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The Oxford University Press is a neoclassical building erected 1826–30.[2] The central part was designed by Daniel Robertson and the north and west wings by Edward Blore.[2] Modern extensions were added in 1960–61 and early in the 1970s.[2]
The Freud café-bar stands opposite the Oxford University Press, and at the head of Great Clarendon Street. The bar, which was opened in 1988, is housed in a grand neoclassical building with an Ionic portico.[3] This building was constructed as the Church of St Paul, the first Anglican parish church to be constructed in Oxford after the Reformation.[4] The new church and parish was created to serve the growing community of Jericho. The building was designed by the architect H. J. Underwood and built in 1836.[3] The architect E. G. Bruton added the apse in 1853 and F. C. Eden remodelled the interior in 1908.[3] In the 20th century St Paul's became a redundant church and, after deconsecration, became a theatre and arts centre. In 1988 the building was acquired by Secession Ltd. to prevent its demolition and opened as Freud café-bar.[5]
The Jericho Tavern is a public house and music venue at 56 Walton Street. In the late 1980s and early 1990s it was an important part of the music scene in Oxford, spawning the groups Ride, Radiohead[6] and Supergrass.[7]
The central part of Walton Street has changed significantly as more areas are developed by the University of Oxford. The former Radcliffe Infirmary site on the east side will become the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, a large campus for humanities research and administration. The long wall separating the Infirmary from the street has been punctuated by a new pedestrian route to Woodstock Road and a health centre.
In 2015, a new controversial building[8] for the Blavatnik School of Government of Oxford University on the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter site, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, was opened immediately opposite the Oxford University Press building, dominating the location with its height (taller than Carfax Tower), and resulting in further removal of the high stone wall behind the old Infirmary site.[9]Exeter College has developed the former Ruskin College site opposite to the south for college accommodation as its Cohen Quad.
Little Clarendon Street, a shopping street, links Walton Street with Saint Giles. There are numerous restaurants on Walton Street, often used by Oxford University students because of its central position, such as Branca, Loch Fyne, The Jericho Cafe, Arzoo, Brasserie Blanc (associated with the chef Raymond Blanc)[10] and The Standard Tandoori.
Oxford's main independent art house cinema, the Phoenix Picturehouse, is on the west side of the street.[11] A number of cocktail bars and pubs can be found on Walton Street.
Other shops include the speciality florist Daisies[12] and Branca Delicatessen.
Sir Percy Alden, social worker, land reformer, and radical Liberal Party politician, was born at 16 Walton Street in 1865 and grew up there
Edwin Ardener, social anthropologist and academic, lived at 73 Walton Street until his death in 1987
Thomas Combe, printer, publisher, and patron of the arts, lived at North House, Oxford University Press, Walton Street with his wife Martha Combe from 1833 until his death in 1872
Charles John ffoulkes, historian and curator of the Royal Armouries at London, lived at 142 Walton Street until his death in 1947
Philippa Foot, philosopher, lived at 15 Walton Street from 1972 until her death in 2010, and is commemorated by an Oxfordshire Blue Plaque on the house.[13]
Francis Haskell, art historian, lived at 7 Walton Street until his death in 2000
Christopher Hawkes, archaeologist, lived at 19 Walton Street until his death in 1992
P. D. James, crime novelist, was born at The Cottage, 164 Walton Street in 1920
Enid Starkie, literary critic, lived at 23 Walton Street until her death in 1970
Chance, Eleanor & Christina Colvin, Janet Cooper, C. J. Day, T. G. Hassall, Mary Jessup & Nesta Selwyn (1979). Crossley, Alan; Elrington, C. R. (eds.). Victoria County History: A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 4. Institute of Historical Research.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)