Post-medieval Oxford - Oxford City Council

Taverns
Taverns were specifically licensed by statute for selling wine, and the allowance of
three to Oxford was effected by both the city and university, resulting in five or more
premises at any time (Salter 1926; Leeds 1941). The principal ones were The
Mermaid (Swyndelstock) at Carfax, The Crown at No. 3 Cornmarket, The King’s
Head in High Street, The Salutation in High Street, and The Three Tuns in High
Street. Wine bottles from Oxford taverns and colleges have been subject to several
articles, as discussed further below (Leeds 1949; Haslam 1970; Banks 1997).
Village inns
Further work is required to assess the survival of post medieval inns and their
outbuildings in the LAA. The White Hart in Marston has been subject to an evaluation
and building survey (Hiller 2002).
Breweries and malthouses
The Lion Brewery in St Thomas Street was established c.1597. It was taken over by
Morrell's from Tawney's in 1803. A brewery on St Thomas’ Street was recorded on
post-medieval leases from 1718 until 1803 when it became the Morell’s Brewery
(Munby and Dodd 2006: 481). The premises were surveyed in 1998 and 1999
(Oxford Archaeological Unit 1999; RCHME 1998) when the earliest standing
buildings were found to date from c.1730. Morrell's were taken over in the late 1990s.
Excavations in 1976 and 1999 have produced limited evidence for the early
development of the site (Moore 2006; UAD 537).
The Swan, originally Swan's Nest, Brewery existed in Paradise Street by 1718. It was
acquired by Sir John Treacher in 1780 and passed to William Hall in 1795. Hall's was
taken over in the early 20th century. In 1977, excavations found garden remains and
earlier walls below the brewery (Oxford University Archaeological Society 1978).
The malthouses on Tidmarsh Lane were first recorded on a post-medieval lease of
1772 detailing a malthouse, garden and waste land on the plot (Munby and Dodd
2006: 476). Ongoing investigations at the new Pembroke Quad have uncovered
evidence for brewing on Brewer Street (Oxford Archaeology forthcoming).
Tanning
A Tannery is shown in Malchair’s 1772 drawing of the bottom of Littlegate Street, as
indicated in Taylor’s 1750 map. Evidence for tanning waste and related structures
has been excavated at the Brewer Street/Littlegate excavations in 2011 (Oxford
Archaeology forthcoming). For knucklebone floors and their association with carcass
processing see above. Cattlebones, perhaps tanning waste were recorded at the
Ashmolean Museum in 1994 (Andrews and Mepham 1997: 221). Horn core waste
was also recovered from an 18 th century pit on the former Greyfriars site (Hassall and
Halpin et al. 1984: 174).
Firewood
The supply of firewood (and charcoal) to Oxford is an under-researched topic, though
we know that charcoal was sold in the medieval street market, and Loggan’s 1675
college views often show large wood piles. The preference for oak and hazel
firewood in the early medieval period appears to change to beech in the medieval
period, with the Chilterns a possible source of supply. At Lincoln College, kitchen
beech charcoal dominated the 16 th -18 th century fireplace charcoal deposit (Challinor
2002), however, wood charcoal from 65-67 St Giles provided evidence for the
continued use of oak in this location (Challinor 2008).
Fruit
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