North Parade, or more formally North Parade Avenue, is a short shopping street or shopping parade in north Oxford, England. It runs between Winchester Road opposite Church Walk to the west and Banbury Road (with Norham Road slightly north opposite) to the east. It is the only shopping street in North Oxford between the city centre to the south and Summertown to the north.
Overview
North Parade has been described as "
one of the most interesting little streets in Oxford."
[Curl, James Stevens, The Erosion of Oxford. Oxford Illustrated Press, 1977, p. 161. .] It has pubs, shops and houses along the street. Over the years, local shops have given way to restaurants.
The Rose & Crown public house[ A brief history, Rose & Crown public house, Oxford, UK.] is on the north side and the Gardeners Arms pub is on the south side.
There are some additional commercial establishments stretching a little way south from North Parade along the Banbury Road. In particular, Gee's restaurant[ Gee's restaurant, Oxford, UK.] with its glasshouse structure, which used to be a florist and greengrocer, has been a restaurant since 1983.
History
The land at North Parade sold as 42 lots at an auction held at the Horse & Jockey public house in May 1833. Most of the land between St Giles' and Summertown was owned by St John's College, Oxford and was sold as leasehold. As North Oxford was developed as a suburb, North Parade became a small local shopping centre for the residences in the area.
North Parade used to have traditional local shops. With the changes in people's shopping habits, most of the shops have moved up-market in their style. Shops such as a , , , etc., have given way to , , etc. A monthly outdoor farmers market was established in 2012.
Origin of the name
North Parade runs south of
South Parade in Summertown. It is often claimed
[ Oxford History — Tudor and English Civil War.] that during the Civil War when Charles I was besieged by
Oliver Cromwell at Oxford, South Parade was the
Roundhead southern front, while North Parade was the location of the
Cavalier northern front during the siege of Oxford. However, "it is unlikely that the two sides would have come so close to each other without engaging in combat and, in any case, parade grounds are known to have existed elsewhere in and around the town",
[Yurdan, Marilyn. The street names of Oxford. Stroud: History Press (2009), p. 72.] for instance in
Port Meadow.
[Hibbert, Christopher (ed.) The Encyclopaedia of Oxford. London: Macmillan (1998), p. 284, s.v. North Parade.] In fact, both developments are much later:
The Rose & Crown
The Rose & Crown is a pub established in 1863,
and has been run by the current landlord since 1983.
[ Oxford Drinker, Issue 61, Campaign for Real Ale, April–May 2010.] Regular drinkers at the Rose & Crown have included
Thom Yorke of the band
Radiohead, who wrote songs there.
[ Jigsaw Falling Into Place by Radioheah, Songfacts.]
Literature
North Parade was mentioned by
John Betjeman (1906–1984) in his poetry:
External links
