Jericho Sketchbook
Radcliffe Arms
Radcliffe Arms, Cranham Street
The Radcliffe Arms in Cranham Street is one of the largest surviving public houses in Jericho, which once boasted twenty-four licenced victuallers, of which only six remain. The building dates from the late 1860s and is typical of the period in which St. John's College decided to develop the remaining lands of the old Walton Manor farm. The Cranham Street area had formerly been occupied by small allotments. These were now built over with small terraced workmen's cottages very similar in layout to those built earlier although stylistically different. Traditional Georgian features were replaced by the Gothic arches and windows of the later fashion. The houses were also generally better built and supplied with mains water.
At that time Oxford was still enjoying a building boom and the building trade had become the principal employer in Jericho. The 1871 census shows that nearly half the working population were day labourers mostly employed in clearing the building sites or occupied on the canal or railways. They had come either from Oxford or from villages within 15 miles of the city and looked to the public houses for their social life. Most houses had their regulars, either from a particular trade, or from those with a common interest. They were generally wary of newcomers and in some ways like gentlemen's clubs, though less exclusive, for women were welcomed, even if few used them regularly. There the workers found benefit clubs, entertainment and sport, both darts and that peculiarly Oxford game of Aunt Sally which involved throwing irons at a moving target.
