Built in 1903 with a heavy nod to the Arts and Crafts style, The Orchard House is sheltered from public view behind an encircling garden wall. H.W.Moore, a well-known local architect of the Victorian era, designed here a house for the watercolourist Walter Tyrwhitt, incorporating a large vaulted art studio and a sitting room with oak and leaded-light screens and doors. The exterior has dressed stone and carved oak details. The eastern elevation displays the Arts and Crafts aspiration of the house to the best, with the roofline running towards the ground at the rear of the building and an arched porch giving access to the service rooms.

The garden, a remnant of the orchard that once existed in this part of Oxford, contains old fruit trees, box hedging and a particularly lovely magnolia dating from the building of the house. A colony of old tree peonies flowers in late spring, preceded by hellebores and drifts of snowdrops. The productive vegetable garden supplies breakfast ingredients in season. Although only a short stroll from the centre of Oxford, the house and garden offer a surprisingly peaceful retreat.

Recently renovated and restored to a high standard, the house retains an abundance of original features, whilst providing the comfort and contemporary facilities appropriate to the expectations of today’s visitor. Whether you are touring, weekending or enjoying a reunion with college friends we hope that you will enjoy your stay at The Orchard House.