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St Giles' Fair

General History

Old pictures

Remembrance

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This large extension to the Taylor Institution was built in two phases in the 1930s on the site of six houses. It was designed by Harold Hughes and made of Bath, Portland, and Clipham stone. It is Grade II listed (Ref. 1485/523B).

 

Phase I (1931/2)

Four houses (Nos. 70–73) were demolished in December 1931 to make way for the southern part of the new extension: they can be glimpsed in the picture on the left, separated from the main Taylorian building by Wyatt's Yard

The entrance to the old Wyatt's Yard (which was given the number 74 when all the houses to the south were demolished to make space for the old part of the Taylorian) is now a side entrance to the Taylorian between the original building and the first extension.

The first section of the new extension was opened by the Prince of Wales on 9 November 1932.

The plan below which dates from 1876 shows all the houses that were demolished: No. 68 was evidently a grand house, with a fountain in the garden.

Occupants of the houses that were on this site
Date	68 St Giles	69 St Giles
1839–6	George Rackstrow Solicitor	William Smith Taylor Cabinet maker
1852		Isaac West Chemist & druggist
1861–82	Hawkins & Sylvester Accountant	Caleb Bolton Linen draper
1884–90		David Price Clifford Tailor & hosier
1891	—	Michael Angelo Alfred Mathews Stationer, printer, bookbinder, &c.
1893–4	Oxford Cycle Co. (Oxford Cycle & Motor Car Co from 1900; Oxford Motors Ltd from 1922) (W.F. Parker)
1895–1925		Joseph Vincent Stationer, printer, & publisher
1926–34	Archibald G.H. Lambert Boot maker — Royal Automobile Club — E.J. Brooks & Son Auction Mart — Crier Publishing (to 1932) — William Batchelor Stationer (from 1934)
1935–7		Halifax Building Society (to 1936)
1937	Demolished to make way for Taylorian extension, Phase II

72 and 73 St Giles were tenements of Christ Church, and in 1829 they were leased to Mrs Dodd. The occupiers were then Mrs Skidmore, Peckover & Bateman, Munt, and William Hemmings.

Next to No. 73 was the entrance to Wyatt's Yard, which was given the number 74 following the demolition of Nos. 74–78. Margaret Wyatt is listed as the builder there from 1846 to 1861. At the time of the 1861 census she was aged 78 and described as the employer of 56 men. By 1881 Thomas Wyatt was in residence, the employer of 60 men. George Wyatt, the ironmonger at No. 70, also owned Nos. 66 and 67, moving into the latter in the 1860s after he had rebuilt it.

Margaret Wyatt
Builder
(1846–1861)

G. Wyatt & Son
Masons & builders
(1866–91)

Date	70 St Giles	71 St Giles	72 St Giles	73 St Giles
1839	William Smith Livery stables	—	—	Charles Goffe Boot & shoe maker
1841–6		Robert Drewitt Confectioner	John Allen Surveyor	John Dewe Bookseller
1851				—
1852	George Wyatt Ironmonger		—	—
1861		George Grace Confectioner	John Richard Carr Alderman & Solicitor	Elisha Workman Foreign fruiterer
1866–9		Josiah Arnatt Cook & confectioner
1871–2	Miss Mary Ann Proctor Mantles & millinery
1875		A. & W. Boffin Cooks & confectioners
1876				E.F. Greenwood Foreign fruiterer & Italian warehouse man
1880			E.F. Greenwood Foreign fruiterer & Italian warehouse man	T. Smith Plumber, painter, & decorator
1882–91				Miss Lambert Millinery & baby linen warehouse
1894–5	Mrs Agnes Lambert Boot & shoe maker			Artists' Studio: Carleton Grant
1896–8				W. Howe Nurse Furrier
1899–1916				Mrs Agnes Lambert Boot & shoe maker
1918			—	Archibald G.H. Lambert Boot & shoe maker
1919–22			St Giles Blue Triangle Club (YWCA)
1923–5			Roland B. Bennett Watch maker
1926–30	Miss Eveline Lambert Boot & shoe warehouse
1931	Demolished to make way for Taylorian extension, Phase I

The engraving below (made by Frederick Charles Richards in about 1912) shows the shops demolished in 1931 to make way for the first Taylorian extension. The shop names that can be read on the original are Lambert at No. 73 on the left (next to the old part of the Taylorian) and Lambert again with the number 70 three doors to the north. The shop on the right (No. 69) was spared until its lease ran out in 1937.