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Northmoor Road

December 18, 2023

Northmoor Road is a residential street in North Oxford, England.[2]

Northmoor Road, looking south from the junction with Belbroughton Road
20 Northmoor Road, the former home of the author J.R.R. Tolkien
St Andrew's Church,[1] on the corner of Northmoor Road and Linton Road

Location edit

Northmoor Road runs north-south, parallel to and east of the Banbury Road. At the northern end is a junction with Belbroughton Road and to the south is a junction with Bardwell Road, location of the Dragon School. Linton Road crosses the road east-west about halfway along.

St Andrew's Church,[1] established in 1907, is on the southeast corner of the junction with Linton Road. Just to the north is Northmoor Place, a row of newer terrace houses. Most of the houses in Northmoor Road are substantial detached residences, built between 1899 and 1930.[2] Many of the earliest houses at the southern end were designed by Harry Wilkinson Moore (1850–1915).[3]

Residents edit

Perhaps the most famous resident of Northmoor Road was the Oxford academic and author J. R. R. Tolkien.[4] He lived at No. 22 in 1926–30 and then a larger house at No. 20 in 1930–47. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit and most of The Lord of the Rings while living at No. 20.[5][6] There is now a blue plaque on the house and it has been Grade II listed (Entry Number: 1391361) since 2004.[7] Tolkien later lived at Sandfield Road in Headington. According to a 2019 report, much of No. 20's interior remains "largely unaltered" since the 1940s.[8][9]

Another resident was Sir Martin Wood, who in 1959 set up his company, Oxford Instruments, in his garden shed at his house in Northmoor Road.[10] Oxford Instruments, the first significant spin-out company from the University of Oxford, made the first superconducting magnets for MRI scanners and became a leader in medical technology. Later, in the 1980s, Wood founded the Northmoor Trust, aimed at promoting nature conservation at Little Wittenham and Wittenham Clumps in the Oxfordshire countryside south of Oxford. From 1994 to 2014, Michael O'Regan, OBE, and his wife Jane, lived at No. 6 Northmoor Road. O’Regan was co-founder of Research Machines, a company that supplies computer hardware and software for the educational market. In 1998, O'Regan founded the Hamilton Trust,[11] a charity that provides resources for teachers.

The German Indologist and philologist Rudolf Hoernlé lived for several years at No. 8 Northmoor Road, dying there (during the Spanish flu pandemic) in 1918.[12] Charles Firth (1857–1936), Professor of History at the University of Oxford, lived at No. 2, a distinctive house with a two-storey bow-front, designed by E. W. Allfrey in 1903–8.[2][13] The house is in the Queen Anne style.[3] The Oxford University historian of science, Professor Margaret Gowing, CBE (1921–1998), lived in Northmoor Place towards the end of her life.[14] Michael Maclagan, Fellow and Tutor in Modern History at Trinity College, herald, and Lord Mayor of Oxford 1970–71, lived for many years at No. 20, Tolkien's former home. The diplomat Sir Julian Bullard (1928–2006) lived in Northmoor Road during his retirement.[15]

Three Nobel Prizewinners are associated with Northmoor Road. The eminent Austrian quantum physicist Erwin Schrödinger and his wife Anny lived there from 1933 to 1936.[16] Schrödinger previously held a Professorship at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin. He was not Jewish but was alarmed by the rise of anti-Semitism and accepted the offer of a Fellowship at Magdalen College Oxford to escape from Nazi Germany. Initially, they stayed at No. 12 Northmoor Road, and it was there that Schrödinger learned that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, jointly with Paul Dirac from Cambridge. Early in 1934 the Schrödingers moved into No. 24, two doors from the Tolkiens, where they lived until Schrödinger left in 1936 to take up a Professorship at the University of Graz, Austria.

In 1935, while he was living at No 24, Schrödinger wrote his famous "Schrödinger's cat" paper,[17] criticising the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, which proposed that the exact state of a single atom was indeterminate until observed. Schrödinger's thought experiment imagined a cat in a steel box, together with a small sample of some radioactive material in which there was a 50% chance that, in any hour, one atom would decay and emit radioactivity. Any release of radioactivity, detected by a Geiger counter, would trigger a device that would cause a hammer to shatter a glass vial containing prussic acid, hence killing the cat. Schrödinger argued that, according to the Copenhagen Interpretation, the cat would be both alive and dead until someone opened the box after an hour to take a look.

Schrödinger's popular science book What is Life?[18] influenced Francis Crick and James Watson, winners of the Nobel Prize for discovery of the structure of DNA, both of whom are also linked with Northmoor Road. Watson and his wife Liz owned an apartment at No. 19 for some time after he held the Newton-Abraham Visiting Professorship at Lincoln College, Oxford, in 1994.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b St Andrew's Church, Oxford, UK.
  2. ^ a b c Hinchcliffe, Tanis (1992). North Oxford. New Haven & London: Yale University Press. pp. 125–127, 131, 141, 187, 234. ISBN 978-0-14-071045-8.
  3. ^ a b Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire. Penguin Books. p. 324. ISBN 978-0-14-071045-8.
  4. ^ "Northmoor Road". In Humphrey Carpenter, J.R.R. Tolkien: A biography. George Allen & Unwin, 1977, pages 153–160. ISBN 0-04-928037-6.
  5. ^ Prudames, David (23 November 2004). "Oxford house where Tolkien wrote Lord of the Rings is listed". Culture24. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
  6. ^ Scull, Christina; Hammond, Wayne G. (2006). The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion & Guide. Vol. 2. Houghton Mifflin. p. 694.
  7. ^ "20, Northmoor Road". UK: Historic England. 23 November 2004. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  8. ^ Passino, Carla (22 October 2019). "The Oxford house where JRR Tolkien wrote The Hobbit hits the market". Country Life. UK. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  9. ^ "JRR Tolkien's Oxford family home for sale at £4.5m". BBC News. UK: BBC. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  10. ^ McKenzie, James (25 March 2022). "Supercool thinker". Physics World. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Hamilton Trust". www.hamilton-trust.org.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  12. ^ Sweet, William (2006). "Hoernlé, (Reinhold Friedrich) Alfred (1880–1943)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/94419. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  13. ^ Saint, Andrew (1970). "Three Oxford architects". Oxoniensia. 35.
  14. ^ MacLeod, Roy (12 September 2012). "Margaret Mary Gowing CBE FBA. 26 April 1921 – 7 November 1998". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. London: The Royal Society. 58: 67–111. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2012.0027.
  15. ^ "Diplomat who played major role in Cold War (Local Obituaries)". The Oxford Times. 2 June 2006.
  16. ^ Moore, Walter (1992). Schrödinger: Life and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-43767-7.
  17. ^ Schrödinger, Erwin (1935). "Die gegenwärtige Situation in der Quantenmechanik". Naturwissenschaften. 23 (48): 807–812. Bibcode:1935NW.....23..807S. doi:10.1007/BF01491891. S2CID 206795705.
  18. ^ Schrödinger, Erwin (1944). What is Life?. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-42708-1.

External links edit

  • Outside 20 Northmoor Road (360° view)
  • Outside 22 Northmoor Road (360° view)

51°46′09″N 1°15′35″W / 51.76912°N 1.25969°W / 51.76912; -1.25969

December 18, 2023
northmoor, road, residential, street, north, oxford, england, looking, south, from, junction, with, belbroughton, road20, former, home, author, tolkienst, andrew, church, corner, linton, road, contents, location, residents, also, references, external, linksloc. Northmoor Road is a residential street in North Oxford England 2 Northmoor Road looking south from the junction with Belbroughton Road20 Northmoor Road the former home of the author J R R TolkienSt Andrew s Church 1 on the corner of Northmoor Road and Linton Road Contents 1 Location 2 Residents 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksLocation editNorthmoor Road runs north south parallel to and east of the Banbury Road At the northern end is a junction with Belbroughton Road and to the south is a junction with Bardwell Road location of the Dragon School Linton Road crosses the road east west about halfway along St Andrew s Church 1 established in 1907 is on the southeast corner of the junction with Linton Road Just to the north is Northmoor Place a row of newer terrace houses Most of the houses in Northmoor Road are substantial detached residences built between 1899 and 1930 2 Many of the earliest houses at the southern end were designed by Harry Wilkinson Moore 1850 1915 3 Residents editPerhaps the most famous resident of Northmoor Road was the Oxford academic and author J R R Tolkien 4 He lived at No 22 in 1926 30 and then a larger house at No 20 in 1930 47 Tolkien wrote The Hobbit and most of The Lord of the Rings while living at No 20 5 6 There is now a blue plaque on the house and it has been Grade II listed Entry Number 1391361 since 2004 7 Tolkien later lived at Sandfield Road in Headington According to a 2019 report much of No 20 s interior remains largely unaltered since the 1940s 8 9 Another resident was Sir Martin Wood who in 1959 set up his company Oxford Instruments in his garden shed at his house in Northmoor Road 10 Oxford Instruments the first significant spin out company from the University of Oxford made the first superconducting magnets for MRI scanners and became a leader in medical technology Later in the 1980s Wood founded the Northmoor Trust aimed at promoting nature conservation at Little Wittenham and Wittenham Clumps in the Oxfordshire countryside south of Oxford From 1994 to 2014 Michael O Regan OBE and his wife Jane lived at No 6 Northmoor Road O Regan was co founder of Research Machines a company that supplies computer hardware and software for the educational market In 1998 O Regan founded the Hamilton Trust 11 a charity that provides resources for teachers The German Indologist and philologist Rudolf Hoernle lived for several years at No 8 Northmoor Road dying there during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918 12 Charles Firth 1857 1936 Professor of History at the University of Oxford lived at No 2 a distinctive house with a two storey bow front designed by E W Allfrey in 1903 8 2 13 The house is in the Queen Anne style 3 The Oxford University historian of science Professor Margaret Gowing CBE 1921 1998 lived in Northmoor Place towards the end of her life 14 Michael Maclagan Fellow and Tutor in Modern History at Trinity College herald and Lord Mayor of Oxford 1970 71 lived for many years at No 20 Tolkien s former home The diplomat Sir Julian Bullard 1928 2006 lived in Northmoor Road during his retirement 15 Three Nobel Prizewinners are associated with Northmoor Road The eminent Austrian quantum physicist Erwin Schrodinger and his wife Anny lived there from 1933 to 1936 16 Schrodinger previously held a Professorship at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin He was not Jewish but was alarmed by the rise of anti Semitism and accepted the offer of a Fellowship at Magdalen College Oxford to escape from Nazi Germany Initially they stayed at No 12 Northmoor Road and it was there that Schrodinger learned that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Paul Dirac from Cambridge Early in 1934 the Schrodingers moved into No 24 two doors from the Tolkiens where they lived until Schrodinger left in 1936 to take up a Professorship at the University of Graz Austria In 1935 while he was living at No 24 Schrodinger wrote his famous Schrodinger s cat paper 17 criticising the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics which proposed that the exact state of a single atom was indeterminate until observed Schrodinger s thought experiment imagined a cat in a steel box together with a small sample of some radioactive material in which there was a 50 chance that in any hour one atom would decay and emit radioactivity Any release of radioactivity detected by a Geiger counter would trigger a device that would cause a hammer to shatter a glass vial containing prussic acid hence killing the cat Schrodinger argued that according to the Copenhagen Interpretation the cat would be both alive and dead until someone opened the box after an hour to take a look Schrodinger s popular science book What is Life 18 influenced Francis Crick and James Watson winners of the Nobel Prize for discovery of the structure of DNA both of whom are also linked with Northmoor Road Watson and his wife Liz owned an apartment at No 19 for some time after he held the Newton Abraham Visiting Professorship at Lincoln College Oxford in 1994 See also editSouthmoor RoadReferences edit a b St Andrew s Church Oxford UK a b c Hinchcliffe Tanis 1992 North Oxford New Haven amp London Yale University Press pp 125 127 131 141 187 234 ISBN 978 0 14 071045 8 a b Sherwood Jennifer Pevsner Nikolaus 1974 The Buildings of England Oxfordshire Penguin Books p 324 ISBN 978 0 14 071045 8 Northmoor Road In Humphrey Carpenter J R R Tolkien A biography George Allen amp Unwin 1977 pages 153 160 ISBN 0 04 928037 6 Prudames David 23 November 2004 Oxford house where Tolkien wrote Lord of the Rings is listed Culture24 Retrieved 26 November 2009 Scull Christina Hammond Wayne G 2006 The J R R Tolkien Companion amp Guide Vol 2 Houghton Mifflin p 694 20 Northmoor Road UK Historic England 23 November 2004 Retrieved 15 April 2022 Passino Carla 22 October 2019 The Oxford house where JRR Tolkien wrote The Hobbit hits the market Country Life UK Retrieved 15 April 2022 JRR Tolkien s Oxford family home for sale at 4 5m BBC News UK BBC 16 October 2019 Retrieved 15 April 2022 McKenzie James 25 March 2022 Supercool thinker Physics World Retrieved 13 April 2022 Hamilton Trust www hamilton trust org uk Retrieved 18 April 2016 Sweet William 2006 Hoernle Reinhold Friedrich Alfred 1880 1943 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 94419 Subscription or UK public library membership required Saint Andrew 1970 Three Oxford architects Oxoniensia 35 MacLeod Roy 12 September 2012 Margaret Mary Gowing CBE FBA 26 April 1921 7 November 1998 Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society London The Royal Society 58 67 111 doi 10 1098 rsbm 2012 0027 Diplomat who played major role in Cold War Local Obituaries The Oxford Times 2 June 2006 Moore Walter 1992 Schrodinger Life and Thought Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 43767 7 Schrodinger Erwin 1935 Die gegenwartige Situation in der Quantenmechanik Naturwissenschaften 23 48 807 812 Bibcode 1935NW 23 807S doi 10 1007 BF01491891 S2CID 206795705 Schrodinger Erwin 1944 What is Life Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 42708 1 External links editOutside 20 Northmoor Road 360 view Outside 22 Northmoor Road 360 view 51 46 09 N 1 15 35 W 51 76912 N 1 25969 W 51 76912 1 25969 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Northmoor Road amp oldid 1188737848, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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