The Vicarage

The Vicarage is a former vicarage, now an academic institution, located on Woodstock Road in North Oxford. Built in 1887 to the designs of architect H.W.G. Drinkwater, it was constructed as the vicarage for the adjacent Church of St. Philip and St. James and now serves as the Middle East Centre for St. Anthony's College.

The building is a large structure of two storeys and attics, designed in Tudor style. The ground floor walls are constructed of coursed rubble limestone with ashlar dressings, while the upper storey is roughcast with ornamental half-timbering. The gables feature moulded bargeboards with small pendants and patterned tile-hanging to the apex. The building is roofed in plain tiles, with red brick chimneys having square nibs.

The façade has a roughly square plan and suggests a hall, cross wing and oriel arrangement. The front elevation is dominated by two asymmetrical projecting gables, full-height to the left and slightly smaller to the right, with a lean-to porch between them. A further narrow blind bay sits to the right. The windows have ovolo-moulded mullions with single transoms, in stone below and wood above, featuring leaded glazing with elaboration in the top lights. The porch has arched top lights and double panelled doors set within a stone basket arch with carved foliage spandrels.

The left side, facing Church Walk, displays a central projection with a tile-hung gable overhanging a bowed oriel window. The left bay is partly tile-hung with scalloped tiles and dormer windows. A ground-floor hopper dated 1887 has been re-sited here.

The interiors, though not seen during the survey, are illustrated as containing re-used panelling in Tudor style.

The building has group value with the adjoining listed church and stands within the North Oxford Conservation Area. The design demonstrates a consistent composition based on respectable architectural tradition, adding considerably to the setting of the Grade A listed Church of St. Philip and St. James.