St Ebbes is a district of 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 ...
, southwest of
Carfax. St Ebbes Street runs south from the western end of
Queen Street.
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Overview
The area takes its name from the parish church of
St Ebbe's, dedicated to Saint
Æbbe the Elder. The name was first recorded in about 1005, when the church and other nearby property was granted to
Eynsham Abbey. The parish extended to 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 ...
. By 1279 the area was known for property inhabited by the poorer townsfolk, and remained so until the middle of the 20th century.
In 1818
gas works were built on the north bank 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 St Ebbes, to supply the city of Oxford with
gas. St Ebbes expanded significantly in the 19th century, and by 1882 there was no room to expand the gas works, and new
gasholders had to be built on the south bank of the river. A railway bridge (the
Gasworks Bridge) was built across the river to connect the gas works to the
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
line. The gas works were closed in 1960.
The area was redeveloped between the 1950s and the 1980s.
[Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 328] A new main road,
Thames Street, was built through the area in 1968. Between 1970 and 1972 the
Westgate Shopping Centre was built in St Ebbes, and much of the rest of the area became car parks. Only a few residential properties remain to the north of Thames Street. There is a small housing estate between Thames Street and the river, known as St Ebbes by the River.
St Ebbe's Street runs south from
Queen Street past
Pembroke Street (on the right), to
Brewer Street (on the right). There the street becomes "Littlegate".
St Ebbe's Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...
in Pennyfarthing Place, on the corner with St Ebbes Street is now a conservative
evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
congregation. St Ebbe's
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
Primary School is south of the river, outside St Ebbe's parish.
The
Victorian photographer
Henry Taunt was born at Penson's Gardens, St Ebbes, on 14 June 1842.
See also
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Castle Street, Oxford
*
Paradise Street, Oxford
Paradise Street is a historical street in central Oxford, England. It is in the St Ebbe's area of Oxford, to the southwest of Oxford Castle.
The street runs from Paradise Square, Oxford, Paradise Square to Quaking Bridge, across Castle Mill St ...
References
Sources and further reading
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External links
Photographson
Flickr
Flickr ( ) is an image hosting service, image and Online video platform, video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was previously a co ...
.
Areas of Oxford
Streets in Oxford
Odonyms referring to religion
Odonyms referring to a building
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