As host to one of the world’s great universities as well as home to some of English literature’s most famous authors, such as J.R.R Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, it’s an understatement to say that Oxford is steeped in history. But one of its landmarks is about to turn the page to a new chapter with a modern and swanky upgrade.

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The Store Oxford just opened in May 2024 in the former site of Boswell & Co., a family-owned department store founded in 1738, which had been open for 282 years until it closed in 2020. Located in the heart of the city, The Store, now run in partnership by investment firms Reef Group and EQ Group, strives to honor Boswell’s history while offering a posh setting for the modern traveler.

“This is what Oxford has been missing for decades—not even the last few years, but for decades,” Simon Drake, general manager at The Store, tells Observer.

Drake, who previously ran another property in Oxford before its sale to Graduate Hotels in 2019, noted that before the opening of The Store, there were perhaps a few “grande dame” hotels in Oxford, an area that hosts millions of tourists and conference guests throughout the year. But there was nothing for the modern traveler who doesn’t want to stay somewhere that feels like an old estate, but rather wants to book accommodations that feel current and vibrant.

At the same time, the hotel management recognizes the importance of the landmark to the local community. Drake says the hotel wants to feel welcoming to many long-time Oxford residents, noting how many of them have vivid and cherished memories there, from weekly trips with the family to picking out Christmas presents.

“The community feels very attached to this building, and you don’t tend to get that with many hotels. A lot of hotels will buy a block and knock it down, and then they build something else, and that’s it. Subject closed,” Drake says. “I realized right from the beginning that I wasn’t just going to be the general manager of The Store. I was going to be the caretaker of Boswell’s.”

Founded by Francis Boswell at the corner of Broad and Cornmarket Streets, Boswell’s........

© Observer