George Street, Oxford

Shop changes in George Street, Oxford in 25 years

Between 1973 and 2008, every business in George Street changed its nature except for the New Theatre, the ABC/Odeon Cinema, the Grapes pub, and the Alliance Building Society/ Alliance & Leicester Bank.

Many were taken over by cafés and restaurants. In 1973 there were seven places to eat and drink, namely:

South side: Grapes pub, Golden Palace restaurant, Golden Egg café, Remzi’s restaurant
North side: Clarendon restaurant, Welsh Pony pub, Municipal restaurant

At the end of 2008 there were 21 places to eat and drink:

South side: Ask Café, Grapes pub, Copa restaurant, Peninsula restaurant, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Mood cocktail bar, O’Neill’s Wine Bar, Brasserie Gérard, Four Candles, Rizzi Ristorante, Pizza Hut, Opium Den Café, Giraffe restaurant, Yo Sushi, and Nando’s
North side, Bella Italia, Jamie’s, Old Orleans, Old Fire Station Café Bar, Café 42, and Eurobar

For convenience, new businesses that have taken over George Street premises since 2008 has been added in italic.

South side: Cornmarket to Worcester Street
No.	1973	2008
1 & 3	Alliance Building Society	Alliance & Leicester Bank [now Santander]
1 & 3 1st/2nd Floor 3rd Floor	Hairdresser, Dentist, Dressmaker, Chiropodist; Status Taverns Interior Planning & Design	Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies + Dentists and Chiropodist
5	Rose’s Fashion Centre Ltd	Ask Café
7	Grapes Public House	Grapes Public House
9, 11, & 13	John Perring Ltd, house furnishers	Copa Restaurant
15 & 17	Midland Bank Ltd (Regional Head Office)	Cheltenham & Gloucester Bank
19	Midland Bank Ltd (Regional Head Office)	Wine Rack [Baguette Sandwich Bar from 2010]
15–19 First floor	Offices	Offices
21	Wilson’s Costumiers	Toni & Guy, hairdressers
23	H. & A. Conway Ltd, Opticians	Peninsula Restaurant (in basement) [Koi Chinese Cuisine in 2011]
25	Andrews, Kent, & Stone, consulting engineers	Chelsea Building Society
27	Eveline Lambert, shoe dealer	Chelsea Building Society
21–27 form Chester House: 1973: Golden Palace Restaurant 2008: Washington International Studies Council and Reed Accounting [Reed replaced by Oxford Study Abroad Programme and Ferguson Bricknell Solicitors in 2011]
29 & 31	Golden Egg Café	Gourmet Burger Kitchen
29 & 31 1st & 3rd floor & basement	Midland House: Citizens’ Advice Bureau; Soldiers’, Sailors’ & Airmen’s Families Association; Home Help Service; Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society	Upstairs: Victoria House Hotel Basement: Mood cocktail bar [Roppongi Oxford in 2011]
33	Named as Radiant House Melson Wingate Ltd, dispensing opticians Pearl Assurance Co Ltd Tote Investors Falkiner Nuttall & Partners Ltd, European marketing consultants	Caspian News
35		Vacant (latterly Garden Images) [Unnamed discount store in 2011] H2O Venture Partners above 33 & 35 George Street
37	Southern Electricity	O’Neill’s Wine Bar (wrongly inscribed “No. 33”)
New Inn Hall Street
39	G. E. Thomas, hairdresser	Incorporated into Coffee Republic (facing New Inn Hall Street)
Old Boys’ High School	College of Further Education	Faculty of History, University of Oxford
41 & 43	W. S. Surplus Supplies Ltd	Brasserie Gérard
45	Jane’s Tuck shop, & Post Office
47	W. S. Surplus Supplies Ltd
49, 51, 53, 55, & 57	Joe Austin, florist	The Four Candles
George Street Place (formerly known as Brokenhayes) leading on the right to George Street Mews (by which name it is sometimes known). Now named as Bulwarks Lane, into which it leads
59	Oxford & Swindon Co-operative Society Ltd: Grocery, Butchery, & Furnishing	Zizzi Ristorante
61		Pizza Hut
63 & 65		Jessop’s Photography
67 & 69		Opium Den Café [Renamed Café Opium in 2011]
59–69 upstairs	Oxford & Swindon Co-operative Society Ltd: head office	Oxford Business College
71	H. R. Beechey, confectioner Norman, ladies outfitter	Giraffe restaurant
73	Oliver & Son (Oxford) Ltd, printers	Yo Sushi restaurant
75	Speedwell Cleaning Co.	Stairway to Hayes House ( University of Oxford): Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment Social Sciences Division offices
77	Oxford Council of Social Service	Nando’s
79	Remzi’s restaurant	Nando’s
North side: Magdalen Street to Worcester Street
2	Part of Elliston & Cavell Ltd. Upstairs: Oxford Aunts, Harrison Beaumont Insurance Brokers, Wesleyan & General Assurance Society	Part of Debenham’s
4	Henry F. Galpin and other solicitors	Mr Shoes
6	Lavelette Ltd, ladies’ fashions	Vacant (latterly Going Places Travel Agent)
8	Pleasance & Harper, jewellers	Vacant (latterly ePlay)
10 & 12	Harlequin Records	Vacant (latterly Internet Exchange)
14 & 16	David Greig grocers Upstairs: Clarendon Restaurant	Bella Italia restaurant
Victoria Court
18 & 20	New Theatre	New Theatre
22	Town House gown shop	La Croissanterie
24 & 26	Oxford Review newspaper	Jamie’s Italian restaurant
Gloucester Street
Threeways House:
28, 30, 32, & 34	Oxford & Swindon Co-operative Society Ltd: Radio, electrical, hardware, & jewellery departments, vision systems	Old Orleans restaurant and bar [Replaced by Fire & Stone in 2011]
36–38	Charles Geddes (Oxford) Ltd, antique dealers	STA Travel Upstairs: Abacus College and TMD Surveyors
St George’s Place
—	ABC Cinema	Odeon Cinema
40	Oxford Playhouse Company (Meadow Players) Ltd	Old Fire Station Arts Centre including Old Fire Station Café Bar
42	W. D. Huddart, watchmaker J. V. G. Couling, chiropodist	Café 42
44	Gardiner’s Opticians (Oxford) Ltd	Conway Optician
46	Westwoods Sound & Vision Systems Upstairs: Oxford Association of Boys’ Clubs	Conway Optician
48	Welsh Pony public house	Eurobar café and hotel
Chain Alley
50	City of Oxford Catering Department: Municipal Restaurant	Job Centre Plus

Shop changes in George Street, Oxford in 25 years

South side: Cornmarket to Worcester Street

North side: Magdalen Street to Worcester Street