Blue Boar Street
street in central Oxford, England
Blue Boar Street is a narrow historic street running between St Aldate's to the west and the southern end of Alfred Street to the east, in central Oxford, England. It is located just north of Christ Church.
At the western end is the Museum of Oxford and the Town Hall to the north.
The Bear is a historic public house located on the north side of Blue Boar Street on the corner with Alfred Street. A unique feature is a large collection of short lengths of tie displayed on its walls and ceiling.
To the south is Christ Church, one of the largest Oxford colleges. Behind an old wall on Blue Boar Street are the modern 1960s buildings of the Blue Boar Quadrangle in the college, named after Blue Boar Street. In 2006, this was Grade II* listed.
The street was formerly known as Tresham('s) Lane. Blewebore Inn, once owned by King Henry III, was located here, hence the current name.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Blue Boar Street” as street in central Oxford, England. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as street in central Oxford, England. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q4928905. Authority coordinates are 51.751, -1.256. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2006.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Blue Boar Street”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Blue Boar Street primary sources, Blue Boar Street archive and Blue research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Blue Boar Street”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Blue Boar Street” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.