Former houses at 13–15 Cornmarket Street
These three houses stood on the south part of the site of Northgate House until 1960. They were always in the parish of St Michael-at-the-Northgate.
Nos. 13 & 14 prior to 1845
Two small shops stood here on the north side of the junction with Market Street prior to 1845.
No. 13: The bookseller & stationer William Peter Adams opened his shop here in about 1836. For a short while he went into partnership with Edwin Thomas Spiers, but the latter announced in Jackson's Oxford Journal on 15 January 1842 that the partnership of Spiers & Adams had been dissolved and that in future he would continue his business at 8 [7] Cornmarket Street. William Peter Adams remained here, but on 29 March 1845 announced that in consequence of his house being removed to enlarge Market Street, he was moving to 6 High Street.
No. 14: The chemist Frederick Telfer was here from 1838. On 29 November 1845 he announced that he was moving to 141 High Street until his premises here were rebuilt, but in the event he never came back and on 3 April 1847 he advertised that he had moved to 11 Cornmarket Street.. The surgeon dentist Norman Spencer also had a surgery in the building and extracted teeth for the poor free of charge every day from 9 to 10am.
Nos. 13/14 from 1845
Nos. 13 & 14 were demolished in 1845 and replaced with the building shown on the right (now itself demolished) and a wider Market Street.
The new premises stretched a good way down Market Street and were known as Clarendon Chambers.
On 20 March 1847 the draper J. Sparrow announced in Jackson's Oxford Journal that he was moving into the new shop on 25 March.
The silversmiths & jewellers William & Charles Wells were here from 1851 to 1866. A forthcoming auction of this house and shop was advertised in Jackson's Oxford Journal on 22 June 1861:
Lot 1.—The DWELLING HOUSE, in the occupation of Mr. Wells, jeweller, with handsome shop frontage to Corn Market and Market-streets, containing large shop, with private room and entrance adjoining, drawing room, breakfast room, five bed rooms, kitchen, scullery, and cellarage.
This Cornmarket building, along with Nos. 16, 17, 18, & 19 Market Street, was described as currently being held under one lease of the Dean and Chapter of Christ Church at a reserved rent of 15s. 4d., but that arrangements had been made for the surrender of this lease and the granting to each purchaser of a separate lease for a renewed term of 40 years from Michaelmas 1858. The apportioned rent for this building would be 3s. 4d.
Right: The former buildings just north of Market Street in 1900. No. 13/14 Cornmarket on the corner was then occupied by a wine & spirit merchant. (The older lower building at No. 15 to the north was a confectioner’s shop.)
John Mayo (who had been landlord of the w Inn at No. 18 since 1854 and had also retailed cigars and wines & spirits there) announced in Jackson's Oxford Journal on 7 September 1867 that he would henceforth carry on the retail bottle trade at his new premises here at Clarendon Chambers, 13/14 Cornmarket Street, adding that the entrance to the wine & spirit department was the first door In Market Street. John Mayo (and after his death on 5 November 1888 his son Arthur Mayo) ran a tobacco business and wine shop here from 1866 to 1893. (Mayo had a second branch at 22 Cornmarket from 1890 to 1914, and a third at 42 Cornmarket from 1896 to 1901.)
- For an image of Mayo’s wine shop at 13/14 Cornmarket at the top of a bill dated 1875, see Michael L. Turner and David Vaisey, Oxford Shops and Shopping, p. 29, illustration 60.
From 1893 Nos. 13/14 Cornmarket Street was a wine, spirits, beer and tobacco shop called the Central Stores, run by
H. J. R. Brooks.
No. 15
In 1772 a survey of every house in the city was taken in consequence of the Mileways Act of 1771. According to H. E. Salter, 15 Cornmarket to the left of this group was then in the occupation of Mr [Richard] Weston, and had a frontage of 4 yards, 1 ft. and 7 in.
The Horn family of confectioners was at No. 15 from c.1810 to 1880. Richard Horn died at the age of 52 on 11 September 1836, leaving his widow, Catherine, with ten children. On 22 September 1836 Mrs Catherine Horn announced that she would continue her husband's business, which he had run here during the last thirty years. Mrs Horn's shop was very seriously damaged in the fire at No. 16 next door on 23 April 1840, and Jackson's Oxford Journal which reported on the fire two days later said that much of it would be required to be rebuilt. She continued to run the bakery here, and when she died aged 72 in October 1860 her sons John and Edward continued to run the business, with John living over this shop and Edward living over his other baker's shop at 142 High Street.
On 12 October 1878 Edward Horn thanked the public for supporting him in his business here and W. H. Seary & G. E. Dorrill announced that they were taking over the business and would be catering for wedding breakfasts, luncheons, dinners, and ball suppers, as well as providing soup and hot joints every day between 12 noon and 3pm, and steaks and chops at ten minutes' notice before and after that time period.
Demolition of Nos. 14/15 in 1960
In 1960 the premises at 14/15 Cornmarket Street was demolished at the same time as two old shops and one more modern building to the north and replaced by the enormous block of Northgate House at 13–20 Cornmarket Street, and Marks & Spencer moved on to the site of the eight old shops.
Occupants of the former 13–15 Cornmarket Street listed in directories etc. |
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| No. 15 (left) | No. 14 | No. 13 (right) | |
1841 |
Richard Horn Catherine Horn John & Edward Horn (Catherine's sons) Edward Horn |
Frederick Telfer |
William Peter Adams later Spiers & Adams |
1846 |
No listing (probably being rebuilt) |
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1847 |
J. Sparrow, Draper |
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1851–1852 |
William & Charles Wells |
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1861, 1866 |
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1866–1878 |
John Mayo Mayo & Son by 1880 Arthur Edmund Mayo in 1890 |
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1878–1887 |
W. H. Seary |
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1890–1892 |
William Henry Viner |
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1892–1899 |
H, J. R. Brooks then |
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1901–1904 |
Francis Twining Sidney Twining Sidney Twining & Co. |
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1905–1945 |
George E. Weeks & Co. |
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1947–1956 |
Quality Cleaners Ltd |
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1958 |
Not listed: presumably the first in the group |
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1960 |
Not listed: Nos. 13, 14, & 15 were then being rebuilt as the new Marks & Spencer store, |
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13–15 Cornmarket Street in the censuses
1841
No. 13: The stationer William Adams (30) lived over his shop with Emma (25) and William (7) and Emma (4). An independent young man of 20 and one female servant also lived with them.
No. 14: The chemist Frederick Telfer (30) lived over his shop with Elizabeth (7) and Frederick (5), plus an apprentice chemist John Loder, an independent person, and one female servant. (Telfer was to take over the shop at 11 Cornmarket when Nos. 13 and 14 were combined into one new shop.)
No. 15: The confectioner Catherine Horn (50) lived here with her son Edward (20), who also described as a confectioner, and her daughter Mary (15). They shared the house with a journeyman and two independent persons, and they had two female servants.
Nos. 13 & 14 probably rebuilt as one shop in c.1845
1851
No. 13/14: William Wells (30), an unmarried jeweller, lived here over his shop with his brother Walter J. Wells (19), described as his assistant, and one servant.
No. 15: Catherine Horn (61), a widowed confectioner employing four men and one boy, lived here over the shop with her children John (32), a hatter; Edward (30), a confectioner; Mary (26), an assistant; and William (20), a cook. Also living with her was her grandson Thomas Bolton, a surgeon’s assistant. A confectioner and two bakers also lived in the household, and they had one house servant.
1861
No. 13/14: Eliza Jane Wells (30), described as a jeweller's wife, lived over her husband’s shop with their children Charles (5) and Caroline (1). Also living with them was the jeweller’s brother-in-law, Edward Barker (25), described as a jeweller’s assistant; and his sister Mary Wells (22), described as a shopwoman. They had two servants: a nursemaid and a general servant.
No. 15: John Horn (42), a confectioner, and his sister Catherine (49), who were both unmarried, lived here with their nephew John Gee (19), who was a hatter and hosier. Two young male bakers who work for Horn also lived with them, and they had one house servant.
1871
Nos. 13/14: John Mayo (42), a widowed wine & spirit merchant, lived here with his children Clara (17), Agnes (13), Laura (11), Arthur (9), and Alice (7), and his housekeeper.
No. 15: John Horn (52), confectioner, lived here over his shop with his unmarried sister Catherine (59), and a servant and apprentice.
1881
No. 13/14: John Mayo (54), wine & spirit merchant, lived her over his shop with his son Arthur (19), who acted as his assistant, and his daughter Amy (17). They had a housekeeper.
No. 15: William Henry Viner (35), an unmarried baker & confectioner’s manager, lived over the shop with his sister Emma (18), who was a confectioner’s assistant, as well as a baker’s boy of 13, and a general servant.
1891
Nos. 13/14: Listed as uninhabited: probably part of the wine merchant's shop downstairs.
No. 15: William Henry Viner (45), a cook, confectioner, and bread & biscuit baker, still lived over his shop, this time with his wife Jane Viner (50) and two nieces: Millicent Miller (15), who was a milliner, and Bessie (7), who was a scholar. Eight members of staff (described as their servants) lived with them: a shopwoman, assistant shopwoman, two domestic servants, a pastry cook & confectioner, an assistant pastry cook & confectioner, and two bread bakers.
1901
Nos. 13/14: Uninhabited: probably part of the wine merchant's shop downstairs.
No. 15: William Henry Viner (55), cook and confectioner, still lived over his shop with his wife Jane (60) and niece Bessie Viner Millens (17). Also living on the premises were two shop assistants, a cook, housemaid, kitchenmaid, pastry cook, journeyman baker, and bread delivery man.
1911
Nos. 13/14: No listing: : probably part of the wine merchant's shop downstairs.
No. 15: Miss Sarah Ann Carter (39) the manageress of this confectioner's shop & restaurant, lived in eight rooms here with four shop assistants, a servant, and a waitress.