Oxford University Press

Oxford University Press is a terraced town house built in 1772 by Sir Robert Taylor, originally serving as the West End residence of the Bishop of Ely. The building is constructed of Portland stone and features a slate roof, showcasing a distinctly Palladian design. It stands three storeys high, with a prominent piano nobile, a basement, and a dormered mansard roof. The façade is three windows wide, with a rusticated ground floor that includes rocky vermiculation on the piers and arches of the arcaded openings. The entrance, located to the right, has a panelled studded door, sidelights, and a fanlight. The ground floor sash windows are semicircular arched and set within the arcade. The first floor windows are framed by Corinthian columned and pedimented aedicules, adorned with blind balustrades. Above these are two paterae and a central medallion featuring a bishop's mitre, along with square attic windows that are all sashes revealed with glazing bars. A plat band runs over the ground floor, and there is a balustraded parapet above a modillion cornice. The building is complemented by fine cast iron area railings, designed by Alfred Stevens in 1852, featuring standards topped with seated lions.

The interior has been significantly altered but still retains some original features, including Taylor's dining room, which is now the front hall, showcasing a plaster ceiling and chimney piece. A glazed dome remains over the former stairwell, which originally had an apsed end. Parts of the original S pattern wrought iron staircase balustrade are still present, including the altered balcony, along with richly carved doorcases and a Venetian window with carved columns. Additionally, a decorative oeil-de-boeuf window has been added to the rear of the upper floor. Smith and Brewer undertook alterations to the building between 1909 and 1922, adding two storeys and designing the panelling in the arched entrance corridor.