Oxford Inscriptions: Woolworth’s in Cornmarket
CLARENDON / HOUSE
1 9 W 5 7
S A P
W H M
This inscription obviously marks CLARENDON HOUSE on the west side of Cornmarket, but the emblem below recalls an earlier use of the building. The ornate W stands for Woolworth, the company founded by Frank Winfield Woolworth in New York 1879, and the date 1957 hiding in the curls at the top of that letter is the year that this Oxford store opened. The two trefoils below contain the initials SAP and WHM (the latter probably standing for William Harvey Moore).
F. W. Woolworth Ltd had moved into its first Oxford shop (the former Roebuck Inn on the east side of Cornmarket) in 1924. In 1954 it demolished the old Clarendon Hotel on the opposite side of Cornmarket and built Clarendon House on its site, moving into its new premises there in 1957.
The new store was five times larger than its predecessor and included a cafeteria. It was opened on Friday, October 18, 1957 by the Mayor of Oxford, Robert Frank Knight and his wife. The Mayor told guests of the pride he felt when he viewed this building from the Town Hall in St Aldate's:
When I look at this very wonderful building from the Mayor’s Parlour, I realise what you have achieved. The inside is staggering and, inside and out, you have nothing to be ashamed of. I can say that, as a city, we are very proud of your frontage.
This branch of Woolworth's closed down in 1983 but its façade with the above inscription was retained when the building became part of the Clarendon Centre.
In 2026 a much bigger redevelopment is being undertaken, and Condition 6 of approved planning application 26/00463/FUL reads:
Prior to the commencement of relevant works, a method statement for the removal, storage, reuse, public display and maintenance of the Woolworths W (as located on dwg. no. 1496/30 D) shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.
Wikipedia: F. W. Woolworth Company