St John Street, Oxford
Note that part of Merton Street was once known as St John Street.
Notable residents
The Oxfordshire-born painter William Turner (1789–1862) (not to be confused with J. M. W. Turner) lived at No. 16 from 1833 until his death. The house is marked with a blue plaque.
Other famous residents of St John Street have included the theologians Henry Chadwick and Arthur Peacocke; authors P. D. James, Iain Pears and J. R. R. Tolkien; and musician Thom Yorke. The moral philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe lived at no. 27 from 1946. It was in her study here that she worked on her translation of Ludwig Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations, who also lived there towards the end of his life.
The curator of the Museum of the History of Science (in Broad Street, not far away), Kurt Josten, lived in rooms in St John Street.
The founders of the high IQ society Mensa International, Lancelot Ware and Roland Berrill, lived in rooms at 12 St John Street when they started the society in 1946.