Catte Street is a historic street in central Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Location

Catte Street runs north-south, continuing as Parks Road

Parks Road

Parks Road is a road in Oxford, England, with several Oxford University colleges along its route. It runs north-south from the Banbury Road and Norham Gardens at the northern end, where it continues into Bradmore Road, to the junction with Broad Street, Holywell Street and Catte Street to the...

 to the north (at a junction with Broad Street

Broad Street, Oxford

Broad Street is a wide street in central Oxford, England, located just north of the old city wall.The street is known for its bookshops, including the original Blackwell's bookshop at number 50, located here due to the University...

 and Holywell Street

Holywell Street

Holywell Street is a street in central Oxford, England. It runs east-west with Broad Street to the west and Longwall Street to the east. About half way along, Mansfield Road adjoins to the north.New College dominates the south side of the street...

). The street passes along the eastern side of Radcliffe Square

Radcliffe Square

Radcliffe Square is a square in central Oxford, England. It is completely surrounded by historic Oxford University and college buildings. The square is cobbled, laid to grass surrounded by railings in the centre, and is pedestrianised except for access....

 and forms a junction with the High Street

High Street, Oxford

The High Street in Oxford, England runs between Carfax, generally recognized as the centre of the city, and Magdalen Bridge to the east. Locally the street is often known as The High. It forms a gentle curve and is the subject of many prints, paintings, photographs, etc...

 to the south.

At the northern end to the west is the Clarendon Building

Clarendon Building

The Clarendon Building is a landmark Grade I listed building in Oxford, England, owned by the University of Oxford. It was built between 1711 and 1715 to house the Oxford University Press. It stands in the centre of the city in Broad Street, near the Bodleian Library and the Sheldonian Theatre...

 on Broad Street, with the Sheldonian Theatre

Sheldonian Theatre

The Sheldonian Theatre, located in Oxford, England, was built from 1664 to 1668 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, chancellor of the university at the time and the project's main financial backer...

 nearby. Just to the south is the Bodleian Library

Bodleian Library

The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...

. To the east are the Modern History Faculty (formerly the Indian Institute

Indian Institute

The Indian Institute in central Oxford, England is located at the north end of Catte Street on the corner with Holywell Street and facing down Broad Street from the east...

 building), Oxford's Bridge of Sighs

Bridge of Sighs (Oxford)

Hertford Bridge, popularly known as the Bridge of Sighs, is a skyway over New College Lane in Oxford, England.- Misnomer and myth :The bridge is often referred to as the Bridge of Sighs because of its supposed similarity to the famous Bridge of Sighs in Venice...

 in New College Lane

New College Lane

New College Lane is a historic street in central Oxford, England, named after New College, one of the older Oxford colleges, adjacent to the north....

 and Hertford College

Hertford College, Oxford

Hertford College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is located in Catte Street, directly opposite the main entrance of the original Bodleian Library. As of 2006, the college had a financial endowment of £52m. There are 612 students , plus various visiting...

.

Further south to the east is All Souls

All Souls College, Oxford

The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....

, an Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 college with fellows but no undergraduate students. To the west at the southern end are the Radcliffe Camera

Radcliffe Camera

The Radcliffe Camera is a building in Oxford, England, designed by James Gibbs in the English Palladian style and built in 1737–1749 to house the Radcliffe Science Library.-History:...

 and University Church of St Mary the Virgin

University Church of St Mary the Virgin

The University Church of St Mary the Virgin is the largest of Oxford's parish churches and the centre from which the University of Oxford grew...

, the main church of the University

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

, on the High Street.

The street has been pedestrianised as a pavement at the south by the junction with the High Street since 1973.

Catte Street inspired the name of a local 1970s jazz band

Jazz band

A jazz band is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands usually consist of a rhythm section and a horn section, in the early days often trumpet, trombone, and clarinet with rhythm section of piano, banjo, bass or tuba, and drums.-Eras:SwingDuring the swing era in the mid-twentieth...

, the "Catte Street Rhythm Wreckers".

History

The name of this street was recorded as Kattestreete in the early 13th century, as Mousecatcher's Lane in 1442, and as Cat Street in the 18th century. In the mid-19th century it became Catherine Street. However, there was another street of this name in east Oxford and in 1930 the City Council changed the name to Catte Street, using a 15th-century spelling.

Originally this street road used to lead northwards as far as New College Lane, where the city wall blocked its way. The road north from here has become part of Catte Street, although the Modern History Faculty still gives its address as Broad Street nearby.

In the mid-13th century the illuminator William de Brailes

William de Brailes

William de Brailes was an English Early Gothic manuscript illuminator, presumably born in Brailes, Warwickshire. He signed two manuscripts, and apparently worked in Oxford, where he is documented from 1238 to 1252, owning property in Catte Street near the University Church of St Mary the Virgin,...

 owned property, and presumably had his workshop, next to St Mary's.

External links

• Visit by Queen Elizabeth II
  Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
  Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
  
   and the Duke of Edinburgh, 1999