126, High Street

No 126 on High Street is a house and shop that dates back to the 15th century, with a late 17th-century front. It is the only example of this type of exceptional street architecture remaining in Oxford. The building is three stories tall, featuring plastered timber-framing over cellars and a gabled dormer. The ground floor has a modern shop front.

The first floor has a large window in the center that projects forward and extends through to the second floor. This window features a continuous entablature and wide lights with plain wooden mullions that are almost flush with the glass. The wooden transoms have a projecting moulding, and the center of the window has a semi-circular head with a moulded keystone. Most of the glazing appears to be original. The second-floor window mirrors this style but has twin semi-circular headed lights in the center.

Above the second floor, there is a heavy moulded cornice with a broken moulded pediment, which contains a semi-circular headed window styled similarly to those below. This window also has a moulded pediment and is set within a large gable that features excellent 15th-century wavy carved and moulded bargeboards with sunk traceried panels.

Inside, the structure of the original 15th-century house is visible, with the 17th-century front being bracketed out. The rear wall was reconstructed in brick in 1971. The interior includes cellars that are probably medieval, and there is timber arcading behind the north front on the first floor, representing the structural 15th-century front. Additionally, there is a panelled dado from the 16th to 17th centuries. All the listed buildings on the south side form a group.