History of Oxford’s Broad Street
The elephant standing on the weather-vane of the former Indian Institute enjoys a fine view of the Broad (Picture by Neville Clarke)
Follow the pointer at the top of this page to go through all the topics below. For individual buildings, use the “Take the Tour” side-link: this allows you to select a specific building or take a continuous tour covering every building in the street.
Miscellaneous specific topics
- Landmarks in the history of the Broad (a brief history from AD 911 to the present)
- Views of the Broad on old postcards
- Parishes of the Broad
- Street numbering in the Broad
- Listed buildings of the Broad
- Oxford Mileways Act and the Broad
- The Emperors’ heads
- The cabmen’s shelter
- Proposals for a monument: King Alfred etc.
Transcriptions of Broad Street section from directories
- 1823: Pigot’s directory
- 1830: Pigot’s directory
- 1839: Robson’s commercial directory (first with street numbers)
- 1852: Gardner’s directory
- 1861: Oxford directory
- 1896–7: Kelly’s Directory
- 1937: Kelly’s Directory
- 1976: Kelly’s Directory (the last ever)
The Printing House, Theatre, and Museum at Oxford, 1809 (postcard of a Rowlandson print)