No. 36: Part of hotel
Nos. 36 is on the left-hand side of a terrace of three houses (34, 35, and 36 St Giles’ Street). They are jointly Grade II listed (List Reference No. 1047141) and lie in St Giles' parish. The block is nine bays wide and three storeys high, with attics and basements.
The Oxford builder Daniel Evans designed and built this house and its two adjoining neighbours in 1828/9 on a large plot of land leased for 99 years from the Oxford surgeon John Bull. Evans let this house out to private tenants.
At the time of the 1841 census No. 36 was occupied by Caroline Dupuis (aged c.70), Mary Dupuis (aged c.30), and their four servants. Jackson's Oxford Journal of 9 July 1842 advertised a forthcoming auction of all the household furniture and effects of Mrs Dupuis, who was leaving.
The Revd Richard Michell moved in later in 1841 and remained until 1849. This building also seems to have been used by John Cross as a Boys’ School, according to the Post Office Directory of 1847.
No. 36 was advertised to let on 19 May 1849, and was described as having a coach house and stabling adjoining.
In 1851 the house was occupied by the widow Mrs Mary Ann Crouch, described as a fundholder, and her 41-year-old daughter, Miss Mary Ann Hancock, plus a cook and a housemaid. They were both still in the house in 1861, when they also had a resident groom. Mrs Crouch died here at the age of 86 n 11 November 1866.
On the census night of 1871 only the servants (the butler, cook, and housemaid) were at home.
The Revd Edward Tindal Turner, the Vice-Principal of Brasenose College, moved here in 1875, and in the census of 1881 he can be seen here with his wife Emily and their four servants; the situation was the same in 1891, except that they now had four servants (a butler, cook, housemaid, and ladies maid). In 1901 only their butler and cook were at home on census night. The Revd Turner died near the beginning of 1911 and his wife remained in the house until 1916. Only her five servants (a butler, cook, lady's maid, house maid, and between maid) were at home at the time of the 1911 census.
The 1921 census shows Henry Le Blanc Lightfoot (71), the Bursar of Corpus Christi College, living here with his wife Jane (48) and their daughters Constance and Sybil, plus their cook, parlourmaid, and housemaid. Henry died near the end of 1924, and his wife remained here until 1928.
The house then ceased to be a family home and was converted into a hostel for Exeter College.
In 1932 First Church of Christ, Scientist, Oxford moved into No. 36, and the following year they purchased the group of three houses at 34–36 St Giles’ from Exeter College. They used No. 36 as their Reading Room, and built their church in the back garden of Nos. 35 and 36. In 2003/4 a new Reading Room was built in the grounds of the church, and No. 36 was sold.
No. 36 was sold with vacant possession and D1 planning consent in 2004.
In January 2017 permission was granted to Jeremy Mogford for “Change of use from offices (Use Class B1) to ancillary hotel accommodation (Use Class C1) to create 5no. ancillary suites for the Old Parsonage Hotel” (16/03032/FUL), and this house is now part of the hotel.
Occupants of 36 St Giles’ Street listed in censuses and directories |
|
1841–1849 |
Rev. Richard Michell (but occupied by Caroline Dupuis in 1841–1842) (1847: John Cross: Boys’ School?) |
1852–1866 |
Mrs Mary A. Crouch |
1867–1871 |
Miss Hancock |
1875–1916 |
Rev Edward Tindal Turner,
Fellow of Brasenose,
University Registrar to 1911 |
1918–1928 |
Henry Le Blanc Lightfoot, Bursar of Corpus Christi College |
1929–1932 |
Exeter College Hostel |
1932–2003 |
Christian Science Reading Room |
2004–2019 |
Infinite Ideas |
2020–2023 |
Vacant: building work |
2024 |
Ancillary suites for the Old Parsonage Hotel |