to

Blackbird Leys Blackbird Leys is a civil parish and ward in Oxford, England. According to the 2011 census, the population of the ward (whose boundaries may change occasionally so as to ensure minimal malapportionment) stood at 6,077. Unlike most parts of the ...

, an estate consisting largely of

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

on the outskirts of southeast Oxford and close to Morris Motors Limited in Cowley, which provided employment. The area around Oxpens was almost entirely redeveloped during the second half of the 20th century. Close to Oxpens Road on St Thomas Street was the Morrells Brewery (aka The Lion Brewery), near the Castle Mill Stream, which closed in 1998.

Gallery

File:Looking back at the bend - geograph.org.uk - 1412417.jpg, View southeast along Oxpens Road. File:Oxpens Road, Oxford (1) - geograph.org.uk - 1571977.jpg, View northwest along Oxpens Road. File:Oxford Ice Rink.jpg,

on Oxpens Road. File:Holly Bush Row - geograph.org.uk - 1408202.jpg, View down Hollybush Row towards Oxpens Road. File:Post office over the road - geograph.org.uk - 1412444.jpg, Post office building on Oxpens Road.

References

External links

Oxford Directory information

Oxford Cherwell Valley College
{{Oxford Streets in Oxford

Locale

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links