Mathematical Institute, 24-29 St Giles, Oxford

Nos. 24–29: Department of Statistics

24-29 St Giles

The building shown above, was built in the mid-1960s as a Mathematical Institute for the University of Oxford, replacing the six old houses numbered 24–29 St Giles’ Street (planning application 64/10139/A_H). It lies in St Giles' parish.

That Institute has now moved to the Radcliffe Infirmary site, and this building is now the University's Department of Statistics.

Former buildings on this site (demolished and rebuilt in the 1860s)

No. 24 was the Windmill Inn until the 1860s. Windmill Yard was between the Windmill at No. 24 and No. 25, and Adams Yard (presumably named after Robert Adams the butcher at No. 25, and probably the former Boot Alley) was between Nos. 25 and 26.

An advertisement in Jackson's Oxford Journal on 26 August 1837 for an auction of Nos. 25 & 26 described them thus: “TWO DWELLING HOUSES, front St. Giles’s street, with yard, slaughter-house, and other convenient outbuildings, now in the occupation of Mrs. Kitchen, and Mr. Adams, butcher.

Nos. 24, 25, and 26 were demolished for the first time in the early 1860s and rebuilt as three much larger four-storey premises with extra accommodation in the roof.

In 1868 Balliol College rented the rebuilt No. 26, renaming it Balliol Hall, to enable students of ability with limited means to study at the college. In 1877 the Dragon School (then called the Oxford Preparatory School) started life in two rooms at the rebuilt No. 26, moving to 17 Crick Road in 1879 and thence to Bardwell Road in 1895.

The Marlborough Secretarial College began life at the rebuilt No. 24 in about 1940.

Old houses on site

Left The six houses demolished to make way for the Mathematical Institute can be seen in the centre of this photograph (taken in about 1920). They are sandwiched between two existing buildings, namely Nos. 22/23 (in the right foreground, with three gables) and No. 30 (on the left on the corner Keble Road, with two gables) .

Nos. 24, 25, and 26 comprised the very large 1860s building set back from the road.

The much lower shop beyond this is No. 27, while the three-storey building to the north again comprised Nos. 28 and 29.

Photograph taken in 1949 of the buildings demolished to make way for the Mathematical Institute

	No. 24 (right)	No. 25 (middle)	No. 26 (left)
1837	Windmill Inn (Henry Hutt)	Robert Adams Butcher	Mrs Kitchen
1841–1852		Robert Adams Butcher	William Tarrant junior Shoemaker (son of this William Tarrant)
1861		James Walton Whitesmith	Richard Carter Carpenter
Rebuilt in early 1860s
1866	Mr Morrison in 1865, thereafter Mrs Morrison	James West	Rev. T. Arnold, M.A.
1867		H.B. Spencer, M.D.	Rev. T. Arnold, M.A.
1869		Mrs Maskell	Balliol Hall: T.H. Green, M.A. (1869–76) Frederick William Jenkins (1880–4) Mrs F.W. Jenkins (1887–1908)
1871–1875		Rev. Joseph Skipper Treacher Vicar of St John the Baptist Church
1876		S.W. Taylor
1880–1884	Misses Fruin (1880–95) Miss Mary Fruin Lodging house 1896–89	Brentford House: Walter Green Faulks University Lodgings (Mrs Faulks 1894)
1895–1899		Lodging House Mrs Phoebe Mobey (1895–1913) Miss E.M. Faulks (1913–41)
1900–1908	William Simmonds & Co. Coal merchants
1909–18			Albert Charles Rolls Mrs Rolls University Lodging House
1919			Alexander John Cameron
1921–1923			Mrs Massey
1925–1927			Miss Mullett
1928	Mrs (Kil)kelly Patrick P. Kilkelly Ophthalmic surgeon
1932	Mrs A. Smith Boarding house
1934–7	Mrs Blanchard — Miss J. Dunkley Masseuse
1939	Arthur H. Hickling
1941	Marlborough Secretarial Training School Miss D. Hickling, Principal
1945		Miss E. A. Coombs
1947	Miss D. Hickling	Alexander B.F. Gibson Physician & surgeon
1949–54	Miss D. Hickling
1956	Boris Weber		No listing
1958–60	Frederick Halcrow		Randolph Hotel Staff Residence
1962	—		Randolph Hotel Staff Residence
1964	—		Adrian Davies
Demolished to make way for Mathematical Institute Now the University of Oxford Department of Statistics

The low building in the middle (No. 27) was for many years a shop:

	No. 27	No. 28	No. 29
1841	Joseph Carter Coal merchant (non-resident)	George Parrott Farmer & dairyman of 73 acres employing 8 labourers	Esther Masham Shopkeeper
1846	Joseph Carter Coal merchant (non-resident)		—
1852	Thomas Grimsley Sculptor and patent roof & terracotta manufacturer		Henry Emerton Railway clerk Academy taking boarders: Mrs Julia Emerton
1861		Henry Jacob Clerk to Justices	Charles Richards Auctioneer Mrs Ann Richards from 1880
1866–1869	William Morley Bookbinder	Henry Jacob Clerk to Justices
1871		Frederick Grimbley
1872		Benjamin Hart Builder (employing 200 hands) Mrs Hart Milliner
1880–4	Mrs Martin Robert Martin Cabinet maker
1887–1904	Mrs Martin Robert Martin Cabinet maker		Thomas Howard
1906–8	Percy Halfacree Bootmaker		Thomas Howard
1910	Percy Halfacree Bootmaker		William John Potter Printer The Potter Press
1911	Ernest Henry Brownjohn Bootmaker	—
1912–1914	Ernest Henry Brownjohn Bootmaker	Henry J. Potter
1915–1916	Edward Dowse Bootmaker	Herbert James Potter (Miss Joan Potter from 1949) — Miss Frances A. Marzials
1918	Miss Dorothy Humphrey Dairy
1919–1923	Colin Harse Cycle agent
1925–6	Madame Derwent Draper
1927	Campbell & Garrick Dyers
1929–1939	Mrs M.A. Dorrill Shopkeeper Colin Harse
1941–1945	A.J. Luce Shopkeeper Mrs Harse
1947	Levy & Freeman Sign writers
1949–1958	Swift School of Motoring
1960		William Holmes, M.A., D.Phil.	David Longrigg
1962		William Holmes, M.A., D.Phil.	—
1964	—	Leonardo Castillejo, M.A.	—
Demolished to make way for Mathematical Institute