In 1931 this extension to Hertford College's North Quadrangle (dating from 1903) replaced six houses numbered 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, and 50 Holywell Street.
It is Grade II Listed together with the rest of that North Quadrangle (1199235), and is only described very briefly: “There is a continuation to North which faces on to Holywell Street.”
The six houses that stood on this site until 1931
No. 45A
The entrance to Dickeson’s billiard rooms behind Holywell Street was between Nos. 44 & 45, and was numbered 45A. This notice appeared in Jackson’s Oxford Journal of 28 June 1879:
No. 45A HOLYWELL STREET, OXFORD. The above Valuable LEASEHOLD PROPERTY, consisting of 3 large and well lighted Billiard Rooms, with Office and Bed Room, Lavatory, w.c., and Coal Shed, now in the occupation of Mr. Dickeson, WILL SHORTLY BE SOLD BY AUCTION.
No. 45
The auction of this house was advertised in Jackson’s Oxford Journal of 29 September 1866:
Lot 5. — A very compact HOUSE, No. 45, Holywell-street, in the occupation of Mr. Howse, grocer, and contains front shop, private entrance, 2 sitting rooms, 3 bed rooms, kitchen, and cellar; held by lease from the Warden and Scholars of Merton College for 40 years, from 5th April 1851; Reserved Rent 6s. 10d.; Land Tax, 13s. 8d.
It was advertised again in the same newspaper on 11 February 1882:
Lot 4. — A LEASEHOLD HOUSE, SHOP, and PREMISES, being No. 45 Holywell-street, containing kitchen, scullery, and coal cellar in the basement; shop, entrance passage, and small yard, on the ground floor; and two sitting rooms, three bed rooms, and w.c. on the three upper floors; the whole being let to Mr. Kelson at a rental of 45l. per annum. This Lot is Leasehold under Merton College for the reside of a term of 40 years from April, 1851, subject to a rental of 10s. per annum and a bushel of sweet barley malt.
No. 46
This property was occupied by the college servant Joseph Hutt until his death at the age of 68 in February 1860.
These were business premises from x to 1930.
Nos 45 & 46 and a third house at the back were jointly advertised for sale by auction on 17 March 1860 by directions of the executors of the late Joseph Hutt who lived at No. 46 above:
Lot 1.—TWO DWELLING HOUSES, No. 45, containing four rooms, with cellar, wash-house, and small yard, in the occupation of Mr. Shepherd, and No. 46, containing ten rooms, conveniently arranged for letting Lodgings, or for a good Family House, with cellar, back yard, good garden, with two rooms at the end, side entrance, and joint use of the passage with No. 47, late in the occupation of Mr. Hutt, deceased.
This Property is held by lease under Merton College for a term of 40 years, from the 5th April, 1851, subject to a reserved rent of 10s. and one bushel of malt.Lot 2.—A DWELLING HOUSE, situate at the back of No. 47, containing six rooms and three closets, cellar in the basement, yard, office, garden, &c., with joint use of pump and passage between Nos. 46 and 47.
This Property is held by lease under Merton College for a term of 40 years, from 5th April, 1851, subject to a reserved rent of 4d.—The Land Tax, which is payable by the lessee, amounts on the two lots to £2 12 6d. per annum
No. 47
This house was advertised in Jackson's Oxford Journal of 30 April 1859 as a “valuable site for building” to be let by auction. It had a frontage to the street of about 19 feet, and was let on condition that the present house was taken down and another erected. Hence No. 47 was newly rebuilt when it was next advertised for sale in Jackson’s Oxford Journal of 10 March 1860:
A well-arranged and newly-erected RESIDENCE, containing four bed chambers, closet, drawing room, parlours, kitchen, cellar, pantry, &c., with modern conveniences, use of two pumps, court-yard, &c. — This Property is held under Merton College for the term of 60 years, from 5th April, 1859. — Annual Rent, £5 10s.; Land Tax, 11s. 4d.
Nos. 48, 49, & 49½
The wine merchant Henry Purdue died on 22 December 1869, and an auction of these three houses by the Trustees of the late H. Purdue, Esq. was advertised in Jackson's Oxford Journal on 28 May 1870:
The desirable LEASEHOLD ESTATE, consisting of Three Private Residences, Nos. 48, 49, and 49½, situate in Holywell-street, Oxford, one let at £30 per annum, one at £23 per annum, and the other lately let at £14 but now unoccupied, under Merton College for an unexpired term of 19 years from the 5th of April, 1870.
45–50 Holywell Street in the censuses
1841
The 1841 census for Holywell does not give house numbers, but it is possible to deduce where people listed that year lived by examining directory entries between 1839 and 1842 and later censuses
No. 45
William Sheppard (20), a hairdresser, lived here with Harriet (20), and two lodgers (a college servant and his wife).
No. 46
Joseph Hutt (45), a college servant, lived here with Ann (45); Joseph (20), who was a portrait painter; Ann (20), and William (15), who was a compositor. They had one female servant and two student lodgers.No. 47
…No. 48
Henry Purdue (35), a college servant, lived here with what were presumably his siblings: George (30), who was a clerk; Elizabeth (35); and Louisa (20).No. 49
…No. 50
…
1851
No. 45
William Shepperd (32), a stationer, tea dealer, & hairdresser, lived here with his wife Harriet (36) and their children Elizabeth (9), Catharine (8), William (5), Marianne (4), and a lodger.No. 46
Joseph Hutt (59), a widowed college servant, lived here with his daughters Anne (26) and Susanna (23), the latter a teacher at a preparatory school. They had an undergraduate lodging with them, and one servant.No. 46½
James Richards (59), a college servant, lived here with his wife Ann (48) and their son Thomas (18) and nephew James Slatter (14), who was an errand boy. They had one servant.No. 47
UninhabitedNo. 48
Henry Purdue (44), now a wine & spirit merchant, lived here with his sister Elizabeth (49), and one servant.No. 49
Elizabeth Alnutt (43), the wife of a college porter and a dressmaker, lived here with their children Elizabeth (9) and Richard (5) and one servant.No. 49½
Thomas E. Bossom (31), a printer, compositor & pressman, lived here with his wife Mary (31) and their daughter Sarah (4). They had one servant.No. 50
Robert Davidson (50), a surveyor, lived here with his wife Isabella (49) and their children William (17), Robert (14), Richard (11), and Martha (9).
1861
No. 45
John Howes (53), a Norfolk-born tea dealer and grocer, lived here with his Irish-born wife Martha (47).No. 46
UnoccupiedNo. 46½
William Mansell (56), a bookbinder, lived here with his wife Jane (52), and his children Jane (30, a bookbinder’s assistant), Emma (28, a dressmaker), Hannah (24, a draper’s assistant), John (21) and Charles (19), both printers & compositors, Henry (17, a bookbinder), and Edmund (14, at school).No. 47
Henry Parker (26), a weights & measures inspector, lived here with his sister Sarah (18) and brother Edward (11), who were both scholars.No. 48
Henry Purdue (54), a wine merchant, lived here with his sister Elizabeth (57). Both were unmarried.No. 49
Henry Rowell (59), a college servant, lived here with his wife Ann (60) and his son Harry (20), who was a tobacconist. They had a 13-year-old servant girl.
Living at 49½ were the college servant William Allnutt (32) with his wife Belinda (32) and children William (6), Thomas (4), Frederick (1). They had a 14-year-old servant girl.No. 50
Robert Davidson (60), a surveyor born in Newcastle, lived here with his wife Isabella (59) and his children Robert (23), who was a carpenter, and Martha (19)
1871
No. 45
John Green (42), a tailor, lived here with his sister Elizabeth Green (25), who acted as his housekeeper.No. 46
William Ogden (41), a guilder, lived here with his wife Susan (43) and their daughter Florence (13). They had a boarder and a servant.No. 46½
William Pratt (72), a butler, lived here with his dressmaker daughters Elizabeth (40) and Charlotte (38).No. 47
James Wells (25), an upholsterer, lived here with his wife Martha (29) and their daughter Agnes (1). They had an undergraduate lodger and a servant.No. 48
Richard Swadling (52), a bookbinder, lived here with his wife Mary Ann (50), who was a dressmaker, and their children Mary Ann (20), also a dressmaker, Elizabeth (15), and William (12). They had a 17-year-old servant girl.No. 49
Thomas Haycroft (61), a butler, lived here with his wife Rachael (52) and their children Rachel (16), who was a governess, Thomas (15), Dennis (13), and William (10).No. 50
Augustine Pratley (56), a leather cleaner, lived here with his wife Martha (47) and his children Arthur (22), who was a tailor, Frederick (21), who was a clothes cleaner, Edwin (16), who was a shoemaker's apprentice, Henry (11), Sarah (10), Emily (7), and Edith (6).
1881
No. 45
Henry Kelson (45), a master tailor employing seven men and a boy, lived here with his wife Mary (60) and his three sons Walter (3), Frank (25), and Louis (21), all of whom were tailors.No. 46
Catharine Solloway (51), a widowed lodging-house keeper, lived here with her daughter Elizabeth (25) and her son Arthur (16, a grocer’s assistant). Lodging with them was a sculptor, Samuel Swift, with his wife and daughter. At No. 46½ was Charlotte Pratt, a matron to a lying-in society, and her sister Elizabeth (49), an annuitant.No. 47
James P. Wells (35), an upholsterer, lived here with his wife Martha (36) and his children Agnes (11), James (9), and Henry (3).No. 48
Richard Swadling (63) lived here with his wife Mary (60), who was a dressmaker employing two apprentices, and his daughters Mary (30) and Elizabeth (25), who were both dressmakers, and his son William (22), a land agent’s clerk. They had one general servant.No. 49
Thomas Haycroft (71), a college butler, lived here with his wife Rachel (63) and his daughter (26), who was a music teacher and his sons Dennis (23), who was a butler’s assistant, and William (20), who was a builder’s clerkNo. 49½: Mary House, the head of the household, acted as housekeeper to her unmarried son William (45), who was a college bedmaker. They had an unmarried female lodger with two children, and a 13-year-old servant-girl.
No. 50
Augustine Pratley (66), a clothes cleaner, lived here with his wife Martha (57) and his children Edwin (26), who was a bootmaker, Sarah (20) and Emily (17), who were dressmakers, and Elizabeth (16), who was a milliner.
1891
No. 45
Maria Field (41), a widowed lodging-house keeper, lived here with her children Florence (13), Charles (11), and Margaret (7). The inquest into the sudden death of her husband, the college servant Joseph Field, is reported in Jackson's Oxford Journal on 5 July 1890.)No. 46
Thomas Linley (36), a wholesale confectioner, lived here with his wife Stella (42) and their children Ernest (14), Edith (13), Francis (9), John (8), Ethel (6), and Constance (3). They had two servants (a cook and a housemaid).No. 47
Walter Kelson (40), a tailor, lived here with his wife Lilian (26) and their daughter Beatrice (5). They had a 15-year-old servant girl.No. 48
Family listed as absent.No. 49
The main house is listed as unoccupied.
No. 49A: Emma Kitchen (55), a widowed laundress, lived here with her widowed sister Elizabeth Fortescue (43), who was a charwoman, and her niece Emma Walker (19), who was a dressmaker. They also had a lodger Benjamin Shepherd (23), who was a printer & compositor.No. 50
Martha Pratley (67), now a widow, lived here with her son Henry (31), who was a bookbinder, and her daughter Sarah (30).
1901
No. 45
George Prior (74), a pharmaceutical chemist, had his business at this house, where he lived with his widowed sister Esther Brazier (82), who was living on her own means, and one general servant.No. 46
Ann Stapleton (63), a widow, lived here with her unmarried son Albert (25), a boot & shoe maker who worked from home on his own account.
At No. 46½ was Harry Turner (49) and his wife Sarah (51), who both worked as tailors, and their children Henry (24), who was a tailor’s assistant; Frederick (14), who was a solicitor’s clerk; Mary (13), and Gertrude (10).No. 47
Not listed in the census.No. 48
Mary Swadling (80), a widow, ran a lodging house here. She lived with her single daughter Elizabeth (40) and one general servant.No. 49
Anna Rogers (57), a widow, lived here with a 15-year-old servant girl.
At No. 49½ was Robert Jones (44), a groom at a livery stables, who lived here with his wife Amelia (43) and his children Charles (13), Gladys (11), Alice (9), Annie (7), Elsie (5), and Alexander (2).No. 50
Edward Purcell (5), an unmarried retired college tutor, lived here alone.
1911
No. 45
Not listed in the census.No. 46
Harriet May (67), a widow, lived here with her daughter Edith May (34), who was a machinist, and her two orphaned nephews: John Brewster-Livett (14) was an apprentice to a motor & cycling engineer and and Bertram Brewster-Livett (12) was still at school. She also had a widowed lodger.
No. 47
Edward R. Greening (32), a dealer in antique furniture, lived here with his wife Helen (34) and his daughters Olive (9) and Ivy (6).No. 48
Louisa Nixey (70), a lodging-house keeper, lived here with her unmarried daughters Lily (36) and Edith (34).No. 49
William Eagle (35), an ironmonger’s assistant, lived here with his wife Ethel (35) and his daughter Doris (3).No. 50
Not listed in the census
1921
No. 45
Not listed in the census.No. 46
Not listed in the censusNo. 47
Ada Louisa Beckley (47), a widow who worked as a saleswoman for the antique dealer on these premises, lived here on her own.No. 48
Louisa Nixey (80) was still a lodging-house keeper here, and lived with her unmarried daughter Lily (46), who performed home duties here. Two Hertford college undergraduates were boarding on census night.No. 49
Thomas Job Byles (70), a college servant of Hertford College, lived here with his wife Agnes (71), and had a Hertford College student boarding with them.No. 50
Not listed in the census.
Occupants of 45–50 Holywell Street listed in directories etc. |
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No. 50 |
No. 49 |
No. 48 |
No. 47 |
No. 46 |
No. 45 |
|
1772 |
Mrs Durbridge: passage |
Mrs Prickett |
Mr George |
Mr Green: House & passage |
Mrs Taylor |
Mr Forman |
Frontage: |
Frontage: |
Frontage: |
Frontage: |
Frontage: |
Frontage: |
|
1846 |
No listing |
Elizabeth Allnutt |
Henry Purdue |
Susannah Allsop |
Joseph Hutt S. Hutt in 1861 |
John Williamson, shopkeeper William Charles Sheppard |
1851–1852 |
Robert Davidson |
No listing: probably being rebuilt |
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1856 |
H. E. Massey |
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1861 |
Henry Reville |
Henry Parker |
Billiard rooms: M. Rockall |
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1866 |
Thomas Lucas |
Thomas Haycroft
+ Mrs Haycroft |
John Tasker |
Joseph Chaundy |
William Ogden |
John Howes |
1871 |
A. Pratley +Arthur Pratley, tailor in 1876
F. Pratley by 1894 |
Richard Swadling Mrs Mary Ann Swadling
|
James P. Wells |
Frederick Green in 1871 J. F. Green, tailor in 1872 |
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1872–1876 |
Mrs Blackwell + Frederick Blackwell William Pratt |
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1881 |
Mrs Catharine Solloway with Miss Pratt at 46½ |
Henry Kelson |
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1884–1887 |
Kelson & Sons, Tailors, robe & breeches-makers |
Linley & Co., wholesale corn, flour, and yeast merchant |
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1889 |
R. H. Hodges |
Linley & Co., yeast & general merchants, commission agents, post & money order office |
J. Field |
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1894 |
William Carter |
Charles Stapleton |
John Dickeson, billiard room proprietor, and George Thomas Prior, pharmaceutical chemist |
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1896 |
Charles Stapleton, bootmaker Ann Stapleton in 1901 |
George Thomas Prior, chemist, and John William Dickeson, billiard rooms |
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1899 |
James Robert Crozier |
Mrs Stowe |
Thomas R. Doe |
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1901 |
Edward Purcell |
Mrs Anna Rogers |
Not listed |
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1905 |
No listing. No. 50 was virtually a passage |
Smith & Co., Dealers in antiquities & antique furniture |
H. Kelson & Sons, tailors (+ Mrs Stapleton in 1905) |
Oxford Typewriting Chambers with Burrows & Doe, printers at 45A |
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1911 |
William John Eagle |
Mrs Louisa Nixey Miss K. Nixey in 1930 plus Stanley Williams, private tutor |
Edward Richard Greening, cabinet maker |
No listing in census: probably just a business |
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1914–1915 |
45A: Holywell Press Ltd, printers |
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1921–1930 |
Thomas Byles |
P. W. Powell, antique furniture dealer, + Miss Louisa A. Beckley, nurse |
H. Kelson & Sons, tailors |
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1931– |
Part of Hertford College’s Holywell Quad |
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