Oxford News
The Oxford shops which people miss most in the city centre
There are countless reasons for the drastic changes recent years have brought to the UK’s high streets, from the rise of online shopping to world-altering events like the Covid pandemic.
The shopping heart of Oxford is one such place where the retail scenery has developed at a fast pace within the last decade, with many new shops springing up, as well as some long-standing ones being lost.
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We asked Oxford Mail readers which shops they missed the most, and we got hundreds of responses.
One of the most missed shops repeatedly mentioned was Boswells of Oxford, the city’s late, great independent department store.
Boswells opened in Cornmarket in 1739, and was the second oldest family-owned department store in the world when it closed in 2020.
Considered a local shopping landmark, the Boswell store in Broad Street – where it opened in 1929 – was popular for toys, kitchenware, luggage, gifts and all sorts of other goodies.
After 282 years of trading, the store hosted a closing down sale in 2020, and the Broad Street building has since been turned into luxury hotel The Store Oxford, which opened four years later.
Coming in a close second for most missed was Debenham’s, another department store of a bygone era.
The three-storey branch of the popular department store on the corner of George Street and Magdalen Street closed early in 2021 after the chain went into administration.
Now, the prominent city centre site will be turned into life sciences lab space by new owner, The Crown Estate, much to the disappointment of shoppers.
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Another well-missed shop from the city was the Disney Store at the corner of the Westgate, which closed in 2007 ahead of the shopping centre’s major – and somewhat delayed – renovation.
Taking a left-turn away from department stores and big names like Disney, another much-mentioned and dearly missed shop from Oxford was Gordon Thoday.
Gordon Thoday was a fabric shop in the 1970s, which occupied a huge retail space on Cornmarket Street which is now a McDonald’s.
It was a beloved haberdashery for sewers and crafters while it was open, and Gordon Thoday fabrics remain coveted antique pieces among enthusiasts.
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Another store with its own successful niche was Gill’s, or Gill & Co as it was formally known, the High Street shop which claimed to be England’s oldest ironmonger before it closed in 2010, after 480 years trading.
Several readers mentioned how much they missed Gill’s Hardware, which had operated from Wheatsheaf Yard for 50 years when it closed, but the original shop opened in Cornmarket, centuries before.
Other much missed shops include fashion retailers which have closed stores nationwide – some more recently than others – including New Look, River Island, C&A and MK One.
The former Top Gear and Grand Tour host purchased Diddly Squat Farm in Chadlington, Oxfordshire, back in 2008.
Having taken over the day-to-day operations back in 2019, Mr Clarkson started filming for the first season of Clarkson’s Farm, which was released in 2021.
Available on Prime Video, the documentary shows life on the farm and highlights the plight of British farmers.
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The fifth series had a staggered release across this month, with fans able to now binge-watch all eight new episodes.
This time last year, series four had also just been released, and Mr Clarkson followed up the conclusion of this with an announcement on his latest venture.
The 66-year-old has written several books over the years, including multiple which have covered his farming adventures in Oxfordshire.
He announced in June of 2025 that another was set to release later on in the year called Diddly Squat: The Farmer’s Dog.
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The book covered the latest action on the farm as well as his Asthall pub, The Farmer’s Dog, becoming the fifth book Mr Clarkson has written in the series.
Having purchased the Cotswolds watering hole for around £1m, the former Top Gear and Grand Tour presenter opened it to the public in the summer of 2024.
Although no confirmation has yet been made, it is expected that another book will be released this year, following on from Clarkson’s Farm series five.
It has also been confirmed that filming for the show’s sixth season is underway, with an anticipated release date in 2027.
St Edward’s School (‘Teddies’) in Woodstock Road has extended its mobile phone restrictions to its Year 11 students as well as Year 9 and Year 10.
As such the 16-year-olds will no longer be allowed their phones at any time during the week, with daytime access to them at weekends.
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This followed a recent survey of pupils which said that four in five feel happy ‘all or most of the time’ compared to three in five before the first phone restrictions were introduced in 2022.
Alastair Chirnside, warden (headteacher), said: “This year’s pupil survey has put into numbers what we have been seeing and feeling for a long time: that Teddies pupils are leading more enriched and less distracted lives without their phones throughout the week.
“While we know that extending restrictions even further won’t be universally popular with teenagers, last month’s pupil survey has quite clearly demonstrated that, when asked in private, many children are in fact thankful to be given clear rules on phone usage.
“From comments in the survey, it is clear that many children even feel a sense of relief that the burden of moderating their phone use has been lifted from them.”
Restrictions have also been extended in the sixth form with the upper sixth now following the lower sixth in only having access to phones after lessons, before handing them in at 10pm each evening.
The school has 817 pupils with 644 responding to the anonymous survey carried out last month.
Almost half said they were spending more time talking to friends, with 32 per cent noting they were working harder and 19 per cent saying they were spending more time reading.
One pupil said: “I believe the no-phone policy has been really beneficial at this school for helping friendships and hobbies grow.”
Another added: “I completely agree with it, and I think it’s an incredible way to relieve tensions and build friendships quicker in the earlier years of school.”
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In addition, Teddies has revealed that – in contrast to wider societal trends – it re-introduced landline phones last September, after 15 years without them.
This was part of an overhaul about its mobile phone rules to enable pupils’ contact with their homes, family and friends.
Pupils also have access to Nokia ‘brick’ phones in their boarding houses, and to WhatsApp, Teams and Zoom at certain times through the school’s monitored network, using laptop computers which are managed by the school’s IT department.
The award-winning drama features famous faces including Doctor Who star David Tennant, Poldark’s Aidan Turner and former EastEnders actor Danny Dyer.
Set in the 1980s amid the backdrop of the Cotswolds countryside, it follows the high-stakes world of British television as careers, marriages and reputations hang by a thread when professional and personal lives collide.
The second series, which received an extended run of 12 episodes, has received widespread acclaim from both critics and the public.
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It depicts the ruthless world of independent television in 1986, and follows a rivalry between Lord Tony Baddingham (Tennant) and former MP Rupert Campbell-Black, played by TV and theatre star Alex Hassell.
The mid-season finale aired earlier this month and shocked viewers with the death of a fan-favourite character, while a further six episodes will be released later this year.
Dame Jilly was an active part of the show’s production and served as an executive producer.
In October last year, during filming for the second series, she died unexpectedly aged 88 after suffering injuries from a fall at home.
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Dominic Treadwell-Collins, chief creative officer of Happy Prince, and Alexander Lamb, Happy Prince’s creative director, said: “We’ve been delighted and overwhelmed by the audience’s response to season two of Rivals – testament to the hard work from everyone working on Rivals both on and off screen.
“Our one sadness is that Jilly didn’t get to witness the love for season two.
“But she’s still very much with us in spirit and would be so delighted that season three has been greenlit.
“We’re so thrilled to continue to work with Disney as we dive deeper into the Rutshire Chronicles and expand the Cooperverse even further.”
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Lee Mason, vice-president, Scripted, Disney+ EMEA, added: “The phenomenal response to Rivals is a credit to the bold, irreverent and endlessly entertaining world created by Dame Jilly Cooper, our cast, creative team and production partners at Happy Prince.
“We’re delighted to be bringing audiences a third season on Disney+/Hulu.
“Expect more ambition, more romance, more rivalries and, of course, more scandal as we return to Rutshire for another irresistible chapter.”
The second half of Rivals series two will air in November on Disney+ in the UK and internationally, and on Hulu in the US.
Further details about the third season are yet to be revealed.
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