A photo of Murray's house in Oxford, at 78 Banbury Road, as it is today; Murray and his wife named it Sunnyside. When Murray was appointed editor of the New English Dictionary in 1879 he was still a schoolmaster at Mill Hill, but in 1885 was obliged to resign this job and move to Oxford so that work on the Dictionary could proceed more efficiently. Sunnyside was then the northernmost of the houses on the east side of the Banbury Road and was flanked by fields. The land belonged to St John's College, from whom Murray had to obtain permission to build his Scriptorium; the college refused to allow its erection in the front garden and it was eventually sited behind the house and to the north, sunk about fifteen feet into the ground in order not to obscure the view of the next door neighbour (for more information and original photos see K. M. E. Murray 1977: 241-2, 315). The Scriptorium has long since been demolished, but the letter box specially erected by the Post Office to accommodate Murray's extensive correspondence still stands ( K. M. E. Murray 1977: 213); apparently 'Dr Murray, Oxford' was a sufficient address. For blue plaque detail see next page. |
Last Updated ( Monday, 26 January 2009 )
|