The Old Bank Hotel

The Old Bank Hotel
View of the High Street, Oxford, with the Old Bank Hotel on the right
General information
Location	91–94 High Street Oxford OX1 4BJ England
Coordinates	51°45′15″N1°15′16″W / 51.75417°N 1.25444°W / 51.75417; -1.25444
Opening	1998
Owner	Jeremy Mogford
Other information
Number of rooms	42
Number of restaurants	2
Website
OldBankHotel.co.uk

The Old Bank Hotel is a hotel located in the historic university city of Oxford, England. It is located on the south side of Oxford's High Street, where it was the first hotel in 135 years to be created in the city centre. ^[1]

Location

The Old Bank Hotel and its restaurant Quod, is located on the south side of Oxford's High Street. The complex offers a large area to park, access to which is possible via Merton Street and Magpie Lane.

History

94 High Street on the corner with Magpie Lane

1920 Barclays Bank cheque from the Old Bank, Oxford

The main building of the Old Bank Hotel dates back to the 18th century, with number 93 not being erected until 1775 on a site owned by bankers John Parsons & William Fletcher called "George Hall". ^[2] The five bays on the left were added in 1798. The corner of Magpie Lane was rebuilt by Stephen Salter in 1902 to imitate a sixteenth-century house. The building was separate from the bank until 1980 and was later a stationery shop run by Joseph Vincent. The buildings served as a bank (latterly as the main Oxford branch of Barclays Bank) from 1775 until 1998 when Jeremy Mogford bought the building to renovate it into a hotel. ^[3]

Facilities

The Georgian hotel has 43 rooms overlooking Oxford's towers and spires and is air-conditioned. The hotel has a number of 20th-century paintings, including Paddy Summerfield's ‘Handheld’ collection (commissioned for the hotel) and works by Stanley Spencer, Sandra Blow, Craigie Aitchison, Michael Ayrton, Roger Hilton, Harrington Mann, and Henrietta Dubrey.

Restaurant

Within the hotel is the Quod Restaurant and Bar. The restaurant is designed with stone floors, an oval zinc-topped bar and leather banquette seating. Quod's emphasis is on seasonal produce.^{[ citation needed ]} The restaurant serves Mediterranean food and is decorated with recent British art.^{[ citation needed ]} The hotel also has private areas. ^[4]

Local legend

Local legend tells of former resident Prudence Burcote, a Puritan maid whose unrequited love of a Cavalier resulted in her suicide.^{[ citation needed ]} Although, according to Yurdan, ^[5] her burial records held at University Church of St Mary the Virgin opposite make no mention of this (which is not surprising, as people who died by suicide were not allowed to be buried on consecrated ground until 1823). Nonetheless, a Cornish couple who later took up residence of the house reported a sighting of a figure in a long brown dress with a white fichu along with an array of flickering electrics and misplaced objects which they linked to the legend. During the building's later incarnation as a bank, staff continued to report the sound of mysterious footsteps and rustling skirts. Yurdan and Puttick, however, find no reports following the building's conversion to a hotel. ^{[5] [6]}

References

1. "The Old Bank Hotel, Oxford". LateRooms.com. 20 July 1970. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
2. Bradburn, L. F. (1977). The Old Bank, Oxford. Oxford: The Golden Head Press.
3. "The High, Oxford: 92-4". Oxfordhistory.org.uk. 9 October 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
4. "Old Bank Hotel, a Hotel in Oxford, Oxfordshire. Search for Oxfordshire Hotels". Information-britain.co.uk. 16 October 2005. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
5. Yurdan, Marilyn (2002). "University Spirits". Unexplained Oxford and Oxfordshire. Dunstable, Bedfordshire: The Book Castle. p. 5. ISBN   978-1-9037-4721-6.
6. Puttick, Betty (2003). Oxfordshire: Stories of the Supernatural. Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. p. 28. ISBN   978-1-8530-6811-9.