6–7: Ryman’s
No. 6, the narrow building on the left of this picture, and No. 7, the much wider building on the right, date from the late eighteenth century, but were rebuilt in 1958 with a modern shop front.
Both sections of Ryman’s are listed:
• No. 6: Grade II*, ref. 1485/307
• No. 7: Grade II, ref. 1485/308
In 1772 a survey of every house in the city was taken in consequence of the Mileways Act of 1771. According to Salter, No. 6 with the passage down its side was then in the of a Mr Underhill, and its frontage measured 5 yards 0 feet 6 inches; while No. 7 was divided into two parts, one in the occupation of Mr Lock and the other Mrs Radford.
The "Mr Lock" of 1772 was the goldsmith and banker Edward Lock (mayor of Oxford in 1776, 1791, and 1806). Parson Woodforde paid many visits to his shop, and mentions giving some money to his only son Joseph. Joseph took over from his father (and was also mayor of Oxford, in 1813 and 1829), and was succeeded in turn by his own son, another Edward.
At the time of the 1851 census, William Adams, the toyman at No. 6 on the left, lived over the shop with his wife and two children and a general servant. At No. 7 on the right, Michael Underhill, a grocer and employer of 23 men, lived upstairs with his wife, two children, a granddaughter, and three servants, as well as his married son Henry (who was his partner) and his servant. No. 7 was a grocer’s shop from at least 1846 until the International Stores closed at the end of the 1970s.
Vincent’s Club met upstairs at Nos. 6/7 from 1894 to 1931, when it moved to its present address in King Edward Street.
| Occupiers of 6–7 High
Street since 1839 Grey shading indicates an earlier building on the site | ||
| Date | 6 High Street | 7 High Street |
| 1839 | Sir
Joseph Lock & Co. Bankers | –– |
| 1846–1880 | William Peter Adams Toy & stationery warehouse (to 1876) T. Plaister Cabinet maker & upholsterer (1880–1883) | Underhill
& Sons Grocers & tea dealers |
| 1884–1887 | T. Underhill & Sons Grocers & tea dealers | |
| 1888–1921 |
William Cleaver Surgical boot maker (1888–1910) Dorian Shoe Co. Ltd (1911–1923) |
M. Underhill & Sons Grocers |
| 1923–1956 | W.
A Roper, Bootmaker (1925) Lennards Ltd, Bootmakers (1927–1943) No listing 1945–1956 | International
Tea Co. Stores Ltd Grocers |
| 1958–1976+ | International
Tea Co.’s Stores Ltd Grocers | |
| By 1980–present | Ryman’s (Stationers) Upstairs: Bourton Mill Health & Leisure Club |
|