Derelict

There’s almost nothing derelict near the centre of Oxford because space is at a premium but this place, five minutes’ walk from Carfax at the heart of the city, is the remains of a wall that formed the back part of a 16th century house. The room behind this wall has been growing buddleia for around four years now. About eight years ago, when the back of the house was still standing, the derelict front was taken over as a second-hand bookshop cum café cum poetry-reading space. The idea was that the shop, which was excellent and even got a write-up in the Guardian’s 2008 list of best bookshops, would raise enough to restore the building. I’ve no idea about the finances (though I do know that bookshops don't make enough money to keep even themselves going) but Reservoir Books closed after a while, the shop part was taken over by a commercial business, the back was demolished, probably just before it collapsed of its own accord and the remaining front part of the building was weatherproofed with heavy-duty plastic. Thus, astonishingly, it has remained, decaying gently since I last blipped it 3½ years ago.

Many thanks to freespiral for hosting Derelict Sunday.
 

For anyone interested, I’ve uploaded another Cuba backblip with a fearsome amount of text.