Ship Street is a historic street that runs east–west 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

The street lies north of Jesus College

Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...

 and west of Exeter College

Exeter College, Oxford

Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...

, two of Oxford University's historic colleges. To the south, at the western end is the Junior Common Room and to the eastern end is the Principal's (private) garden of Jesus College. At the western end is the historic St Michael at the Northgate

St Michael at the Northgate

St Michael at the North Gate is a church in Cornmarket Street, at the junction with Ship Street, in central Oxford, England. The church is so-called because this is the location of the original north gate of Oxford when it was surrounded by a city wall....

 church near the site of the original north gate in the city wall. Originally Oxford's wall ran just to the north of Ship Street.

At the eastern end is the QI Building, a member's club, bookshop and café associated with the comedic quiz show QI

QI

QI is a British comedy panel game television quiz show created and co-produced by John Lloyd, hosted by Stephen Fry, and featuring permanent panellist Alan Davies. Most of the questions are extremely obscure, making it unlikely that the correct answer will be given...

 television series on BBC2, and established by the comedy producer John Lloyd

John Lloyd (writer)

John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd CBE is a British comedy writer and television producer. He is the great nephew of John Hardress Lloyd.-Early life and career:...

. The entrance to the building was in Turl Street

Turl Street

Turl Street is an historic street in central Oxford, England.- Location :The street is located in the city centre, linking Broad Street at the north and High Street at the south. It is colloquially known as The Turl and runs past three of Oxford's historic colleges: Exeter, Jesus and Lincoln...

.

To the west is the major shopping street, Cornmarket Street

Cornmarket Street

Cornmarket Street is a major shopping street and pedestrian precinct in Oxford, England that runs north-south between Carfax Tower and Magdalen Street.Retailers in Cornmarket include:* Austin Reed...

, with St Michael's Street

St Michael's Street, Oxford

St Michael's Street is a street in central Oxford, England. It runs between New Inn Hall Street to the west and Cornmarket to the east, with Ship Street almost opposite....

 opposite, and to the east is the Turl. Market Street

Market Street, Oxford

Market Street runs east-west in central Oxford, England.The street lies north of the Covered Market, a historic roofed market with permanent stalls that is still very much active today, and north of Lincoln College's Lincoln House accommodation complex. To the west is the major pedestrianised...

 runs parallel with Ship Street to the south and 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...

 runs similarly to the north.

History

The street has had a number of names. It was known as Dewy's Lane in the 13th century, after a family who lived there. Its name was Somenor's Lane in 1385. Lawrence Hall was at the east end of the street and it was known by this name for a time. Lawrence Hall was located on the south side of the street, 30–40 yards from Turl Street.
The name of "Ship Street" was used from about 1762, after an alehouse in the street. At one time, there was a sheep market in the street and its name is a possible corruption of this. The street used to be much longer than it is today, running east through Catte Street

Catte Street

Catte Street is a historic street in central Oxford, England.- Location :Catte Street runs north-south, continuing as Parks Road to the north...

 to the city wall. at Eastgate.

St Anne's College, when it was still known as the Society for Home Students, had its first common room

Common room

The phrase common room is used especially in British and Canadian English to describe a type of shared lounge, most often found in dormitories, at universities, colleges, military bases, hospitals, rest homes, hostels, and even minimum-security prisons. It is generally connected to several...

 in Ship Street. The annual magazine for alumnae and alumni of the college is known as The Ship.

There are still many 16th to early 18th century houses in the street that are Grade II listed buildings.

Gallery

External links

• Heroes Sandwich Bar, 8 Ship Street