Oxford Ghost Signs
The definition of a ghost sign varies: purists would say that it is an obsolete, faded, hand-painted advertising sign on the brickwork of a building that has probably long had another use: What is a Ghost Sign? (PDF) goes into far more detail. The list below is less restrictive and includes engraved stonework, mosaics, and metal commercial signs .
Central Oxford
- 118–119 St Aldate's Street: Mr Therm (Gas Co)
- Clarendon Centre, Cornmarket: Woolworth
- 124 High Street: Acott's Music Warehouse
- 133 High Street: William Rose (photographer)
- 13 Broad Street: Castell & Son
- Gloucester Green: Corn Exchange Hotel
- Queen Street: Frank East
East Oxford
- 55 Randolph Street: Organ Brothers (builders)
- 92 Cowley Road: Curry's
- 169 Cowley Road: Butler's ironmongery
- Temple Street: J. W. Reeve
- 22 Regent Street: Axtell Monumental Masons
- 2 Stockmore Street: Two chimney sweeps
- 103 & 104 St Mary's Road: Co-op boot repairs
- 27 Iffley Road: Lewis Field, decorator
- 42 Iffley Road: The Cricketers' Arms
South Oxford
West Oxford
- 4–5 Park End Street: Nicholl's Boots
- 11 & 12 Park End Street: Ward's (Furniture & Prams)
- 14 Park End Street: Hartwell's Motors
- 36–39 Park End Street: Archer Cowley
- St Thomas's Street: Gates of Morrell's Brewery
- Flory's Commercial Hotel, 4 Becket Street
North Oxford (including Walton Manor and Summertown)
- 46 Leckford Road: G. H. Dennis, (decorator etc)
- 127 Walton Street: George Lumley (grocer)
- 20 Kingston Road: Blencowe (grocer etc)
- 294 Banbury Road: Twining's grocer's shop
Headington
Cowley
Brewery signs
- Signs of breweries that no longer exist
(or are no longer relevant to the building)
Temporary reappearances
When buildings are being refurbished there an old sign can reappear temporarily, as shown for example in this photograph of 95 London Road in Headington taken on 4 January 2023. The Oxford Orthodontic Centre in preparing to move to the ground floor removed the Pen to Paper sign ready to put up its own, revealing in the process a Fleece Carpets sign dating from c.1993.
There are other stone inscriptions that show the former use of non-commercial institutional buildings that are not included here, and many of these can be found both in the Schools and the Inscriptions sections of this website.
Left: Example in New Inn Hall Street