Dorset House, 58 London Road, Headington
The villa now known as Dorset House was built in 1878. For eight years it was the only house between the Britannia and the top of Headington Hill (see 1898 map, right).
It has had the following names over the years:
- 1878–1899: Ellerslie
- 1899–1929: Hillstow
- 1929–1961: Hillstow annexe of Headington school
- 1961–2004: Dorset House School of Occupational Therapy
Ellerslie (1878–1897)
This villa was one of the first two houses to be built on the land of the old Highfield Farm. The owner of that farm, the Revd John Taylor of the Rookery School in Old Headington, had in 1875 tried to sell the farm lands to developers. He was unsuccessful, and In 1877 took action himself and had two houses built on the land. One was this large villa facing the London Road, and the other a sizeable cottage now numbered 61 Old Road.
As the following advertisement that appeared in Jackson's Oxford Journal of 29 June 1878 shows, the villa that is now Dorset House was given the name Ellerslie (presumably after the castle near Glasgow) before it was occupied:
The pair of houses were eventually auctioned at the Roebuck Hotel in Oxford on 20 November 1878. The advertisement for the sale in Jackson’s Oxford Journal describes the future Dorset House as follows:
THE HIGHFIELD ESTATE, HEADINGTON
Lot 1. The freehold villa residence, called "Ellerslie", situate on the Highfield Estate, Headington, and adjoining the London Road. On the ground floor are entrance hall, cheerful drawing and dining rooms, breakfast room, Kitchen, scullery, housemaid’s closet, larder, cellar, lavatory, and w.c. On the first floor are 4 good bed rooms, with bath room and w.c., and there are also 3 attics. A force pump in the scullery gives an ample supply of water over the House. There is a large piece of garden ground which, with the site of the House, comprises exactly an Acre, and there are two carriage entrances from the road.
"Ellerslie" is very pleasantly situate on a dry and healthy soil, and commands charming views of Oxford and the neighbourhood. It is of recent erection and exceedingly well-built of brick and tiled.
Mrs Anna Maria Jemson Tebbutt, a clergyman’s widow born in Helmdon, Northants, was the first person to occupy the house. The 1881 census shows her living there at the age of 51 with her undergraduate son Francis and 18-year-old daughter Mary, plus a housemaid of 15 and a cook of 17. By 1891, she was living there alone, still with two servants.
Mrs Tebbutt remained in the house until 1897, when she moved to Westbourne Terrace on the London Road (the house that is now Chancellor’s Estate Agents).
Right: Tombstone in Headington Cemetery of Anna Tebbutt (died 16 October 1912) and her son Francis John Tebbutt (died 17 September 1925)
Hillstow: 1897–1919
In 1897 the social reformers the Misses Rosamund and Florence Davenport-Hill moved to this house in retirement and renamed it Hillstow. The 1901 census shows the two sisters, aged 78 and 71 respectively, waited on by five servants: a cook, parlour maid, two housemaids, and one maid. Their coachman and his family lived in the Hillstow Lodge (42 London Road) , which the Davenport-Hills had built to the west of the grounds on London Road near the Latimer Road junction after they moved in.
Rosamund Davenport-Hill died at Hillstow in 1902 and Florence in 1919 (at the age of 90).
Hillstow annexe of Headington School: 1920–1964
From 1920 to 1964 the house was part of Headington School and continued to be known by the name of Hillstow. It is listed in directories first under the name of its headmistress, Miss Porcher (to 1923); and then of two other mistresses: Miss Pybus (1923–1925) and Miss Spink (1926–1929). From 1930 to 1960 it is listed as "Headington School for Girls Ltd (annexe)", and in 1962 and 1964 as "Headington School (boarding house)".
The lodge at No. 44 is listed as a dentist's in the early 1930s, but by the end of the decade appears to be used by Headington School as a teacher's house. From the 1950s it was the school's sanatorium.
Dorset House School of Occupational Therapy: 1964–2004
The original Dorset House (the first school of occupational therapy in the UK) was founded by Dr Elizabeth Casson in Bristol in 1930. It moved to Bristol and then to Headington, where its first base was Nissen huts in the grounds of the Churchill Hospital.
Driven by its visionary founder and Medical Director, Dr Elizabeth Casson, the Dorset House School of Occupational Therapy was opened on New Year's Day 1930. Over the years the School has moved from its original base in Bristol to Bromsgrove and finally to Oxford, firstly in Nissen Huts in the grounds of the Churchill Hospital and eventually to its London Road site in 1964.
In 1961 the Dorset House Casson Trust purchased Hillstow from Headington School. The Dorset House School of Occupational Therapy which had started life in Bristol in 1930 and had been at the Churchill since 1946 moved into its first permanent home in Oxford, and gave Hillstow its third and current name of Dorset House. It was officially opened in 1965.
In 1997 Dorset House merged with the School of Health Care Studies of Oxford Brookes University, forming the new School of Health Care. When this School moved into the former Milham Ford School on the Marston Road in 2004, Dorset House was closed and sold to the property development company Quintain.
The building has been vacant and surrounded by hoardings since that time.
Future plans for Dorset House
Extract from Local Plan, 2001–16
Dorset House, London Road, Headington
14.2.40 This site is now vacant, having been occupied by Oxford Brookes University’s School of Occupational Therapy, which has relocated to Milham Ford School. The County Council is looking for a new site for Headington Library and as this site is readily accessible from most parts of Headington it is considered suitable. In addition, the site could be used for institutional uses, such as community facilities, nursery education/childcare or healthcare facilities.
14.2.41 Given the site’s location close to the Headington Hospital sites, provision of nurses accommodation and key-worker housing would be particularly suitable. Alternatively the site could be developed for student accommodation for Oxford Brookes University and/or the University of Oxford.
POLICY DS.27 – DORSET HOUSE, LONDON ROAD – MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT Planning permission will be granted at Dorset House, London Road for a
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Planning application refused in 2006
In 2006 the property developers Quintain (the new owners of the entire 82,000 sq.ft. Dorset House site) submitted plans to demolish the house itself as well as 42 London Road and 1A Latimer Road, and to erect five blocks of accommodation for 363 students. Following a recommendation from planners that it be turned down, it withdrew this application.
- Recommendation for refusal (15pp PDF)
- Rejected plans 06/01628/FUL
- Oxford Mail, 20 October 2006: "Student hostel scheme dropped"
- Oxford Mail, 8 September 2006:“University to knock down Victorian house”
Demolition in 2009
Dorset House is not a listed building or in a Conservation Area, so Quintain did not need permission to pull it down, and in May 2009 a demolition company working for Quintain informed the city council that they were going to demolish all buildings on the Dorset House site except for the three nearest the corner of Latimer Road and London Road Demolition work started on Monday 8 June.
So far no planning application has been submitted except one to remove a large tree, and permission is not required to do this:
- Application 09/01274/TPO
"Fell Copper Beech tree due to presence of Meripilus root decay, referenced as T.11 on the Oxford City Council - Dorset House (No.1) TPO 2004 at Dorset House, London Road."
Dorset House being demolished, 2 July 2009
The site after demolition, 22 July 2009
