ABOUT JERICHO - HOUSES
No 1 King Street
Image: Jenny Barsley
Former grain store
Posted - October 02, 1996
Number 1 King Street, on the corner with Jericho Street, is one of half a dozen that used to stand in this short street. Originally the building was a grain store for the miller who lived opposite. The original chutes are still there but are buried beneath the road. After the store fell into disuse the house became a warehouse - mainly for broken pianos. The people who lived in the Victorian houses where Grantham House now stands used to collect pieces of piano to burn in their open fires.
Around 16 years ago the building was converted to a house. Since it was a one-story building an additional floor was inserted. However because of the positioning of the large window on one side of the building this floor actually cuts across it - another unusual feature of this unique house. At the back there is a beautifully kept garden with a lily pond surrounded by a high wall.
Author: Jenny Barsley
Other houses
Did you know?
Margaret Thatcher used to live here?
In her Oxford days, she lived at 12 Richmond Road. It is alleged she shared the house with two red-hot communists who lived on a diet of sausages. This may account for her later views on socialists and known dislike of sausages.
The origins of Walton?
Walton is derived from "wall town" which was used centuries ago to indicate a location outside the Oxford city walls. The ancient manor of Walton was certainly in existence before the Norman conquest in 1066.