Oxford Clarendon Shopping Centre site to become open-air square

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 21 Oct, 06:08 · Archive

Oxford's Clarendon Shopping Centre has closed and will be redeveloped into an open-air square.

Oxford's Clarendon Shopping Centre has closed and will be redeveloped into a new open-air square. The site between Cornmarket Street and Queen Street has been a vital part of city life for around 800 years, serving as a place of trade and hospitality since at least the Middle Ages. It was once home to the King's Head and Star inns.

In 1863 the site became the Clarendon Hotel, one of Oxford's best-known hotels. Author Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, dined there on its opening night. The building was bought by Woolworths in 1939 and used by American servicemen during and after the Second World War before being demolished in 1954.

Archaeologists later discovered significant finds at the site, including a 12th-century vaulted wine cellar believed to be among Oxford's oldest surviving cellars and the framework of a 16th-century timber-framed house. Conservationists subsequently questioned whether the building should have been preserved. A Woolworths store preceded the Clarendon Shopping Centre, which opened in 1984 and housed retailers including TK Maxx, H&M and Gap Outlet before its closure in 2025.

Oxford Clarendon Shopping Centre site to become open-air square — Image: Oxford Mail

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How it is being reported

Oxford square at centre of hospitality and trade since Middle AgesFor centuries, the site of Oxford's Clarendon Shopping Centre has been a vital part of city life.Oxford Mail · 21 Oct, 05:00
Oxford square at centre of hospitality and trade since Middle AgesFor centuries, the site of Oxford's Clarendon Shopping Centre has been a vital part of city life.Oxfordshire Guardian · 21 Oct, 05:00

In this story: Oxford · Clarendon Shopping Centre · Lewis Carroll · Woolworths · Cornmarket Street · Queen Street

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