The boundary of "North Oxford" is not exactly defined, but the original area developed by
St John's College (sometimes now called "Central North Oxford") runs north from the top end of
St Giles' to approximately Kingston Road,
Frenchay Road,
Staverton Road, and
Marston Ferry Road, south of
Summertown. The conservation area includes three
Grade I listed buildings, the Church of St Philip and St James (which now houses the
Oxford Centre for Mission Studies), the Observer's House (now Osler House), and the
Radcliffe Observatory; the latter two are now both part of
Green Templeton College. There are
Regency-style houses built in the mid-19th century in the crescents of
Park Town, initially in the middle of the countryside but now surrounded by the rest of the suburb.
Central North Oxford between the city centre and
Summertown, has been described as the most desirable suburb of
Oxford,
England. It is popularly supposed that it was originally developed for the
dons of the university once they were allowed to marry. However central North Oxford in particular includes many large houses which were then unaffordable by most dons, and the houses were instead occupied by successful tradesmen of the city. Today, many homes are occupied by rich
London commuters, attracted by the good schools. A number of the larger houses are used by Oxford colleges and other educational establishments. At the northern extremity of North Oxford, which is approximately the line of the
A40 (the northern bypass, part of the
Oxford ring road) are three suburbs,
Sunnymead and
Cutteslowe (to the east of Banbury Road) and
Wolvercote to the west of Woodstock Road. Beyond the bypass is the village of
Kidlington.
Wolvercote Cemetery contains the grave of
J. R. R. Tolkien (note that Wolvercote Cemetery is not in Wolvercote itself, but beside Banbury Road north of the A40).
Cutteslowe Park is a large open area just to the north of this bypass. ==Notable people==