Cotuit Hall

From its perch atop Headington Hill, Cotuit Hall has seen Oxford evolve. Cotuit Hall whispers stories of bygone eras. Built in 1892 for Arthur Sampson Napier, a Merton College fellow, the house originally bore his name: Napier House. Imagine Professor Napier, his wife, six children, and four servants bustling within these walls. Architect Harry Wilkinson Moore designed this grand home on Pullen’s Lane. Arthur Napier resided here until 1916. After Napier’s death, Cotuit Hall, then still Napier House, took on a new role. Headington School purchased the building. The school’s junior department filled its rooms with youthful energy. The name Napier House moved with the junior school to its current location in 1930. The building on Pullen’s Lane then became Cotuit Hall. The origin of the new name remains a mystery. Interestingly, Cotuit is also the name of a village in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. After its time as a school, Cotuit Hall returned to private hands. Redvers Opie, an economics tutor at Magdalen College, resided within its walls. From the 1940s to 1958, the hall transformed into the City of Oxford Children’s Home. It later became Windmill House on Windmill Road. Cotuit Hall briefly reverted to private ownership in the late 1950s. Reverend D.B. Jones became its resident. By 1962, it transitioned into a hostel for the College of Technology. This institution eventually evolved into Oxford Brookes University. In 2011, Cotuit Hall embarked on its latest chapter. Oxford Brookes University sold it to the EF International Academy. Today, it houses students aged 16-18, pursuing A-levels or International Baccalaureate courses. Cotuit Hall stands as a testament to Oxford’s ever-changing landscape. It has served as a family home, a school, a children’s home, a university residence, and now, an international academy.