37A St Giles' Street, Oxford

No. 37A: Ertegun House

37A St Giles

No. 37A appears to have been built in 1808 on the south part of Vincent Shortland’s timber yard. It is a Grade II listed building (List Entry No. 1068569) and lies in St Giles' parish.

The fact that it was not allocated a separate number of its own but was deemed to be between 37 and 38 suggests that St Giles may already have had its present numbering system as early as 1808.

It was a private house until 1919, latterly the home of the Curate of St Barnabas’ Church.

Vincent John Shortland released the plot on which this house stands together with No. 37 to the north to Daniel Turner, Esq. in 1808. The Turner family appear to have built No. 37A for themselves around this time, and then rented out No. 37.

The 1841 census shows Daniel Turner living at “37” St Giles’ Street (which is presumably a mistake for 37A, which is not otherwise listed in the census). Living with him were his daughters Maria, Ann, Caroline, Emma, and Elizabeth and two house servants. He died on 10 January 1843 at the age of 85 and was buried at St Giles’ Church a week later.

The 1851 census shows Daniel’s daughters, Caroline and Emma Turner (described as “fundholders” and then aged respectively 30 and 25) living at No. 37A with two house servants. They are again listed at this house (wrongly numbered 38A in the 1881 census. Emma, the last surviving daughter of Daniel Turner, died here at the age of 80 on 16 January 1891.

From 1894 No. 37a was known as Holy Rood, the home of the Revd Charles Henry Bickerton Hudson, who was Curate and then Vicar of St Barnabas' Church and his wife Caroline. At the time of the 1901 census they were here with their seven-year-old son Alban, plus five servants. He and his wife were still here in 1911, now with four servants (a cook, lady's maid, housemaid, and between maid). Their only son Alban was killed on 7 June 1917 at the Battle of Messines Ridge and was awarded the Military Cross. Hudson and his wife are listed here again in the 1921 census with three servants.

Since 1925 No. 37A has had various business and university uses.

At the time of the 1939 Register it was occupied by Cyril Stephen Bush, described as an assistant engineer of the Electricity Supply Company, who lived here alone.

It was occupied by Oxford University Press from 1962 to 2009.

Since 2012 it has been Ertegun House.

Occupants of 37a St Giles’ Street listed in censuses and directories
1841–1891	The Misses Caroline & Emma Turner
1894–1921	Holy Rood Rev. Charles Henry Bickerton Hudson, Curate and later Vicar of St Barnabas
1925–1934	University of Oxford Institute of Agricultural Engineering
1936–1952	Electricity Company Oxford Electric Co. Ltd and Wessex Electricity Co. (1936–7) Wessex Electricity Company (1939–47) Southern Electricity Board (1949–1952)
1954–1962	Regency Restaurant and Banquet’s of Oxford Ltd, caterers (Picture of No. 37a when it was the Regency Restaurant) with Oxford University Press (Atlas Department) listed upstairs in 1958 and Oxford University Press (Cartographic Department) in 1960 and 1962 It is understood that the atlas/cartographic department had part of the building from 1954
1962–1976	OUP Cartographic Department
1977–1993	Oxford English Dictionary Supplement
1993–2009	Oxford University Press Departments: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Music Department Grove Dictionary of Music
2009–2012	University of Oxford Humanities Division
2012–present	Ertegun House