No. 31: Former shop and lodging house
No. 31 Broad Street was on the northern corner of New College Lane, in Holywell parish.
Together with No. 32 to the north, it was demolished in 1892 to make room for the second phase (the three right-hand bays) of the Indian Institute. The Institute had to be built in two phases because old leases on this shop and No. 32 did not expire until 1892.
Photograph showing No. 31 ( wrongly dated 1900)
The hosier William Thorp came into possession of this shop through his marriage to Mary Wise, daughter of Mr Wise the mercer, on 23 August 1756 at St Cross Church (now Balliol Historic Collections Centre). When Parson Woodforde was at New College between 1758 and 1763, he visited this shop many times. The 1772 Survey of Oxford clearly shows that Mr Thorp’s house was here at the south of the group of four shops that were in Holywell parish, and that it had a frontage of 6 yards 1 ft 6 in.
Thorp and his family lived over the shop here until 1783, when he converted the shop into a front parlour, took his son into partnership, and moved the business to 44 Broad Street.
The 1841 census shows the wine merchant Robert Sheard (35) living here with Charlotte (25), Matilda (5), Edwin (2), and Charlotte (8 months). They had two independent people living with them, and two female servants. Robert Sheard died near the beginning of 1842 and his wife moved to 46 Broad Street to carry on the business, and 31 Broad Street, described as “a spacious family residence” was advertised to let.
In the mid-1840s this was the Hudson's Bay Fur Establishment, a branch of a firm in London, run by J. T. Shayler. As well as selling furs, he undertook cleaning and restoration of them, and altering them to the current fashion.
At the time of the 1851 census, No. 31 was occupied by John Minty, a master tailor and robe maker, “in partnership with others: many men”. He lived there with his wife Emma plus a servant and two student lodgers.
From 1861 it was a grocer’s shop, run by Edward Hewitt Payne and his wife. At the time of the 1861 census, Payne was described as a “Grocer & Sheriff’s officer”, and lived over the shop with his wife Emily, their two daughters, two gentlemen lodgers (one of whom was an Esquire Bedel), and a servant. Edward Hewitt Payne was still here with his family at the time of the 1871 census, but died later that year at the age of 46.
A firm of accountants took the shop over in 1880, but Mrs Emily Payne continued to live upstairs at No. 31 and was listed there in the 1881 census: aged 52, described as a “householder & share holder”. Her daughter Ada (26) and her uncle Thomas Hooper (83) were living with her, and they had one servant. Their two lodgers were ironmongers who were to become well known in Oxford: James Gill and Alfred Ward. Thomas Hooper died here on 12 October 1888 at the age of 91. Mrs Payne was still living at No. 31 at the time of the 1891 census, together with her daughter Florence Payne and their general servant.
No. 31 Broad Street was demolished in 1892 along with No. 32 to the left to make way for the second phase of the Indian Institute.
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Occupants of 31 Broad Street listed in directories |
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1839–1842 |
Robert Sheard,
Wine & spirit merchant |
1845, 1846 |
James Shayler, Furrier |
1852 |
Richard Omash, Bookbinder |
1861–1876 |
Edward Hewitt Payne (Mrs Payne from 1871), Grocer & Italian ware |
1880–1891 |
F. & H. Bacon, Accountants (Mrs Payne still living upstairs) |
Demolished in 1891 (along with No. 32 to the north |
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