Studio Iris is wonderfully secluded being the only guest studio on the top floor of Folly Bridge House and having a private bathroom. Right up in the battlements, you might imagine yourself in that mythical Oxford ‘ivory tower’. You can see to the clouds that hover over the Chilterns Hills far away to the south. You can see east over Folly Bridge to the stretch of the River Thames that winds past Christchurch Meadows and has been known as The Isis since Roman times. In the early mornings, you catch a glimpse of the university rowing teams as they turn to go downstream. Hard as it might be to believe, the reflected light from the river still dances on the ceiling here, four storeys up from the water.
The abstract acrylic Rise by Paul du Toit is a fitting adornment to this room. Self-portrait, linocut by Max Wolpe and Blue Jug by Rachel Nicholson have a more intimate feel.
Folly Bridge House has been beautifully restored by a potter and a writer. It has 7 self-contained studio apartments (for more information on the whole house search for follybridgehouse). Each apartment is hung with objects from the owners' collection of contemporary paintings, sculptures and ceramics. Each is equipped with the elegant necessities of city living, including fibre optic broadband and flat screen TV. Folly Bridge House strives for an Eco and Fair Trade ethos.
Only ten minutes walk from the High Street, the colleges of Oxford University and the shops, restaurants and cinemas of the New Westgate Centre, Folly Bridge House lets you be in the bright lights in a moment and yet return to the tranquillity of the river.
FBH is perfect for individuals, couples or groups of colleagues, seeking the epicentre of the city but wanting something different. Folly Bridge House caters particularly to visiting academics.
Oxford’s most fashionable riverside restaurant, stands across the courtyard. The Folly offers a discount to our guests. Across the road is the famous old Head of the River Pub.
The studio is furnished with a double bed, two bedside tables with drawers, a round dining table with chairs and a comfortable armchair. The wardrobe has a mirror glass door, a hanging rail, and three drawers. It is W50xD60xH236.
Iris kitchen is equipped with stainless steel worktop, double induction hob, full-sized undercounter fridge, combination convection oven/microwave/grill and the elegant necessities of city living for two.
The bathroom is just outside the studio door giving extra space inside. Folly Bridge House bathrooms are small. Their size is dictated by trying to introduce 21st comfort into a heritage house. So, if a large bathroom is a critical element of your enjoyment, FBH is not for you. They are new, bright with a water softening shower and hairdryer.
There is superfast fibre optic broadband, a flatscreen TV/DVD and hairdryer. The latest in ventilation systems removes cooking smells, steam and Oxford’s notorious damp climate from the apartment replacing them with fresh, warmed air from above the trees at a rate of 180 cubic metres per hour.
