Holywell Manor

Holywell Manor is a manor house, largely rebuilt in 1516 by Merton College, and subsequently reconditioned with additions in 1931. Parts of the original 16th-century fabric remain and the building is now a hostel for Balliol College. The original L-shaped block has wings to the north and east. A gabled projection on the south side of the east wing serves as a porch and staircase well. The west elevation, facing the road, is two-storeyed, built of coursed rubble, and features two gables, each containing modern four-light stone mullioned windows. The roof is stone slate, with stone stacks. The first floor has six single-light stone-framed windows with four-centred heads; three are original, and two are modern. The ground floor windows include two-light and a three-light window, also with four-centred heads set within stone surrounds, some of which are original. A renewed stone doorframe with a four-centred head is also present. The south elevation of the east wing is of coursed rubble, with first-floor stone mullioned windows of two and three lights, and a four-centred head. The ground floor has renewed stone frames with modern sashes, and one original, partly renewed, three-light stone mullioned window with a square moulded label. A three-storeyed gabled projection has angle buttresses, a stone slate roof, an original single-light stone-framed window and some modern wood-framed windows. The north wall of the north wing has been rebuilt. Modern additions have been made to the east and north of the east wing. The interior includes moulded ceiling beams in the former hall of the south wing, original fireplaces, reset 17th-century panelling, and original roof timbers. Historical details and accounts of former uses and inhabitants can be found in publications by the Oxford Architectural and Historical Society. A drawing of the exterior from 1820 by J.C. Buckler is held at the Bodleian Library.