Polstead Road

The most well-known resident was T. E. Lawrence (1888–1935), later known as 'Lawrence of Arabia'. The son of Thomas Chapman (1846-1919; who became, in 1914, Sir Thomas Chapman, 7th Baronet), an Anglo-Irish nobleman, he was brought up in a house (No. 2) on this road and a blue plaque records the fact.^[6][7] The future Sir Thomas Chapman, the 7th Baronet of Killua Castle in County Westmeath, Ireland, separated from his wife to live with his daughters' governess, Sarah Junner, also known as Sarah Lawrence. They had five sons and the couple lived under the names of Mr and Mrs Lawrence, moving to No. 2, Polstead Road in the summer of 1896 with the aim that the children could receive a good education for a reasonable cost. T. E. Lawrence attended the City of Oxford High School for Boys in central Oxford. Here also was born his youngest brother, A. W. Lawrence, who went on to become the Laurence Professor of Classical Archaeology at Cambridge University in the 1940s.

The house is a substantial semi-detached red-brick house that had been built approximately six years before the Lawrences moved there. They built a bungalow in the garden especially for Lawrence because the house was not large enough to accommodate the entire family. 2 Polstead Road remained the Lawrence family home until 1921. Lawrence was in residence when he departed for the First World War.

In January 2017, it was reported that Oxford City Council had failed to gain Grade II listed status for the Lawrence home, leaving its future in doubt.^[8][9]

The house was offered for sale in 2018 for £2.95 million.^[10]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Polstead Road, Oxford.

• T. E. Lawrence: 2 Polstead Road, Oxford and garden bungalow
• Lawrence of Arabia locations

51°46′04″N 1°16′04″W / 51.76778°N 1.26778°W / 51.76778; -1.26778