Little Clarendon Street

Little Clarendon Street is a short shopping street in northwest Oxford, England. It runs east-west between the south end of Woodstock Road opposite St Giles' Church to the east, Somerville College to the north and Walton Street to the west. It forms one of three notable streets in North Oxford off the Woodstock Road where the variety of shops and cafés make them particularly trendy and bohemian places, the other two being North Parade and South Parade. The street is sometimes nicknamed Little Trendy Street.[1][2] Its trendiness was already apparent in the 1960s.[3]

Location of Little Clarendon Street in Oxford
Little Clarendon Street looking west at sunset.
Little Clarendon Street looking east.
Little Clarendon Street looking west. Porters restaurant was replaced by a chain-restaurant Carluccio's, which has since closed.

Buildings

As of 2006, the following buildings can be found on the street (this list is not definitive):

North side (east to west)
  • Taylor's Delicatessen (previously Lloyds Pharmacy (with Post Office; closed January 2009)
  • Carluccio's restaurant - closed January 2020 (previously Strada Italian restaurant, and before that Porter's, and numerous previous incarnations)
  • Richards' Group hairdresser's;
  • Elham's Lebanese Deli - closed 2018 (previously Martin's newsagent);
  • Oddbins wine merchants;
  • Duke of Cambridge cocktail bar;
  • Al-Andalus Tapas Bar;
  • Pierre Victoire Restaurant;
  • Café Rouge Restaurant;
  • Margery Fry & Elizabeth Nuffield House, part of the graduate-student accommodation of Somerville College;
  • Uense (previously Demijohn – The Liquid Deli[4] - closed 2018; and Sylvester's Art and Gifts - closed 2013);
  • Gail's Bakery (previously Mumu Cafe and Oxford City Barbers - both closed down 2016)
  • Sushi bar
  • Popham Hairdressing (previously Walton and Giles hairdresser, closed 2017)
  • Natural Bread Company (baker's and café)
  • Uncle Sam's Vintage American Clothing store (still present, but closed 2014);
  • Hobbs Clothing Store;
  • Inspires Art and Prints shop (closed);
  • Lacy's hair salon;
  • Posh Frocks clothing store;
  • Juice sandwich shop;
  • Oxford Wine Cafe (on corner with Walton Street).
George and Davis' Ice Cream Café on Little Clarendon Street.
South side (east to west)
  • Taylor's Delicatessen
  • University of Oxford IT Services, Dartington House
  • University of Oxford Admissions Office;
  • G&D's Ice Cream Cafe;
  • Angels cocktail bar;
  • Sobell House Hospice Charity Shop;
  • The Isis Centre (counselling centre run by Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Partnership Trust);
  • The University of Oxford Offices;
  • Oxford Little Barbers (previously Mortons Cafe; closed 2017);
  • Common Ground collaborative workspace (previously Barclays Bank - closed 2014);
  • Lizzie James women's clothing store;
  • Central furniture store.

Along its south side the most prominent building is the 1960s University Central Offices, which in the minds of many people is an eyesore that damaged the character of the otherwise stately Wellington Square.

The Porters Bar & Restaurant, formerly at 1–2 Little Clarendon Street, but frequently changing hands, and now occupied by Carluccio's, appeared in the BBC television programme The Restaurant.[5]

On the wall of Taylor's Delicatessen on the south-side of Little Clarendon Street, a miniature model door and window have been installed by Cambridge-based art project Dinky Doors.[6]

See also

References
  1. "Oxford's Pubs and Bars". Daily Information. Oxford. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
  2. "Little Clarendon Street". Jericho Echo. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
  3. Snow, Peter (1991). Oxford Observed. John Murray. p. 122. ISBN 0-7195-4707-5.
  4. "Demijohn – The Liquid Deli". UK. Archived from the original on 30 November 2007.
  5. Hartford, Maggie (26 August 2007). "TV restaurant goes out of business". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
  6. Eastgate, Tess (30 May 2019). "The Hidden Art of Oxford: Dinky Doors". The Oxford Student. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
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