Wander around the West End today and it is hard to believe this was once a thriving merchant quarter, with shops, businesses and homes packed into a web of narrow streets around the hub of the castle and along the banks of the waterways.

The rich history of the area reaches far back to Oxford's pre-university origins. It has been suggested that the original 'oxen ford' after which the city was named was on the road from North Hinksey via Osney Lane to the castle, although Folly Bridge now has a rival claim. In 1071, five years from the Norman Conquest, Robert D'Oilly, nobleman and Sheriff of Oxford, built the castle for his benefactor, William the Conqueror.

Around the castle grew up three great monasteries, Osney Abbey, the Greyfriars and the Blackfriars, in the suburbs of a steadily expanding and thriving market town. Geoffrey Chaucer's bawdy story of romance between a carpenter's pretty young wife and a university student, The Miller's Tale, was set in the prosperous suburb of St Thomas. Later during the busy industry of the Victorian era, famous Oxford brands such as Cooper's and Morrells established themselves in the area and became household names. The image below shows the Frank Cooper building, now converted into a cafe/art space known as the Jam Factory.

In order to build a detailed profile of the history of this important and distinctive quarter of Oxford, the West End Partnership has endorsed a Historic Study that covers the Worcester Street car park and Macclesfield House sites. Oxford Preservation Trust, Oxfordshire County Council and Nuffield College jointly commissioned the study, which outlines the history of the area and will help inform future development. In addition a community-focused West End Historic Context Study, a joint initiative of the City Council and Oxford Preservation Trust, was undertaken in 2010-11 to identify heritage assets in the area and assess their value to the local community. The feedback gathered from this study will be invaluable as development within the West End unfolds.

The West End was the living heart of Oxford long before the colleges came along; reviving this spirit of energy and enterprise is the central aim of the West End regeneration. If you are interested in finding out more about the history of Oxford's West End, the Centre for Oxfordshire Studies has a wide range of books, maps, engravings, photographs and archived periodicals covering the history of the area from early times to the present day. You can also visit the History and Heritage section of Oxfordshire County Council's website where you can search documents and images of the West End's history.