Balliol College’s Warren Building
The large building in the centre of the photograph is Balliol College’s Warren Building (Staircase XXI), which was built in Yellow Guiting stone in 1906. It was designed by Edward Prioleau Warren and built by Holloway Brothers of Belvedere Road, Westminster Bridge, London. It is Grade II listed (List Entry No. 1369624), and lies in St Mary Magdalen parish. It was the first Balliol building to have baths, which were in the basement.
The building that it replaced dated from 1863. Jackson’s Oxford Journal of 17 October that year stated: “In St. Giles’s, new and handsome offices have been built for Messrs. Morrell and Biddle, solicitors; and a new entrance is being made to the adjoining home [1 St Giles’], formerly occupied by the late Mrs. Baker Morrell.”
Left: This painting by Allen Shuffrey of c.1900 shows the office building that from 1863 to 1906 filled the gap between the Salvin Buildings and 1 St Giles
In 1873 Balliol College bought a strip of land containing the house of Frederick Morrell, which extended the northern boundary of the college by 40 feet. This meant that in 1906 the Warren building could extend up to and adjoin 1 St Giles’ Street.