Oxford Street
Whilst avoiding pre-Christmas London like the plague
these days, my thoughts nevertheless turn at this time of year to memories of
childhood trips to Oxford Street, everyone’s favourite retail destination
before the arrival of the Bluewaters and Westfields of this world! Of course, now
that my purchases can be ordered and delivered to my door 7 days a week at the
click of a mouse, it seems unlikely that I will avail myself of Oxford Street’s
festive charms again any time soon! But the place does have an interesting
history, worth writing a few lines about…
Forming part of the
route of an ancient Roman road from Suffolk to Hampshire, Oxford Street has for
many centuries been one of two main roads leading west out of London. It runs 1.2
miles east-west between Tottenham Court Road and Marble Arch, intersecting
Regent Street along the way. It has been known variously down the ages as ‘The
Waye to Uxbridge’, the ‘King’s Highway’, and ‘Tyburn Way’ (after the Tyburn
river which runs underneath it), finally becoming
Oxford Street in the 18th century. It was so named, not because it led to
Oxford (which it did!), but because the land adjoining it was owned by the 1st
Earl of Oxford, Robert Harley.
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The gallows at Tyburn |
Until the 17th century there were virtually no buildings at all on either Piccadilly or Oxford Street. In the early 1700s Oxford Street began to be built up at its eastern end; by the end of the 18th century it had gone from being a rutted, rural track to a city artery, lined with residential properties. Gradually shops came along to serve these households with furniture, drapery and clothing.
One important building in the street that had nothing to do with shopping was the Pantheon. Opened in 1772 (on site of the present M&S), it was widely regarded as “the most elegant structure in Europe, if not the globe”. Described as a ‘temple of recreation’, it had a rotunda, card rooms and tea rooms. Masked balls, exhibitions and concerts were held there. Sadly, it was completely destroyed by fire in a single night in 1792.
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Oxford Street c.1900 |
In addition to shops, Oxford at one time also had 20 pubs. The only one still in existence is The Tottenham at number 6, dating from the mid-19th century.
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Oxford Street blitzed |
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Window shopping at Bourne & Hollingsworth 1953 |
So the Oxford Street shops we see today date mainly from the 1950s and 60s. The former Peter Robinson store (now Top Shop) has achieved listed status due to its importance in London’s social and retail history.
References:
The Times History of London edited by Hugh Clout (1991)
Village London: Past & Present by Neil Grant (1990)
Monopoly London by Stephen Essberger (1987)
Victorian London by Lee Jackson (2004)
London: The Illustrated History by Cathy Ross & John Clark (2011)