Oxford Ghost Signs: Nicholl's Boots, 4–5 Park End Street
This plaque inscribed with the letter N is on the side of the large building at 4–6 Park End Street, facing customers coming from central Oxford. It was designed by Gilbert T. Gardner and built by T. H. Kingerlee & Sons in 1925. The N stands for Nicholl.
G. Nicholl was a bootmaker here at the two shops to the right of the block (Nos. 4 & 5) by the time Kelly's Directory for 1927 was published, and he was still here in 1936.
By 1938, however, his premises had been divided into two, with a cycle shop on the right and the National Cash Register Co. on the left. (No. 6 to the west, which is part of the same building, was a confectioner's shop.)
In 1952 the National Cash Register Company at No. 5 expanded into No. 4 next door and made alterations to the ground floor (52/02397/A_H), but Nicholl's sign on the side of the residential property upstairs survived.
In 2025 the La Casa Bar & Restaurant occupies all three shops at 4, 5, & 6 Park End Street. The photograph below shows the building, with Nicholl's plaque in context on the side:
