History of 9A, 9, & 11 Windmill Road
The shop at 9A Windmill Road is the narrowest one in Headington. It was built in the driveway of No. 9 in 1955.
The detail(left) from an Edwardian postcard shows Nos. 9 and 11 Windmill Road when they were very new. They were built in 1912 in the large garden of Rosslyn Villa, and were originally called Cuddesdon Villas 1 and 2. They were a pair of matching semi-detached houses.
The driveway of No. 9 is now occupied by No. 9A, but the driveway of No. 11 still survives. The picture below shows the three buildings in July 2007. The bay-windows on the ground-floor of Nos. 9 and 11 have been replaced by flat plate-glass shop windows. Each still has a large and a small window at first-floor level.
No. 9A was a photographer’s shop for six years, and then a jeweller’s shop for 45 years. From 1985 to 2007 it has been called "Time & Elegance", and its proprietors, Jill & Frank Cummings, have been pillars of the Headington Business Association. They inaugurated the Christmas FunDay in 1985 and the Headington Christmas lights in 2000.
No. 9 was a private house until 1955. In that year planning permission was obtained to turn its two ground-floor rooms into a shop, and to build another shop, to be known as 9A, against its north side. It has since been changed from a retail shop to an estate agent, and then back to a shop again.
No. 11 remained a private house until 1961, when the long occupation of the plumber Alfred William Smith came to an end. In 1960 permission for change of use from residential to shop and/or offices refused on the grounds that
"The property is in an area zoned for residential purposes in the approved Town Map and any further extension of the business area along Windmill Road which at this point is narrow and frequently congested would be undesirable and likely to be a source of nuisance to users of the highway by reason of parked and waiting vehicles".
Another application in 1961 (61/11080/A_H) to redevelop Nos. 9, 11, and 13 to form two small shops, a supermarket, a chiropodist and two flats was also refused. In 1962, however, permission was finally granted to turn No. 11 into a shop like its next-door neighbour. It has since changed from a retail shop to a coffee house to a hairdresser.
| No. 9A | Occupier of whole building |
| 1955 | 55/04735/A_H: Application for an extension to No. 9 Windmill Road to form another shop approved |
| 1956–1962 | E.A. Grant, Photographer |
| 1962–1985 | Lily Crane, Jeweller 64/15184/A_H: Application for new shop front on behalf of Lily Crane approved in 1964 |
| 1985–2007 | Time & Elegance, Jewellers |
| No. 9 | Ground floor occupier | Upstairs occupier ("9B") |
| 1913 | William Morley | |
| 1928–1954 | Frederick William Barnard | |
| 1955 | 55/04302/A_H: Application by J. Dines for change of use of two downstairs rooms to shop approved | |
| 1956 | John L. Crabb | |
| 1958 | Quinion Surgical Appliances | Miss J.N. Whittaker, Chiropodist |
| 1960 | R. Wenborn & Sons, Cutlers | |
| 1962–1966 | [Only Lily Crane at 9A listed] | |
| 1966 | 66/17134/A_H: Application by Dines & Gill for change of use from shop to estate agent’s office and formation of front and offices with separate access to first-floor offices approved | |
| 1968–1976+ | Dines & Gill Ltd, Estate Agents 1974: 74/00448/A_H: Application by Dines & Gill for change of use of ground floor office to retail shop, and alteration to first-floor office lobby and office front approved |
|
| 1980s | Mr Truman’s card shop (?Pic-a-card?) |
Dines & Gill |
| 1993–1998 | Forget-me-Not (1998) | Jones, Dines & Gill), Estate Agents |
| 1999–2006 | CardFair card shop (approx.dates) | Spire Properties |
| 2007–present | Daisy Chain card shop | |
| No. 11 | Occupier of ground floor |
| 1913 | William Eden, Police constable |
| 1926–1930 | Edgar Tratt |
| 1932–1960 | Alfred William Smith, Plumber 1959: 59/08456/A_H and 1960: 60/08456/A_H. Permission for change of use from residential to shop and or offices refused |
| 1962 | Vacant 62/11632/A_H: Application by Metrovincial Properties Ltd for change of use from dwelling house to shop on the ground floor with flat over approved |
| 1964–1975 | Self Service Launderettes (Kelvinator Launderama) |
| 1976 | Just Plants |
| 1977 | 77/00747/A_H: Application for change of use from greengrocer’s to coffee house approved; but permission does not seem to have been used |
| 1980s | Hummingbird (later known as Frames & Art). 1988 88/01441/NF: Application by R.J. Hey for change of use of first floor from residential to offices (retrospective) allowed on appeal |
| 1990s–c.2003 | Headington Beds |
| c.2003–present | McGills Hairdressing |
Advertisement from Kelly’s Directory, 1937
