Oxford Street Shopping and its Department Stores. (1.2 Km)

philip carey
Aug 24, 2022
6 min read

Updated: Aug 16, 2024

Start at Oxford Circus Station

Finish at Marble Arch Station

THE EXPERIENCE

London’s most famous departmental shopping street – past and present. This 1.2 Km shopping route takes you along the western section of London’s famous Oxford Street, offering three-quarters of a mile (1.2 Km) of things to buy. It has some of London's best-known department stores, such as John Lewis, Selfridges and Mark and Spencer - many of which have been on this street for over 60 years, while others, such as Debenhams and the House of Fraser, are no more and are being redeveloped. There is also plenty to do and see down its many side streets, such as Duke Street, St Christopher's Place and North Audley Street.

Great for fashionable departmental shopping, history, iconic sights, hotels, crowds and nearby places to eat, drink and be merry

MUST SEE PLACES

What to See List

1. The BBC and The Langham Hotel

2. Cavendish Square & Wigmore Hall

3. John Lewis Department Store

4. New Bond Street

5. Brown Hart Gardens

6. Grosvenor Square

7. The Wallace Collection

8. Selfridges

9. Marble Arch

10. Site of the Tyburn Gallows

PLACES TO EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY

Areas to Eat, Drink and Be Merry List

1. Argyll Street

2. Lancashire Court

3. Hanover Square & Maddox Street

4. Around Duke Street

5. Around St Cristopher’s Place

6. Marylebone Lane

7. North Audley Street

8. Around Selfridges

9. Mount Street Mayfair

10. South of Portland Place

Links to nearby Eat, Drink and Be Merry Routes.

The following Eat, Drink and Be Merry Routes are nearby

Upper Mayfair - Start and End at Bond Street Station on Oxford Street

https://www.photoruns.com/post/st-christopher-s-place-shopping-eat-drink-and-be-merry-photorun-1

Central Mayfair - Start and End at Bond Street Station on Oxford Street

https://www.photoruns.com/post/central-mayfair-shopping-eat-drink-and-be-merry-photorun

Regent Street - Starting at Oxford Circus and finishing at Piccadilly Circus

https://www.photoruns.com/post/around-regent-street-shopping-eat-drink-and-be-merry-photorun

St Christopher’s Place - Start and End at Bond Street Station on Oxford Street

https://www.photoruns.com/post/st-christopher-s-place-shopping-eat-drink-and-be-merry-photorun

BEST TIME

Morning - The best time to do this route is on weekends in the early morning when it is quiet and free from crowds and heavy traffic.

Day - This can be very busy during the day.

Evenings - Busy around Oxford Circus - less busy elsewhere.

ROUTE OVERVIEW

The route starts at Oxford Circus and continues straight down towards Marble Arch, past 1.2 Km of shops and department stores.

Route at a Glance Video.

These links open in a new tab.

Strava Link

My Google Map link

DESCRIPTIVE PHOTO GALLERY

This gallery provides a descriptive and visual reference to many sights along this route. Use the Google Map above to find their location. Double-click to see its full size.

INTERESTING FACTS

Oxford Street Facts Part 1

Oxford Circus is roughly in the middle of Oxford Street, and it was called a circus because it was a turning circle for horses and carriages when it was built in 1819. The tube station, with its red ox blood tiling, dates back to about 1900 and its location is one of the busiest crossing points in London, with 40,000 pedestrians per hour exploring Oxford Street and Regent Street shops.

Oxford Street runs from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and approximately 300 shops.

The road was originally part of the Via Trinobantina, a Roman road between Essex and Hampshire that went via London. In the middle ages, it was known as Tyburn Road when it was notorious for public hangings of prisoners at Tyburn Gallows by Marble Arch. It became known as Oxford Road and then Oxford Street in the 18th century, and began to change from residential to commercial and retail use, attracting street traders, confidence tricksters and prostitution. Department stores began to dominate the streetscape from the early 20th century, the most imposing of all being Selfridges (which opened in 1909). The street suffered heavy bombing during World War II, and several longstanding stores including John Lewis & Partners were completely destroyed and rebuilt from scratch

John Lewis established a site here in 1864 as a drapery, which sold clothes and textiles – it became a departmental store in 1880. His son set up the John Lewis partnership in the 1920s, which allowed those who worked at the store to get a share of its profits. Today, it is the UK’s largest employee-owned business and incorporates both John Lewis and Waitrose, which are owned in Trust by its 80,000 partners.

Oxford Street Facts Part 2

Oxford Street was once the road connecting Newgate Prison with the gallows at Tyburn. Condemned prisoners were driven down the street from Newgate prison in the City of London and hung from the Tyburn tree at Marble Arch. This hanging tree could hold 24 people at a time.

There is still a small round stone in the road marking the original location of the hanging tree.

The Tyburn stream originally ran alongside Oxford Street, giving the street its original name, Tyburn Road. This stream now flows through underground conduits, and the only place in London where it can be seen running freely is inside the basement of Grays Antique Centre on the junction of Oxford Street and Davies Street, complete with resident goldfish.

Oxford Street was hit repeatedly by bombers during the Blitz of 1940. John Lewis, Selfridges, Peter Robinson and Bourne & Hollingsworth department stores were all badly damaged or destroyed.

The site of the Marks & Spencer branch at 173 Oxford Street once housed the Pantheon – an entertainment building designed to resemble the Pantheon in Rome. The building originally consisted of assembly rooms, followed by a theatre, then a bazaar and a wine merchant’s showroom. Marks & Spencer was first opened in 1938 after the original building was demolished.

Oxford Street has only one remaining pub, a Grade II-listed building at 6 Oxford Street by Tottenham Court Road Station. The building was constructed in the 19th century and has recently reverted to its original name - The Flying Horse.

Oxford Street Facts Part 3

Oxford Street has its own square on the original Monopoly board game. Together with Regent Street and Bond Street, it forms the green set of properties and the second most expensive set on the board.

The original branch of HMV on Oxford Street played an important part in the discovery of the ‘60s pop sensation The Beatles. The band’s manager, Brian Epstein visited the store in 1962 to discuss turning the band’s demo tapes into discs. The disc cutter was so impressed with what he heard that he called down a music publisher from the top floor of the building, who in turn, called George Martin of Parlophone Records. The band were given a contract and recorded their first album within a few months.

Close to Oxford Street is a secret rooftop garden—Brown Hart Gardens. This is a public garden on top of an electricity substation, accessed from Duke Street. When the substation was built between Brown Street and Hart Street in 1905, the Duke of Westminster insisted that the residents were compensated in some way. And hence, they built a paved Italian garden.

Several people working on Oxford Street in the ‘80s and earlier have claimed a secret underground street is running between Bond Street Station and Selfridges. It is complete with cobblestones and abandoned Victorian shops and some say it was built when Bond Street was created.

Topshop was one of the best-known fashion names on the high street, but few people know that it started off known as “Peter Robinson’s Topshop.” Peter Robinson was once a department store chain with a branch at Oxford Circus, which was destroyed in the blitz and then relaunched under the Topshop name in 1964. The flagship Topshop store can still be found at Oxford Circus today.

VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE AREA

Click on the picture below to go on a 360 virtual tour of the shopping areas and have a look around.

Use the blue route to explore this location by looking around in 360, taking in the sights and sounds, listening to an audio recording about the area and going on a virtual tour.

HISTORY & GUIDES VIDEO LIBRARY

Please note - These date from before 2018 and have been done in a variety of styles to determine which one works best. They all provide very useful information and we would welcome feedback to help create the new versions.

SIGHT GUIDE

This short (4:29 minute) video gives you a quick guided tour of some of the sites on this route.