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{{Good article}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=
{{Infobox street
| name = Oxford Street
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| website = {{URL|oxfordstreet.co.uk}}
}}
'''Oxford Street''' is a major road in the [[City of Westminster]] in the [[West End of London]], running from [[Tottenham Court Road]] to [[Marble Arch]] via [[Oxford Circus]]. It marks the notional boundary between the areas of [[Fitzrovia]] and [[Marylebone]] to the north, with [[Soho]] and [[Mayfair]] to its immediate south. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and {{as of|2012|lc=y}} had approximately 300 shops. It is designated as part of the [[A40 road|A40]], a major road between [[London]] and [[Fishguard]], though it is not signed as such, and traffic is regularly restricted to buses and taxis.
The road was originally part of the Via Trinobantina, a [[Roman road]] between [[Essex]] and [[Hampshire]] via London. It was known as [[Tyburn]] Road through the [[Middle Ages]] when it was notorious for public [[hanging]]s of prisoners at [[Tyburn#Tyburn gallows|Tyburn Gallows]]. It became known as Oxford Road and then Oxford Street in the 18th century, and began to change from residential to commercial and retail use, attracting street traders, confidence tricksters and prostitution. [[Department store]]s began to dominate the streetscape from the early 20th century, the most imposing of all being [[Selfridges]] (which
Despite competition from [[Out-of-town shopping centres in the United Kingdom|out-of-town shopping centres]] and [[online retailers]], Oxford Street remains in high demand as a retail location, with
The annual switching on of Christmas lights by a celebrity has been a popular event since 1959. As a popular retail area and main thoroughfare for [[London bus]]es and taxis, Oxford Street has suffered from [[traffic congestion]], pedestrian congestion, a poor safety record and pollution. Various traffic management schemes have been implemented by [[Transport for London]] ( ==Location==
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Between the 12th century and 1782, it was variously known as Tyburn Road (after the [[River Tyburn]] that crossed it north to south), Uxbridge Road (the name still used for the road between [[Shepherd's Bush]] and [[Uxbridge]]), Worcester Road and Oxford Road.<ref name=grosvenor/> [[Tyburn]], near where Marble Arch now stands, was a place of [[public execution]] from 1388 to 1783 and a set of [[gallows]] stood here.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=610}} On Ralph Aggas' "Plan of London", published in the 16th century, the road is described partly as "The Waye to Uxbridge" followed by "Oxford Road", showing rural farmland at the present junction of Oxford Street and Rathbone Place. By 1678 it was known as the "King's Highway", and the "Road To Oxford" by 1682.<ref name=tcr/>{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=612}}
===The Georgian era{{anchor|Marylebone Road Act 1720|Marylebone Road Act 1734}}===
[[File:WyattPantheonOxfordSt.jpg|thumb|right|Oxford Street in the late 18th century (with the Pantheon on the left).]]
Though a major coaching route, there were several obstacles along it, including the bridge over the Tyburn. A [[Toll road|turnpike]] trust was established in
Development began in the 18th century after many surrounding fields were purchased by the [[Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer|Earl of Oxford]].{{sfn|Moore|2003|p=241}} In 1739, a local gardener, Thomas Huddle, built property on the north side.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=611}} After Lord Oxford's death the [[Estate in land|estate]] was inherited by his daughter the [[Margaret Bentinck, Duchess of Portland|Duchess of Portland]]; it then passed down to successive dukes as the Portland Estate, before becoming the [[Howard de Walden Estate]] in 1879 (by way of the [[John Bentinck, 5th Duke of Portland|5th Duke]]'s sister).<ref name="HDWE">{{cite web |title=History |url=https://www.hdwe.co.uk/about-us/history |website=The Howard de Walden Estate |access-date=18 February 2023 |archive-date=18 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218181526/https://www.hdwe.co.uk/about-us/history |url-status=live }}</ref> The Howard de Walden Estate progressively sold off its Oxford Street holdings (which lay on the north side between [[Marylebone Lane]] and [[Wells Street]]) in the first half of the twentieth century.<ref name="SoL53.5" /> Other [[Landed property|landowning estates]] held sway over the western end of Oxford Street: most of the northern side west of [[Duke Street, Marylebone|Duke Street]] was and is owned by the [[Portman Estate]];<ref>{{cite web |title=About us |url=https://portmanestate.co.uk/about-us/ |website=The Portman Estate |access-date=18 February 2023 |archive-date=19 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219001758/https://portmanestate.co.uk/about-us/ |url-status=live }}</ref> while facing it (on the southern side) most of the land west of Davies Street was and is part of the [[Grosvenor estate]].<ref name=grosvenor2>{{cite book |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol40/pt2/pp171-173 |title=Oxford Street: The Development of the Frontage, in ''Survey of London: volume 40: The Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 2 (The Buildings)'' – section 2 |year=1980 |pages=171–173 |access-date=7 July 2015 |archive-date=8 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708214040/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol40/pt2/pp171-173 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[John Rocque's Map of London, 1746|John Rocque's Map of London]], published in 1746, shows urban buildings as far as North Audley Street (on the south side) and Marylebone Lane (on the north side), but only intermittent rural property beyond. Further development to the west occurred between 1763 and 1793, when building began on the Portman Estate.<ref name="PevsnerLondon6" />
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During the [[Second World War]], Oxford Street was bombed several times. Overnight and in the early hours of 17 to 18 September 1940, 268 [[Heinkel He 111]] and [[Dornier Flugzeugwerke|Dornier Do 17]] bombers targeted the West End, particularly Oxford Street. Many buildings were damaged, either from direct hits or subsequent fires, including four department stores: John Lewis, Selfridges, [[Bourne & Hollingsworth]] and Peter Robinson. [[George Orwell]] wrote in his diary for 24 September that Oxford Street was "completely empty of traffic, and only a few pedestrians", and saw "innumerable fragments of broken glass".<ref name=bbcblitz /> John Lewis caught fire again on 25 September and was reduced to a shell. It remained a bomb site for the remainder of the war and beyond, finally being demolished and rebuilt between 1958 and 1960. Peter Robinson partially reopened on 22 September, though the main storefront remained boarded up. The basement was converted into studios for the BBC Eastern Service. Orwell made several broadcasts here from 1941 to 1943.<ref name=bbcblitz />
Selfridges was bombed again on 17 April 1941, suffering further damage, including the destruction of the Palm Court Restaurant. The basement was converted to a communications base, with a dedicated line run along Oxford Street to [[Whitehall]].
===Post-war===
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[[File:University of the Arts London, London College of Fashion (25th September 2014).jpg|thumb|left|1960s office/retail complex fronted by the London College of Fashion.]]
In September 1973 a shopping-bag bomb was detonated by the [[Irish Republican Army]] (IRA) at the offices of the [[Prudential plc|Prudential Assurance Company]], injuring six people.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rdglAAAAIBAJ&pg=2039,903701&dq=oxford+street&hl=en |title=Shopping-bag bomb explodes in London |access-date=14 December 2011 |work=The Miami News |date=12 September 1973}}</ref> A second bomb was detonated by the IRA next to Selfridges in December 1974, injuring three people and causing £1.5 million worth of damage.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YRMyAAAAIBAJ&pg=904,1108071&dq=oxford+street&hl=en |title=London's Oxford St. bombed |access-date=14 December 2011 |work=The Gazette |location=Montreal |date=20 December 1974 |archive-date=9 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309050858/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YRMyAAAAIBAJ&pg=904,1108071&dq=oxford+street&hl=en |url-status=live}}</ref> Oxford Street was again targeted by the IRA in August 1975; an undiscovered bomb that had been [[booby trap]]ped exploded without any injuries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch75.htm#Aug |title=A Chronology of the Conflict – 1975 |work=CAIN Web Service |publisher=Ulster University |access-date=25 January 2017 |archive-date=6 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806142443/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch75.htm#Aug |url-status=live}}</ref> On 26 October 1981 [[Kenneth Howorth]], an explosives officer with the Metropolitan Police, was killed while defusing a bomb planted by the IRA in the basement toilet of a [[Wimpy Bar]] on Oxford Street.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1981/oct/27/bomb-incidents-london |title=Bomb Incidents (London) |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=27 October 1981 |access-date=6 February 2021 |archive-date=3 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303195015/https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1981/oct/27/bomb-incidents-london |url-status=live}}</ref> The IRA also detonated a bomb at the John Lewis department store in December 1992, along with another in nearby [[Cavendish Square]], injuring four people.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//RTV/1992/12/16/604201035/?s=handcuff |title=United Kingdom: Two Bombs explode in Oxford Street |work=ITN News |date=16 December 1992 |access-date=24 January 2017 |archive-date=2 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202031155/http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//RTV/1992/12/16/604201035/?s=handcuff |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Stanley Green by Sean Hickin, Oxford Street, London, 1974 (2).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Stanley Green]] advertising on Oxford Street in 1974]]
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[[File:London 2764.JPG|thumb|left|The Plaza shopping centre (ex-Bourne & Hollingsworth) in 2011.]]
The opening of Britain's first out-of-town shopping centre at [[Brent Cross Shopping Centre|Brent Cross]] in 1976 prompted experiments with mall-style shopping precincts on Oxford Street. West One was developed by the Grosvenor Estate on the corner of Davies Street as part of the rebuilding of Bond Street tube station for the [[Jubilee line]] in 1979; it opened the following year.<ref name="SoL53.21">{{cite book |editor1-last=Saint |editor1-first=Andrew |title=Survey of London, vol. 53: Oxford Street |date=2020 |publisher=Yale University Press |chapter=Chapter 21}}</ref> In 1986 The Plaza shopping centre was opened within the walls of the former Bourne & Hollingsworth department store building (dating from 1925–1928), the latter having closed three years earlier.<ref name="SoL53.2">{{cite book |editor1-last=Saint |editor1-first=Andrew |title=Survey of London, vol. 53: Oxford Street |date=2020 |publisher=Yale University Press |chapter=Chapter 2}}</ref> The Plaza itself closed in 2016 and a flagship Next store was opened on the site.<ref>{{cite web |title=120 Oxford Street Demolition / Strip Out |url=https://lancebox.co.uk/projects/the-plaza-oxford-street |publisher=Lancebox Group |access-date=20 February 2023 |archive-date=20 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220174759/https://lancebox.co.uk/projects/the-plaza-oxford-street |url-status=live}}</ref>
{{-}}
===COVID pandemic changes===
The principal Topshop store by Oxford Circus shut in late 2020 after its parent company, [[Arcadia Group]] went into administration. A year later, following the spread of the [[SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant]], the Government introduced new lockdown restrictions, which caused problems with businesses along Oxford Street, which had been hampered by the pandemic since the previous year. An analyst at [[GlobalData]] said the street "has been forever changed by the closure, or in some cases, downsizing of long-standing department stores".<ref name=les_covid>{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/business/topshop-ikea-london-oxford-street-2021-changes-house-of-fraser-b973556.html|title=Goodbye Topshop, hello Ikea: How London's Oxford Street transformed in 2021|work=London Evening Standard|date=27 December 2021|accessdate=5 December 2023}}</ref> The [[House of Fraser]] store closed in January 2022 as a result.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-59322099#|title=House of Fraser: Oxford Street flagship store to close|work=BBC News|date=17 November 2021|accessdate=5 December 2023}}</ref>
===New Oxford Street===
[[File:Umbrella Shop, London.jpg|thumb|right|[[James Smith & Sons]] has been at 53 New Oxford Street since 1867.]]
'''New Oxford Street''' was built in 1847, in accordance with a plan of [[James Pennethorne]], to link the eastern end of Oxford Street with [[High Holborn]].<ref name="SoL53.intro" /> It extends the axis of Oxford Street eastwards from St Giles Circus. Previously, the route into the City of London had deviated southwards at this point, to skirt around the ancient settlement of [[St Giles, London|St Giles]] with its [[St Giles in the Fields#12th–16th centuries, hospital and chapel|leper hospital]]. The building of the new street involved much [[Slum clearance in the United Kingdom|slum clearance]], but did not entirely eradicate the notorious old rookeries. Once a fashionable shopping street, a preponderance of office buildings has led to New Oxford Street no longer sharing the activity or ambience of its namesake; but in its central section a number of original 1840s stuccoed buildings have survived, providing a glimpse of its former character.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Cherry |editor1-first=Bridget |editor2-last=Pevsner |editor2-first=Nikolaus |title=Buildings of England
[[Centre Point]], at the corner of New Oxford Street and Charing Cross Road, was one of London's first skyscrapers; it was designed by property developer [[Harry Hyams]] and opened in 1966. It failed to find a suitable tenant and remained empty for many years before being occupied by [[squatter]]s who used it as a centre of protest against the lack of suitable accommodation in central London. In 2015, building work began to convert it into residential flats, with development initially expected to finish in 2017 .The restoration and conversion was completed in March 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 March 2018 |title=Conran and Partners unveils residential conversion of Centre Point |url=https://www.dezeen.com/2018/03/28/centre-point-richard-seifert-conran-partners-residential-conversion-london/ |access-date=5 March 2024 |website=Dezeen |language=en}}</ref> Much as had been the case at its original opening, the refurbished tower remains largely empty, with few windows lit in the evenings, the rest in darkness, despite at least half its units being sold. This has led to its being called one of London's "ghost towers".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jan/26/work-begins-luxury-flat-conversion-london-centre-point |first=Hilary |last=Osborne |title=Work begins on luxury flat conversion of London landmark Centre Point |newspaper=The Guardian |date=26 January 2015 |access-date=10 July 2015 |archive-date=1 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401191707/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jan/26/work-begins-luxury-flat-conversion-london-centre-point |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Buildings==
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<!-- There are around 300 stores on Oxford Street. The below examples constitute the most noteworthy stores on the street. Please do not add promotional or indiscriminate references to other stores or attempt to turn the below list into a directory of shops on the street.-->
[[File:Debenhams, Oxford Street - geograph.org.uk - 2666877.jpg|thumb|left|Debenhams, 1969–1975: 'big and dispiriting', according to [[Pevsner Architectural Guides|''Pevsner'']].<ref name="PevsnerLondon6">{{cite book |editor1-last=Bradley |editor1-first=Simon |editor2-last=Pevsner |editor2-first=Nikolaus |title=Buildings of England
Several British retail chains regard their Oxford Street branch as the flagship store. In 1919 [[Marshall & Snelgrove]] merged with [[Debenhams]] (which had opened in nearby [[Wigmore Street]] in 1778).{{sfn|Glinert|2012|p=304}} The Oxford Street store continued to trade as Marshall & Snelgrove until 1972, when the rebuilt premises were reopened as Debenhams.<ref name="SoL53.8">{{cite book |editor1-last=Saint |editor1-first=Andrew |title=Survey of London, vol. 53: Oxford Street |date=2020 |publisher=Yale University Press |chapter=Chapter 8}}</ref> (Debenhams' flagship Oxford Street store closed in 2021.)
[[File:House of Fraser London United Kingdom Christmas 2017.jpg|thumb|right|House of Fraser (with Christmas illuminations) in 2017.]]
The London flagship store of [[House of Fraser]] began as [[D H Evans|D. H. Evans]] in 1879; its current premises were designed by Louis Blanc and opened in 1937.{{sfn|Inwood|2012|p=267}} It was the first department store in the UK with escalators serving every floor.{{sfn|Piper|Jervis|2002|p=81}} It retained the D. H. Evans name until 2001, when it was rebranded as House of Fraser (the name of the [[parent company]]). House of Fraser closed in 2022.<ref>{{cite
[[File:Selfridges on Oxford Street - geograph.org.uk - 2191040.jpg|thumb|left|Selfridges, 'extraordinary temple of the retail trade',<ref name="JonesWoodward1983">{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Edward |last2=Woodward |first2=Christopher |title=A Guide to the Architecture of London |date=1983 |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |location=London |page=178}}</ref> was built in stages between 1906 and 1928.]]
[[Selfridges, Oxford Street]], the second-largest department store in the UK and the flagship of the Selfridges chain, has been trading in Oxford Street since 1909.{{sfn|Moore|2003|p=242}} The building was erected in four stages over a twenty-two year period, having been designed by a combination of architects including [[D. H. Burnham & Company]], [[R. Frank Atkinson|Frank Atkinson]], [[John James Burnet|Sir John Burnet]] and [[Thomas S. Tait|Thomas Tait]].<ref name="SelfridgesListing">{{cite web |title=Selfridges
[[Marks & Spencer]] has two stores on Oxford Street. The first, Marks & Spencer Marble Arch, is at the junction with Orchard Street; it was opened in 1930.<ref name="SoL53.11">{{cite book |editor1-last=Saint |editor1-first=Andrew |title=Survey of London, vol. 53: Oxford Street |date=2020 |publisher=Yale University Press |chapter=Chapter 11}}</ref> The second branch, which opened eight years later, is between Regent Street and Tottenham Court Road, on the former site of the Pantheon.<ref name=pantheon>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-505159-the-pantheon-marks-and-spencers-greater-/photos#.VZ_ZH_lVhHw |title=The Pantheon (Marks and Spencers), Westminster |publisher=British Listed Buildings |access-date=10 July 2015 |archive-date=11 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711095800/http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-505159-the-pantheon-marks-and-spencers-greater-/photos#.VZ_ZH_lVhHw |url-status=live}}</ref> Both premises were significantly expanded in the second half of the 20th century.<ref name="SoL53.17">{{cite book |editor1-last=Saint |editor1-first=Andrew |title=Survey of London, vol. 53: Oxford Street |date=2020 |publisher=Yale University Press |chapter=Chapter 17}}</ref>
[[File:Selfridges, Oxford Street 20130408 047 (2).jpg|thumb|right|The former Peter Robinson / Topshop store adjoining Oxford Circus.]]
[[Topshop]] was conceived in the 1960s as a youth brand for [[Peter Robinson (department store)|Peter Robinson]], and a sizeable Topshop department was opened within the flagship store on Oxford Street (which had been rebuilt in the 1920s as part of the Oxford Circus improvements).<ref name="SoL53.12" /> Gradually Topshop took over more of the premises, operating alongside Peter Robinson for a time in the 1970s before the latter brand was withdrawn. It remained Topshop's flagship store until 2021 when (the parent company [[Arcadia Group|Arcadia]] having gone into administration) it closed.<ref>{{cite
[[File:His Masters Voice - 363 Oxford Street Mayfair London W1C 2JN.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[HMV]] at 363 Oxford Street: 'one of the architectural highlights of Oxford Street'.<ref name="SoL53.20" />]]
The music retailer [[HMV]] was opened at No. 363 Oxford Street in 1921 by Sir [[Edward Elgar]]; the premises were twice rebuilt by [[Joseph Emberton]] in the [[Moderne architecture|moderne]] style, first in 1935 and then again in 1938–1939 (following a fire).<ref name="SoL53.20" /> [[The Beatles]] made their first recording in London in 1962, when they cut a [[78 rpm]] [[Demo recording|demo disc]] in the store.{{sfn|Inwood|2012|p=269}} A larger store at No. 150 (site of the old Princess's Theatre) was opened in 1986 by [[Bob Geldof]], and was the largest music shop in the world, at {{cvt|60000|sqft|m2|-3}}. As well as music and video retail, the premises supported live gigs in the store. Because of financial difficulties, the store closed in 2014, with all retail moving to No. 363 (which itself closed in 2020).<ref>{{cite news |last=Shaikh |first=Thair |title=HMV closes historic Oxford Street store |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/hmv-closes-historic-oxford-street-store-9056780.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/hmv-closes-historic-oxford-street-store-9056780.html |archive-date=24 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |newspaper=The Independent |date=14 January 2014 |access-date=10 July 2015}}</ref> In November 2023 the store at No. 363 was reopened, branded as 'The HMV Shop'.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sweeney |first1=Mark |last2=Butler |first2=Sarah |title=HMV reopens on London's Oxford Street after four-year absence |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/24/hmv-reopens-on-london-oxford-street-after-four-year-absence |newspaper=The Guardian |date=24 November 2023 |access-date=24 January 2024}}</ref>
[[File:100-club-oxford-st-london.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[100 Club]] has been a live music venue in the basement of No. 100 Oxford Street since 1942, and has been an important venue for [[trad jazz]] and [[Punk rock|punk]] bands.]]
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|II
|2001<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-489706-219-oxford-street-greater-london-authori#.VZ6_9flVhBc |title=219, Oxford Street, Westminster |publisher=British Listed Buildings |access-date=9 July 2015 |archive-date=10 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710174358/http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-489706-219-oxford-street-greater-london-authori#.VZ6_9flVhBc |url-status=live}}</ref>
|Built
|-
|313
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The four stations serve an average of 100 million passengers every year, with Oxford Circus being the busiest.{{sfn|Moore|2003|p=251}}
The [[Elizabeth line]] has two stations serving Oxford Street: at Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road. Each station is "double-ended", with exits through the existing tube station and also some distance away: to the east of Bond Street, in Hanover Square near Oxford Circus;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crossrail.co.uk/route/stations/bond-street/ |publisher=Crossrail |title=Bond Street Station – design |access-date=1 December 2010 |archive-date=21 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121045937/http://www.crossrail.co.uk/route/stations/bond-street/ |url-status=
==Traffic==
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There is heavy competition between foot and bus traffic on Oxford Street, which is the main east–west bus corridor through Central London. Around 175,000 people get on or off a bus on Oxford Street every day, along with 43,000 further through passengers. Taxis are popular, particularly along the stretch between Oxford Circus and Selfridges.{{sfn|TfL|2014|p=138}} Between 2009 and 2012, there were 71 accidents involving traffic and pedestrians.{{sfn|TfL|2014|p=141}} In 2016, a report suggested buses generally did not travel faster than {{cvt|4.6|mph|km/h}}, compared to a typical pedestrian speed of {{cvt|3.1|mph|km/h}}.<ref name=bbc_20160714/>
There have been several proposals to reduce congestion on Oxford Street. Horse-drawn vehicles were banned in 1931, and [[traffic signal]]s were installed the same year.<ref>{{cite web |url=
===Pedestrianisation===
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In 2021, police seized 17,500 items including fake designer goods, unsafe toys and incorrectly-labelled nicotine products as part of Operation Jade. 4,000 items were removed from an unregistered food trader, including two bags with a quantity of [[Tetrahydrocannabinol]] over the legal limit. Trading Standards also took 11,000 goods and 2,500 souvenirs from unlicensed businesses and street traders.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-59351635 |title=Oxford Street: 'Astonishing' haul of fake items seized by police |publisher=BBC News |date=20 November 2021 |access-date=20 November 2021 |archive-date=20 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120103544/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-59351635 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2023, Oxford Street received much attention in the media over a number of import candy shops which had moved in, with it being alleged that the businesses were [[Front organization|front companies]] for organised crime, particularly [[money laundering]]. Efforts by Westminster City Council in curtailing the shops' operations were also highlighted, as it was found that many of the businesses implicated had been engaging in [[tax evasion]] by refusing to pay the local [[Rates in the United Kingdom|business rate]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Marquis |first=Anthony France, Claudia |date=23 May 2023 |title=The sour truth of Oxford Street’s candy shop curse |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/oxford-street-candy-shop-investigation-b1082733.html |access-date=29 March 2024 |website=Evening Standard |language=en}}</ref> Westminster City Council conducted raids on several businesses, with at least 24 under active investigation for fraud and money laundering.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 August 2022 |title=Behind the shelves of candy, a darker side to London's mysterious American candy stores |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/londons-oxford-st-overrun-american-candy-stores-rcna38845 |access-date=29 March 2024 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>
==Christmas lights==
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==Cultural references==
{{Wikisource|Confessions of an English Opium-Eater}}
Oxford Street is mentioned in several [[Charles Dickens]] novels. In ''[[A Tale of Two Cities]]'', as Oxford Road, it is described as having "very few buildings", though it was heavily built up by the late 18th century. It is also mentioned in ''[[Sketches by Boz]]'' and ''[[Bleak House]]''.{{sfn|Hayward|2013|p=120}} ▼
De Quincey refers to "Oxford-street" as a "stony hearted step-mother" in [[Confessions of an English Opium-Eater]] (1821), the first part of which is set there.
▲Oxford Street is mentioned in several [[Charles Dickens]] novels. In ''[[A Tale of Two Cities]]'', as Oxford Road, it is described as having "very few buildings", though it was heavily built up by the late 18th century. It is also mentioned in ''[[Sketches by Boz]]'' and ''[[Bleak House]]''.{{sfn|Hayward|2013|p=120}}
''Oxford Street'' is one of the London poet [[Letitia Elizabeth Landon]]'s ''Scenes in London''. In this poem the busy bustle of commercial life is interrupted by and contrasted with the procession of a military funeral.<ref>{{cite book|last=Landon|first=Letitia Elizabeth|title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1836|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=2dBbAAAAQAAJ&pg=GBS.PA169|section=poem|year=1835|publisher=Fisher, Son & Co.|access-date=5 December 2022|archive-date=5 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205190120/https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=2dBbAAAAQAAJ&pg=GBS.PA169|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{wikisource|Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1836/Scenes in London: Oxford Street|Oxford Street,<br />a poem by L. E. L.}}
The street is a square on the British ''[[Monopoly (game)|Monopoly]]'' game board, part of the green set (together with Regent Street and Bond Street). The streets were grouped together as they are all primarily retail areas.{{sfn|Moore|2003|p=241}}
"Oxford St, W1", the B-side to the [[Television Personalities]]' 1978 debut single "14th Floor", refers to the street.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Baal |first=Iphgenia |date=
==See also==
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*{{cite book |last=Hayward |first=Arthur |title=The Dickens Encyclopaedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-135-02758-2}}
*{{cite book |last=Inwood |first=Stephen |title=Historic London: An Explorer's Companion |publisher=Pan Macmillan |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-230-75252-8}}
*{{cite book |last=Kronenburg |first=Robert |title=Live Architecture: Venues, Stages and Arenas for Popular Music |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-71916-6}}
*{{cite book |last=Moore |first=Tim |title=Do Not Pass Go |publisher=Vintage |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-09-943386-6}}
*{{cite book |last1=Piper |first1=David |last2=Jervis |first2=Fionnuala |title=The Companion Guide to London |publisher=Companion Guides |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-900639-36-1}}
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