Observatory Street

Last updated September 10, 2022

Observatory Street is a street in Oxford, England. It links at the eastern end Woodstock Road (opposite Bevington Road and St Anne's College and nearly opposite St Antony's College) in central North Oxford and at the western end Walton Street and the Jericho area of Oxford, England.

The street borders the north side of Green Templeton College, one of the Oxford University colleges, which has some student accommodation in the street.^[1] The street is named after the Radcliffe Observatory (completed in 1794), which now forms a centrepiece for the College.^[2] To the north is St Bernard's Road.

Observatory Street, developed from 1834,^[3] mainly consists of terraced houses directly on the street, many characterized by brightly painted stuccoed fronts in a variety of colours, especially on the south side of the street, which is very late Georgian.^[4]^[5] Once built as small dwellings for poorer inhabitants of Oxford, often workers on early railway and canal construction, the houses now command high prices because of the central location of the street, within easy walking distance of the city centre and close to the Oxford University Humanities and Mathematics site on the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter.^[6]

Belsyre Court is located on the north side at the east end of Observatory Street, Woodstock Road, and the south side at the east end of St Bernard's Road.^[3] It was designed by Ernest R. Barrow and built in 1936. Belsyre Court was the first large block of flats in Oxford.^[3] An Inland Revenue office was located here from 1936 until the early 1990s.

Adelaide Street branches off Observatory Street partway along and runs parallel to the north at the western end, also connecting with Walton Street.

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Radcliffe Observatory was the astronomical observatory of the University of Oxford from 1773 until 1934, when the Radcliffe Trustees sold it and built a new observatory in Pretoria, South Africa. It is a Grade I listed building. Today, the observatory forms a part of Green Templeton College of the University of 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.

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St Aldate's is a street in central Oxford, England, named after Saint Aldate, but formerly known as Fish Street.

Walton Street is on the eastern edge of the Jericho district of central Oxford, England.

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The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central north Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street.

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Kingston Road is a road in Oxford, England. It continues north from Walton Street, at the junction with Walton Well Road to the west and St Bernard's Road to the east, running parallel with and to the west of Woodstock Road. Kingston Road is the main road in Walton Manor. At the northern end, there is a staggered junction with Aristotle Lane to the west and Polstead Road to the east. The road continues as Hayfield Road. Southmoor Road and Southmoor Place lead off Kingston Road to the west.

The Oxford University Science Area in Oxford, England, is where most of the science departments at the University of Oxford are located.

The Mathematical Institute is the mathematics department at the University of Oxford, England. It forms one of the twelve departments of the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division in the university. The department is located between Somerville College and Green Templeton College on Woodstock Road, next to the Faculty of Philosophy.

Walton Manor is a residential suburb in Oxford, England. It is north of Jericho and the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter and forms part of North Oxford. The street layout and many of the area's buildings date from the mid-19th century. It was developed on land belonging to St John's College, Oxford.

Green Templeton College (GTC) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The college is located on the previous Green College site on Woodstock Road next to the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter in North Oxford and is centred on the architecturally important Radcliffe Observatory, an 18th-century building, modelled on the ancient Tower of the Winds at Athens. It is the university's second newest graduate college, after Reuben College, having been founded by the historic merger of Green College and Templeton College in 2008.

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The Radcliffe Observatory Quarter (ROQ) is a major University of Oxford development project in Oxford, England, in the estate of the old Radcliffe Infirmary hospital. The site, covering 10 acres is in central north Oxford. It is bounded by Observatory Street and Green Templeton College to the north, the Woodstock Road to the east, Somerville College to the south, and Walton Street to the west. The project and the new university area is named after the grade I listed Radcliffe Observatory to the north east of the site, now the centrepiece of Green Templeton College, which is intended to form the visual centrepiece of the project.

Walton Well Road is a road, about 400 metres long, near the centre of Oxford, England. It provides a link from central Oxford to Port Meadow.

St Bernard's Road is a residential road in North Oxford, England, connecting the southern end of Kingston Road and the northern end of Walton Street, at the junction with Walton Well Road, to the west with Woodstock Road, opposite Bevington Road, to the east.

Belsyre Court is a listed early 20th-century block of flats in Oxford, England.

The Tower of the Winds is the prominent octagonal tower on top of the old Radcliffe Observatory building in Oxford, England. The building now forms a centrepiece for Green Templeton College, one of the colleges of Oxford University.

References

↑ Observatory Street, Green Templeton College, Oxford.
↑ Hibbert, Christopher, ed. (1988). "Observatory Street". The Encyclopaedia of Oxford . Macmillan. p. 288. ISBN 0-333-39917-X.
1 2 3 Symonds, Ann Spokes (1998). The Changing Faces of North Oxford. Vol. Book Two. Witney: Robert Boyd Publications. pp. 13, 34. ISBN 1 899536 33 7.
↑ Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire. Penguin Books. p. 322. ISBN 0-14-071045-0.
↑ Observatory Street composite, Flickr.
↑ Observatory Street Oxford OX2, House Prices.

Coordinates: 51°45′40″N1°15′55″W / 51.76119°N 1.26541°W / 51.76119; -1.26541

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[1] Observatory Street, Green Templeton College, Oxford.

[hibbert-2] Hibbert, Christopher, ed. (1988). "Observatory Street". The Encyclopaedia of Oxford . Macmillan. p. 288. ISBN 0-333-39917-X.

[symonds-3] 1 2 3 Symonds, Ann Spokes (1998). The Changing Faces of North Oxford. Vol. Book Two. Witney: Robert Boyd Publications. pp. 13, 34. ISBN 1 899536 33 7.

[pevsner-4] Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire. Penguin Books. p. 322. ISBN 0-14-071045-0.

[5] Observatory Street composite, Flickr.

[6] Observatory Street Oxford OX2, House Prices.

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