1,213
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
m
276
,no edit summary
This is the page for 276 Cowley Road.
<< [[278|278]] [[274|274]] >>
[[File:276-2017-03.JPG|frame|2017: The newly refurbished church hall]]
This site incorporates the church hall (visible from the road) and vicarage behind.
== 2000s - 2011 == No 276a was the address of Asylum Welcome charity ==The Church Hall==
===2015-present===
The Church hall, formerly known as the SS Mary & John Church Hall, reopened in 2015 following a two-year refurbishment <ref name="OxMail2015">Oxford Mail, 22 August 2015: http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/13619331.Comedy_legend___s_debut_venue_looking_good_to_reopen_soon/</ref>. It was renamed Richard Benson Hall, after Father Richard Meux Benson, founder of the parish and of the Cowley Fathers who was also responsible for a number of socially-minded projects in OX4 <ref name="bensonHall">https://bensonhall.org/about/</ref> <ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Meux_Benson</ref>.
The hall features a striking neo-Gothic window facing the street. It also has low, sweeping roofs and a prominent chimney, in the Arts and Crafts style (see also [[95|95]] Cowley Road for a brilliant, slightly later example in a similar vein).
===Before then===
Comedy legend Ronnie Barker, who died in 2005, made his debut performance here in the church hall<ref name="OxMail2015"/>.
==The Vicarage==
===1901-present===
[[File:276-vicarage.JPG|frame|2017: The 1901 Vicarage, viewed from the churchyard, still looks good as new.]]
Behind the hall, not fully visible from the road is the vicarage. It was designed by Ninian Comper and built in 1901, displaying striking Arts & Crafts influences with its white rendered walls and stone detailing.<ref>https://www.oxford.gov.uk/downloads/file/1550/the_old_vicarage_276_cowley_road</ref> It is best viewed from the graveyard behind, when on sunny days its bold shapes make a dazzling show against the blue sky.
==Before then?==
Cowleyroad.org is a DIY community history - help us write it!
Do you know more about this business, or remember what was at this address before? Do you have any old photographs or memories to share?Please add them to the site! Here is a [[How to contribute How_to_contribute| how-to guide]].
==References==
