# North Parade

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{{Short description|Shopping street in North Oxford, England}}
{{About|the street in Oxford|the street in Bath|North Parade, Bath}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}

[[File:North Parade - geograph.org.uk - 718216.jpg|thumb|View of the south side of North Parade, looking west from the [Banbury Road](/source/Banbury_Road) end towards [Winchester Road](/source/Winchester_Road%2C_Oxford) in the distance. The sign of the Rose & Crown public house<ref name="roseandcrown" /> can be seen on the right.]]
thumb|View west along North Parade with bunting.

'''North Parade''', or more formally '''North Parade Avenue''', is a short shopping street or [parade](/source/shopping_parade) in north [Oxford](/source/Oxford), [England](/source/England). It runs between [Winchester Road](/source/Winchester_Road%2C_Oxford) opposite Church Walk to the west and [Banbury Road](/source/Banbury_Road) (with [Norham Road](/source/Norham_Road) slightly north opposite) to the east. It is the only shopping street in [North Oxford](/source/North_Oxford) between the city centre to the south and [Summertown](/source/Summertown%2C_Oxford) to the north.

== Overview ==
North Parade has been described as "''one of the most interesting little streets in Oxford.''"<ref>Curl, James Stevens, ''The Erosion of Oxford''. [Oxford Illustrated Press](/source/Oxford_Illustrated_Press), 1977, p. 161. {{ISBN|0-902280-40-6}}.</ref> It has pubs, shops and houses along the street. Over the years, local shops have given way to restaurants.

The Rose & Crown public house<ref name="roseandcrown">[http://sites.google.com/site/roseandcrownoxford/history/a-brief-history A brief history], [http://www.rose-n-crown.com/ Rose & Crown public house], Oxford, UK.</ref> is on the north side and the Gardeners Arms pub is on the south side.

There are some additional commercial establishments stretching a little way south from North Parade along the Banbury Road. In particular, Gee's restaurant<ref>[https://www.gees-restaurant.co.uk/ Gee's restaurant], Oxford, UK.</ref> with its glasshouse structure, which used to be a [florist](/source/florist) and [greengrocer](/source/greengrocer), has been a restaurant since 1983.

==History==
The land at North Parade sold as 42 lots at an auction held at the Horse & Jockey public house in May 1833. Most of the land between [St Giles'](/source/St_Giles'_Street%2C_Oxford) and Summertown was owned by [St John's College, Oxford](/source/St_John's_College%2C_Oxford) and was sold as leasehold. As North Oxford was developed as a suburb, North Parade became a small local shopping centre for the residences in the area.

North Parade used to have traditional local shops. With the changes in people's shopping habits, most of the shops have moved up-market in their style. Shops such as a [butcher](/source/butcher)s, [grocer](/source/grocer)s, [fishmonger](/source/fishmonger)s, etc., have given way to [gift shop](/source/gift_shop)s, [restaurant](/source/restaurant)s, etc. A monthly outdoor [farmers market](/source/farmers_market) was established in 2012.<ref>{{cite news| first=Helen | last=Peacocke | title=Market forces in Oxford's North Parade | date=24 October 2012 | newspaper=[The Oxford Times](/source/The_Oxford_Times) | url=https://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/leisure/food/features/10004160.Market_forces_in_Oxford_s_North_Parade/ | accessdate=5 December 2012 }}</ref>

==Origin of the name==
North Parade runs south of [South Parade](/source/South_Parade) in Summertown. It is often claimed<ref>[https://www.britainexpress.com/cities/oxford/stuart.htm Oxford History — Tudor and English Civil War].</ref> that during the [Civil War](/source/English_Civil_War) when [Charles I](/source/Charles_I_of_England) was besieged by [Oliver Cromwell](/source/Oliver_Cromwell) at Oxford, South Parade was the [Roundhead](/source/Roundhead) southern front, while North Parade was the location of the [Royalist](/source/Cavalier) northern front during the [siege of Oxford](/source/siege_of_Oxford). However, "[i]t is unlikely that the two sides would have come so close to each other without engaging in combat and, in any case, parade grounds are known to have existed elsewhere in and around the town",<ref>Yurdan, Marilyn. ''The street names of Oxford''. Stroud: History Press (2009), p. 72.</ref> for instance in [Port Meadow](/source/Port_Meadow).<ref>Hibbert, Christopher (ed.) ''The Encyclopaedia of Oxford.'' London: Macmillan (1998), p. 284, ''s.v.'' North Parade.</ref> In fact, both developments are much later:

{{quote|North Parade was one of the earliest developments on [St. John's](/source/St_John's_College%2C_Oxford) leasehold land, soon after 1855, and was so called from the start ... South Parade was known by that name at least as early as 1859. We do not know which got its name first, but when either was named there would have seemed no need to consider the existence of the other. One was in Oxford, the other in a village out in the County. In terms of Oxford, North Parade was north; in terms of Summertown, South Parade was south. When Summertown was made part of Oxford, the names illogically remained.<ref>Fasnacht, Ruth. ''Summertown since 1820''. Oxford: St Michael's (1977), pp. 103–104.</ref>}}

==The Rose & Crown==
The Rose & Crown is a pub established in 1863,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://sites.google.com/site/roseandcrownoxford/history/a-brief-history | title=A Brief History | publisher=The Rose & Crown, UK | accessdate=10 August 2011}}</ref> and has been run by the current landlord since 1983.<ref>[http://oxfordcamra.org.uk/Oxford-Drinker-61.pdf ''Oxford Drinker'', Issue 61], [Campaign for Real Ale](/source/Campaign_for_Real_Ale), April–May 2010.</ref> Regular drinkers at the Rose & Crown have included [Thom Yorke](/source/Thom_Yorke) of the band [Radiohead](/source/Radiohead), who wrote songs there.<ref>[http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=9556 Jigsaw Falling Into Place by Radioheah], [http://www.songfacts.com/ Songfacts].</ref>

==Literature==
North Parade was mentioned by [John Betjeman](/source/John_Betjeman) (1906–1984) in his poetry:<ref>{{cite book| first=Frank | last=Delaney | author-link=Frank Delaney | title=Betjeman Country | series=[Paladin Books](/source/Paladin_Books) | publisher=[Granada Publishing](/source/Granada_Publishing) | date=1985 | chapter=Oxford | page=73 | isbn=978-0-586-08499-1 }}</ref>

{{quote|
Shall we ever, my staunch [Myfanwy](/source/Myfanwy_Piper)<br/>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bicycle down to North Parade?<br/>
[Kant](/source/Kant)  on the handle-bars, [Marx](/source/Marx) in the saddlebag,<br/>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Light my touch on your shoulder-blade
}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [https://northparademarket.com/ North Parade Market website]

{{Coord|51.76472|N|1.26128|W|source:placeopedia|display=title}}

Category:Streets in Oxford
Category:Shopping streets in Oxford
Category:History of Oxford

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [North Parade](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Parade) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Parade?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.