St Giles' is a wide boulevard leading north from the centre of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. At its northern end, the road divides into Woodstock Road to the left and

Banbury Road Banbury Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England, running from St Giles' at the south end, north towards Banbury through the leafy suburb of North Oxford and Summertown, with its local shopping centre. Parallel and to the west is the ...

to the right, both major roads through

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 houses were initially sold on leasehold by the College. Overview The lea ...

. At the southern end, the road continues as

Magdalen Street Magdalen Street is a short shopping street in central Oxford, England, just north of the original north gate in the city walls. Traditionally, the name of the street is pronounced and not as the name of the Magdalen College, which is always ...

at the junction with

Beaumont Street Beaumont Street is a street in the centre of Oxford, England. The street was laid out from 1828 to 1837 with elegant terraced houses in the Regency style. Before that, it was the location of Beaumont Palace, now noted by a plaque near the ju ...

to the west. Also to the west halfway along the street is Pusey Street. Like the rest of North Oxford, much of St Giles' is owned by St John's College.

Church

At the northern end of St Giles' is St Giles' Church, whose churchyard includes the main

War Memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

. The church originates from the 12th century.

Other buildings and structures

Remembrance Sunday parade, Oxford (6352329691)

Working from north to south, on the east side are the Lamb & Flag public house (formerly a

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of tra ...

), St John's College, the

Oxford Internet Institute The Oxford Internet Institute (OII) is a multi-disciplinary department of social and computer science dedicated to the study of information, communication, and technology, and is part of the Social Sciences Division of the University of Oxford ...

(No 1 St Giles'),

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided th ...

, and Trinity College. On the west side are the International Study Centre of d'Overbroeck's College, St Benet's Hall, the Theology Faculty, Oxford

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

Meeting House, the Eagle and Child public house (where

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univer ...

, and other members of the

Inklings The Inklings were an informal literary discussion group associated with J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis at the University of Oxford for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1949. The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who p ...

met;

No. 42 The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...

was the

register office A register office or The General Register Office, much more commonly but erroneously registry office (except in official use), is a British government office where births, deaths, marriages, civil partnership, stillbirths and adoptions in Engl ...

where Lewis contracted a

civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Every country maintaining a p ...

in 1956 to Joy Davidman) and is now a dental practice, Regent's Park College (Principal's Lodgings and Senior Tutor's house),

Pusey House Pusey House is an Anglican religious institution located on St Giles', Oxford, United Kingdom, immediately to the south of Pusey Street. It is firmly rooted in the Anglo-Catholic Prayer Book tradition of the Church of England, and was founded ...

and

St Cross College St Cross College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1965, St Cross is an all-graduate college with gothic and traditional-style buildings on a central site in St Giles', just south of Pusey Street. It ...

, Blackfriars, and the

Taylor Institution The Taylor Institution (commonly known as the Taylorian) is the Oxford University library dedicated to the study of the languages of Europe. Its building also includes lecture rooms used by the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, Unive ...

, behind which is the Ashmolean Museum (with its main entrance in Beaumont Street). The southern end meets Magdalen Street at the

Martyrs' Memorial The Martyrs' Memorial is a stone monument positioned at the intersection of St Giles' Street, Oxford, St Giles', Magdalen Street and Beaumont Street, to the west of Balliol College, Oxford, England. It commemorates the 16th-century Oxford Mar ...

(1843), commemorating the

Oxford Martyrs The Oxford Martyrs were Protestants tried for heresy in 1555 and burnt at the stake in Oxford, England, for their religious beliefs and teachings, during the Marian persecution in England. The three martyrs were the Church of England bishop ...

(1555–56). Balliol Hall used to stand on the east side of St Giles' at the point that the Banbury Road and Woodstock Road divide. It was in rooms here that lessons began under A. E. Clarke in September 1877 at a school that was to become known as the

Dragon School ("Reach for the Sun") , established = 1877 , closed = , type = Preparatory day and boarding school and Pre-Prep school , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Emma Goldsm ...

. The school expanded and moved within two years to Crick Road and then in 1895 to its current location in Bardwell Road in

Fair

The street is closed to traffic for two days each September for the traditional St Giles' Fair. Formerly, 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, thoug ...

was also closed to demonstrate that they are owned by the

University of Oxford 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 world's second-oldest university in contin ...

rather than formally being public. Their closure date is now Christmas Eve.

Gallery

Image:Martyrs Memorial Oxford.jpg, The

at the southern end of St Giles'. Image:StGilesChurchOxford.jpg, St Giles' Church, looking north from the churchyard. Image:PuseyHouseOxford.jpg,

on the west side of St Giles'. Image:The Eagle and Child.jpg, The Eagle and Child public house, also on the west side of St Giles'.

References

External links

St Giles': Tour map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Giles, Oxford Streets in Oxford Odonyms referring to religion Parks and open spaces in Oxford Balliol College, Oxford St John's College, Oxford St Cross College, Oxford Articles containing video clips