L.1 Hayfield Road

25 Nov

General Overview

Hayfield Road is consistent with the rest of the Conservation Area in that its houses are constructed of red brick, with slate roofs and stone detailing, but it has a uniform character that sets it apart from the surrounding streets. The houses are all well-proportioned two-storey buildings fronting directly on to the pavement. Built in symmetrical pairs with intermittent side passageways, they are configured in blocks of eight or ten dwellings.

The uniformity of the terraced frontages makes the variations from house to house all the more striking, notably in the individual ornamental stone carvings of fruits or plants set over each front door which were a signature of the architect, H. W. Moore, linking these plain and unpretentious dwellings with the grander North Oxford houses in the suburb that were also designed by Moore.

Unlike the predominantly leafy appearance of most of the suburb, there is little greenery in the street. Consequently the residents particularly value the pair of birches planted next to the bollards at the southern end, and cherry and plum trees in the car park at Aristotle House (due to be replaced when the site is redeveloped), which soften the urban character of the street.

On the west side, the back gardens of the houses reach down to the bank of the Oxford Canal. Number 57 has the only two-storey extension in the street, owing its existence to the fact that there was once a dairy in the back garden.

History

Hayfield Road is shown on Benjamin Cole’s map of 1720 as a lane called “The Upper Way to Wolvercote”. At the south end, from at least 1718 there was a hostelry, known first as Heyfield’s Hutt, named after the landlord of the time. It was eventually rebuilt in 1937 as The Anchor Inn, which still stands today.

Commercial premises were (and still are) confined to this end of the street. Next to the public house were stables, dating from the eighteenth century, when annual horse races were held on nearby Port Meadow. The stables evolved into a hansom-cab business, and since the 1930s a garage, now known as Aladdin, has operated on the site. Next to Aladdin two shops were established in 1890 in a building currently occupied by a thriving delicatessen and newsagent’s business.

Opposite the shop was a working coal wharf, constructed in 1789 when the Oxford Canal reached this point from Coventry. Until its demise in the 1960s, the coal trade operated from Navigation House, a large brick building on the site, which was eventually replaced by a large office building, known as Aristotle House, in 1973. (These premises are due to be demolished and replaced by four four-bedroomed houses, offices, and two flats.)

In October 1888 the Oxford Industrial and Provident Land and Building Society completed the building of 72 “model artisans’ dwellings” to a design by H Wilkinson Moore, the St John’s College architect, on land leased from the College. They were mainly leased to local tradespeople and sub-let to manual workers and their families.

The houses were gradually sold off as freehold in the 1960s. With rising house prices and increased affluence, many have been refurbished and extended at the back. In 1985 the permanent closure of the street to cars and motorcycles at the south end excluded the heavy lorry traffic that used to shake the foundations, and reduced the noise and exhaust fumes that used to penetrate beyond the house fronts.

Assets

The Anchor pub and restaurant is a valued amenity. Constructed in 1937, it is typical of public houses built at that time. Over the doors it has the original Hall’s Brewery motif in metalwork, and the latest refurbishment, in 2013, uncovered the Hall’s Brewery tiles to the right of the door on to Hayfield Road. The patio at the front contributes to the area’s open feel.

The Aladdin Garage next door is a fairly low building set well back from the street, which houses the works, with a yard in front. While the building is not particularly attractive, it has the merit of not imposing itself on the street. On a gatepost is an attractive carving of Aladdin’s lamp, by local sculptor Martin Jennings.

At 4-6 Hayfield Road the ground floor is currently occupied by The Hayfield Deli, with four flats above. The building is somewhat larger than properties in the rest of the street, but it has similar features – red brick, slate roof, and stone detailing over the door at each side of the building, very similar to that over the doors of all the houses in the street.

At the south end there is easy access to the Aristotle Lane Recreation Ground and to Port Meadow; at both ends of the street there is easy access to the Canal towpath and the Trap Grounds Town Green and Local Wildlife Site. All these offer green spaces and opportunities for fresh air and exercise that are greatly valued by local residents.

Issues

Of greatest concern to residents is the need to retain the closure of the street at the south end. The bollards across the road outside the shop ensure that the street is safe enough to form part of a designated cycle route for the many children who travel along it to the local primary and secondary schools. Concomitantly, it will always be necessary to retain the turning circle at the south end of the street, which is essential for the use of emergency vehicles and delivery services.

A second general concern is the need to retain or replace the trees at the south end, which help to alleviate the stark visual impact of the street.

A matter of future concern may be the aspiration of some residents to extend their properties by excavating basements under their houses. There are currently no basements in Hayfield Road; such a proposal would need very careful consideration, given the construction of the properties on the very edge of the Thames Valley gravel terrace, and the consequent risk of undermining the foundations.

Guidance for new development

The following list summarises the most important features which it is desirable to maintain in order to preserve the distinctive character of the street.

-The human scale of the street, with an absence of over-bearing buildings.

-The use of red brick and slate roofing.

-The stone-washed or white-painted lintel above each front door.

-Windows and doors sympathetic to the original Victorian sash windows, by use of traditional materials and styles which echo the existing window styles.

-Original garden walls with their typical North Oxford red brick with half-round coping.

Some characteristics of the street have deteriorated over time, detracting from the overall appearance. It would be beneficial if the deterioration could be halted or reversed. For example:

-The stone ledge detail on the chimney stacks has frequently crumbled, and the original red clay pots have been replaced by a jumble of different styles. Restoration would be a welcome enhancement to the roofscape.

-Similarly the tiled partition ridges on the roofs with their decorative stone filials have in some places deteriorated markedly.

-On one or two houses, roof lights have been fitted to the street-facing side. The installation of further Velux windows–or dormer windows or solar panels – would spoil the roofscape and detract from the harmonious character of the street.

-Apart from the traditional postbox outside the Deli, the street furniture is unattractive, consisting of a clutter of street signs, ugly modern street lamps, meter boxes, and several metal telecommunications boxes at the south end. Over time these things will need to be replaced, ideally with designs which better suit the area, particularly the street lamps.

This character assessment, produced in May 2017, is based on a more detailed document compiled in 2014 by Jonathan Clarke and the Hayfield Road Residents’ Association as a supplement to the Draft North Oxford Victorian Suburb Conservation Area Appraisal.