St Giles'

St Giles' is the unusually wide boulevard leading north from the centre of Oxford, between Magdalen Street at the south end and the fork into Banbury Road and Woodstock Road at the north. Its width — by far the broadest street in central Oxford — is a survival of its medieval role as a market and fairground area outside the city walls.

The street is named after the parish church of St Giles', a small medieval building at the northern end first recorded in the 12th century. Along the eastern side stand St John's College (founded 1555 by Sir Thomas White), Pusey House and Blackfriars; along the western side, the Eagle and Child and Lamb and Flag pubs (both historic, both associated with the Inklings — Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and their circle met at the Eagle and Child for decades), and the Oxford Oratory church of St Aloysius.

Like much of North Oxford, the freehold of most of the street is held by St John's College. The annual St Giles' Fair, held in September, has been running for nearly four centuries and is one of the largest street fairs in England.

Sources: Wikipedia: St Giles', Oxford · OpenStreetMap · Oxford City Council — St Giles' Fair