Magdalen Street

{{Short description|Street in central Oxford, England}} {{For|the street in Cambridge|Magdalene Street}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}} {{Use British English|date=March 2018}} [[File:The Church of St Mary Magdelene, Oxford (3445148033).jpg|thumb|[[St Mary Magdalen's Church, Oxford|St Mary Magdalen church]] seen from Magdalen Street West]] {{Location map |Oxford (central) |label= |position= |label_size=120 |mark=Blue pog.svg |marksize=12 |lat=51.7548 |long=-1.2591 |width=180 |float=right |caption=<small>Location of Magdalen Street within central Oxford</small> }} [[File:The Taylor Institute from behind the Martyrs' Memorial, in Oxford, England.jpg|thumb|View of the [[Martyrs' Memorial]] with the [[Randolph Hotel, Oxford|Randolph Hotel]] and [[Taylor Institute]] behind at the north end of Magdalen Street.]]

'''Magdalen Street''' is a short shopping street in central [[Oxford]], England, just north of the original north gate in the city walls.<ref name="hibbert">{{cite book | title=[[The Encyclopaedia of Oxford]] |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]] | chapter=Magdalen Street | year=1988 |page=237| isbn=0-333-39917-X | editor-last=Hibbert |editor-first=Christopher|editor-link=Christopher Hibbert }}</ref> Traditionally, the name of the street is pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|æ|ɡ|d|ə|l|ɪ|n}} and not as the name of the [[Magdalen College, Oxford|Magdalen College]], which is always {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɔː|d|l|ɪ|n}}.<ref>Jones, Daniel, eds. P.Roach, J.Setter and J.Esling ''Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary'', 18th Edition, 2011, Cambridge University Press</ref>

At the southern end, Magdalen Street meets [[Cornmarket Street]] continuing to the south, [[Broad Street, Oxford|Broad Street]] to the east and [[George Street, Oxford|George Street]] to the west. At the northern end it continues as [[St Giles' Street, Oxford|St Giles']] to the north, with [[Beaumont Street]] to the west. To the west are shops. The street was the location of Oxford's leading department store for many years, [[Elliston & Cavell]]. It later became a [[Debenhams]] store. On the northern corner of Beaumont Street is the [[Macdonald Randolph Hotel]], widely considered to be Oxford's leading hotel.

To the east is a historic church, [[St Mary Magdalen's Church, Oxford|St Mary Magdalen]], originally established in [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxon]] times.<ref>[http://www.stmarymagdalenoxford.org.uk/history.cfm History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100311043214/http://www.stmarymagdalenoxford.org.uk/history.cfm |date=2010-03-11 }}, [http://www.stmarymagdalenoxford.org.uk/ St Mary Magdalen Church, Oxford].</ref> Beyond that is '''Magdalen Street East'''  and [[Balliol College, Oxford|Balliol College]]. North of the church is the [[Martyrs' Memorial]], commemorating the [[Oxford Martyrs]].

[[Thornton's Bookshop]] opened on Magdalen Street in 1835 and was located here until 1840, from 1853 to 1863.

[[St Giles' Fair]], held at the beginning of September each year and mainly in St Giles' to the north, extends into Magdalen Street. During the 1930s, the poet [[John Betjeman]] noted that:

<blockquote>''It is about the biggest fair in England. The whole of St Giles' and even Magdalen Street by [[Elliston and Cavell's]] right up to and beyond the War Memorial, at the meeting of the [[Woodstock Road (Oxford)|Woodstock]] and [[Banbury Road|Banbury]] roads, is thick with [[freak show]]s, [[Carousel|roundabouts]], [[Cakewalk (carnival game)|cake-walks]], [[The Whip (ride)|the whip]], and the [[Witching Waves|witching waves]].''<ref>Alison Petch, [http://england.prm.ox.ac.uk/englishness-st-giles-fair.html Calendar related artefacts: St Giles Fair], [http://england.prm.ox.ac.uk/ England: The Other Within], [[Pitt Rivers Museum]], Oxford, UK.</ref></blockquote>

==References== {{reflist}}

[[Category:Streets in Oxford]] [[Category:Balliol College, Oxford]] [[Category:Shopping streets in Oxford]]