128A: Gill’s Ironmongers
Oxford’s much-loved ironmonger is hidden away in the Wheatsheaf Yard, behind No. 127 High Street. It is a small shop that has everything
Gills is one of the oldest firms of ironmongers in the country, dating back to the mid-sixteenth century, although (as the table at the end of the page shows) it has not always been called Gill's.
it was only in about 1840 that the eponymous James Gill (1814–1879) entered into business with James Pilcher, the current owner of the ironmongery business. At this time the shop was at 5 High Street.
Within a couple of years Pilcher gave up the business to James Gill and George Ward, younger brother of the Oxford Mayor William Ward and probably James’s relation.
The firm has occupied five different shops in the High. The ironmonger Thomas Bush is first listed in the High Street in 1816, but was probably also there in the eighteenth century. His shop is first specified in a directory as No. 5 in 1839.
Business must have gone well for Gill & Co. in the latter half of the nineteenth century, because in 1891 they expanded into No 4 next door.
In 1922 Barlow & Alden Ltd and Ison, Kidman & Watts amalgamated under the name of Gill & Co. Ltd; and in 1923 Gills retreated back in No. 5. But when Sainsbury’s at No. 4 expanded into No. 5 in 1925, they moved across the road to Nos. 127–8.
In about 1953 Gill & Co moved to its present smaller premises at the rear of their shop, which were given the number 128A High Street. At this date they were described as "ironmongers, heating engineers & plumbers".
Ownership of the Gill company when it was at 5 High Street
| Year | Name | Details |
| 1783 | Thomas Bush | Ironmonger, and Manufacturer of Brazery and Tin-ware |
| 1794/5 | Thomas Bush | Ironmonger |
| 1816 | T. Bush & Son | Ironmongers and braziers, High Street |
| 1823/4 | E. Bush & Co. | Ironmongers, braziers, & tinmen, High Street |
| 1839 | Bush & Pilcher | Ironmongers & braziers, High Street |
| 1839 | Charles Pilcher | Ironmonger, 5 High Street |
| 1842 | Pilcher & Gill | Ironmongers & braziers, 5 High Street |
| 1846, 1852, 1861 | Gill & Ward | Ironmongers & braziers, 5 High Street |
| 1876 | Gill & Co | Ironmongers, gasfitters, &c., 5 High Street |