St Michael's Street: number changes

St Michael's Street, Oxford (formerly New Inn Hall Street East)

To find the occupants of a house in the present St Michael's Street prior to 1900, it necessary to look under New Inn Hall Street (formerly New Inn Lane). The house numbers are also completely different, as shown in the table below.

New Inn Hall Street was originally an L-shaped street that did not reach George Street. Instead it ran northwards as today from the present Bonn Square up to the Methodist Church, but when it reached the city wall it turned sharply eastwards along what is now called St Michael Street to reach Cornmarket, and remained that way even after the wall was removed. Most of the original New Inn Hall Street was in St Peter-le-Bailey parish while all of the part that is now St Michael's Street was in St Michael's parish.

It was only in 1872 that New Inn Hall Street was extended northwards as far as George Street, and thereafter it had two branches, with the new section running north, and the old section, known as New Inn Hall Street East, running to Cornmarket as before. Jackson's Oxford Journal reported on 22 November 1884 on a lecture by Mr Gilbert, who on dealing with Cornmarket stated, “First we come to the stem of that T-shaped anomaly, New Inn Hall-street, which it is to be hoped, for the sake of the 'stranger within our gates,' the authorities will one day re-christen”, and suggested that one of its old names, such as Bedford Lane, could be used. It was fifteen years later in about 1900 that it was named St Michael's Street and given the house numbers that it still has today.

NORTH side of the present St Michael's Street, running from Cornmarket to New Inn Hall Street
1899 Kelly's Directory NEW INN HALL STREET EAST		1901 census ST MICHAEL'S STREET
20B	Sydney Underhill	2	Sydney Underhill
20A	William R. Phillips Hairdresser	4	No listing
20	Frederick John Hildick Saddler & harness maker	6	Frederick J. Hildick
19	Mrs Walklett	8	William G. Birmingham
18	William White Lodging house	10	William White Lodging house
17A	Sutton & Co Carriers	12, 14 & 16	No listing in census
—	Methodist Free Church (now Northgate Hall)	18	Methodist Free Church (now Northgate Hall)
17	Mrs H. E. Bancalari Lodging house keeper	20	Harriet E. Bancalari, Lodging house keeper
16	William Henry Walsh Solicitor	22	No listing in census
15	Mrs McIntyre Lodging house	24	Annie McIntyre University Lodgings
14	Stubbs Mercantile Offices and Alfred Wyllie, accountant	26 (& 28?)	Mary Ann Robson Lodging house
13A	Alfred Maltby & Son, bookbinders Offices of Flower & Sons, brewers Stead & Co, printers	30 (& 32?)	No listing in census
13	Miss Skene	34	William Kemp, bookbinder
12	Miss Summer, Miss Peesley, Oxford Reform Club (Liberal Hall), + Birmingham & Co, tailors, at 12A	36	Mary Wilson Shop keeper

SOUTH side of the present St Michael's Street, running from Cornmarket to New Inn Hall Street
1899 Kelly's Directory NEW INN HALL STREET EAST		1901 census ST MICHAEL'S STREET
21	Joseph J. Chennell Tailor	1	No listing
22	Fielding Ltd Financiers	3	No listing
23	John Fell Lodging house with Oxford Cycle Co at 23A	5	John Fell
24	Oxford Union Society	7 & 9	Oxford Union Society
25	Mrs Caroline Hubert University lodging house	11	Caroline Hubert University lodging house
26	John Rogers Stroud Job & Post master, and Arthur Henry Stroud Veterinary surgeon	13 & 15	Louis Nutting
27	Walter Peppercorn Solicitor	17	John Ayries
28	Alfred Burrows University Lodging House	19	Jane E. Burrows
30	Walter Gray Auctioneer	21	No listing