1–5: Lloyds TSB Bank
Above There is a sharp contrast in style between the two sections of the bank: the ornate corner section dates from 1900, while the more severe section on the right is about a hundred years older.
Right This 1835 engraving shows the corner building (No. 1) and part of the one next door (Nos. 2–3) that used to occupy this corner site: they were built at the same time as their surviving neighbour (4–5).
Both the current sections are Grade II listed:
• 1–3: ref. 1485/728
• 4–5: ref. 1485/307
The ornate corner building that today marks the start of the High Street (Nos. 1–3) was designed by Stephen Salter and R. C. Davey. As Pevsner says, it "shows the consequences of seeing too much Jackson about every day. There is nowhere that motifs don't sprout, alternately blocked columns, Ipswich windows, big, steep shaped gables". The part to the east (Nos. 2 and 3) was built first, by Benfield & Loxley in 1900–1. The Oxford Chronicle of 23 October 1903 (p. 7, col. f) shows the architect’s drawing of the complete new building and has the following report on the building of the second phase, the part to the west that turns the corner (comprising the former 1 High Street and 1 Cornmarket):
The two old shops at the corner of Carfax have been removed, and two new ones, with suites of offices, are roof high. Both the shops have been already let by Messrs. Hamlet and Dulake; they will complete the block original design, of which Messrs Lloyds Bank was only an isolated portion. The renaissance style adopted does not appear to advantage in a narrow front, but is exceedingly effective in a block. The buildings are designed to bring in the utmost return in outlay, and as third floor offices do not let readily, a fine studio across the entire width of the two shops, having a north roof light, has been designed. The contractors are Messrs. Benfield and Loxley, the architect Mr. Stephen Salter, F.R.I.B.A., of Carfax, and the carving is being executed by Mr W.H. Feldon of Oxford.
Lloyds Bank moved into the present Nos. 2–3 when they were built in 1901 and expanded into No. 1 on the corner in the mid-1920s. In the mid-1970s Sainsbury’s moved from Nos. 4 and 5 to its present store in the Westgate Centre, and the bank then also expanded in the other direction to incorporate the more restrained premises next door.
No.
1
The 1851 census shows William Wiseman, the draper at No. 1,
living over the shop with his wife, six children, and his sole employee, a draper’s
assistant. By 1861, he was also living over No. 2.
Nos.
2–3
In 1851 the business partners Henry Slatter (aged 61) and John
Rose (aged 26) lived over Nos. 2–3, together with an apprentice and two servants.
In 1861 William Wiseman appears to have occupied the upstairs of No. 2, while
Henry Slatter continued to live over No. 3. The 1881 census shows John Rose
living above Nos. 2–3: he was a bachelor of 56, living with his 78-year old mother,
his two spinster sisters, and a cook and housemaid.
No.
4
In 1851 John Mawer the hatter lived with his wife and a servant
over No. 4. In 1861 hatter’s shop was still there, but the upstairs was let
out to John Rose of Slatter & Rose at Nos. 2–3 next door,
No.
5
In 1851 James Gill the ironmonger, a bachelor of 35, lived over
No. 5 with a housekeeper, a general servant, and a lodger. He was still there
in 1861, when he is described as an ironmonger employing 18 men and three
boys. By 1891 he also took over No. 4. The ironmonger’s shop of Gill &
Co. remained here until 1925, and are now in a smaller shop in the Wheatsheaf
Yard on the other side of the High Street.
| Occupiers of 1–5 High
Street Grey background = former buildings on this site, now replaced | |||||
| Date | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 1839 |
William Wiseman (later Wiseman & Blake) Drapers (to 1871) University & City Wine & Spirit Stores (1880) Alfred Savage Stationer (from 1889) |
Henry
Slatter (Slatter & Rose by 1861) Bookseller | Joseph
Drew Hatter |
Charles
Pilcher Ironmonger | |
| Before 1846–1890 | Joseph
Steane Cornmerchant (1846) John Wm Mawer (later Mawer & Son) Hatter & hosier (from before 1851) | Gill & Ward Ironmongers gasfitters etc. (also at No. 6 from 1889) | |||
| 1891–1901 | Alfred
Savage Stationer | Henry
Slatter Bookseller | Gill
& Co. Ironmongers | ||
| 1902–1909 | Carfax
Tobacco Co. (from 1907) |
Lloyds Bank Ltd | |||
| 1911–1925 | Carfax
Tobacco Co. (to 1913) Colin Lunn Cigar merchant (1914–1923) |
Lloyds Bank Ltd. | John Sainsbury Provision merchant | Gill
& Co. Ironmongers | |
| 1927–1974 | Lloyds Bank Ltd | J. Sainsbury
Ltd Grocers, provision merchants & butchers |
|||
| 1976–present | Lloyds/TSB Bank PLC | ||||