Your Common Ground Story

Madelon de Jong

I moved from the Netherlands to Oxford 2y ago, and have started going to the Common Ground since the very first week. I feel at home at Common Ground, it’s the only place in Oxford where I feel at ease to work. The people are amazing, there’s a strong sense of community. There's no other place that puts up events like CG, not just gigs but also events specific for queer people. I keep coming back time and again, and I wouldn’t know where to go if Common Ground didn’t exist. It’s a place where I find like-minded people. It would be of the utmost importance for me, and for many people I know, that the Common Ground continues to exist.

anonymous x

Common Ground was the first space in which I found queer community in Oxford. I was amazed by the team’s capacity to welcome and celebrate every person who enters the space. Walking in feels like a warm hug of beautiful queer safety!

Alice Robey-Cave

I am a second year student at Oxford University. In November, I was lucky enough to be able to meet Alex at Common Ground and host my very own event in their space. It was the first time I’d put on an event, and the low price allowed me access to this brilliant and malleable space. With the Oxford student magazine The Isis, which gives 60+ students roles in journalism ever term, I was able to contribute to the strong art scene developing in the city. Working with the space and the staff who facilitate it reminded me just how vital the relationship between local Oxford businesses and charities, and the University, truly is. Without this space I would have missed an opportunity to not only further my ambitions in journalism and prove my ideas weren’t just intangible and non-executable, University students would have missed the chance to see what you can do whilst studying in this historic city. You can project films onto walls, you can show important performance art, and you can do this alongside academic study. Common Ground is full of university students every day, all year round—I would be mortified if my University prevented the mission of a space that has always dedicated itself to the community and its own students.

Cat Tickell

I became a regular at Common Ground in my first year of uni because I had a lot of social anxiety around libraries. Finding a relaxed and welcoming place to study was so vital for me and now 4 years later I am good friends with people from the Common Ground community and feel so at home there. I couldn’t imagine Oxford without it. It is truly a special place.

John McCulloch

In November 2023, I lost my job, and found myself in a difficult housing situation. I needed a place where myself and my partner could freely browse for jobs, as well as feel social and connected. Common Ground was this place for us, and thanks to the welcoming staff and patrons, not only did I have time to secure a job, but found many connections in the friendly people. My partner also had a chance to gain some invaluable work experience with Curio thanks to its placement in the space, allowing her to be accepted to her PhD, and countless new friends of mine have had a platform to share their music via Common Ground’s inclusive gig policies. It is a vital space that bridges the town and gown gap within the Oxford community, a place where class divides are starker than most.

Harry Foster

A beautiful part of everyday life in Oxford, a friendly atmosphere, championing independent artists and creatives. Would be a monumental loss to Oxford if it closed. Wishing the team the best of luck securing the future of the space.

Fernando Concha

I lived in Oxford for 8 years and I know how important CG is for the community - both of students and locals alike. Here people come to work, study, hold meetings, or to relax with friends or even to meet people.

With its chill atmosphere and efficient use of space and resources, CG hits the spot between work and enjoyment for people of different ages and backgrounds. Its extensive share of regulars is clearly due to the spirit this place has been created and maintained with. CG is also a source of jobs and opportunities, as well as being key for many Oxford freelancers and remote workers.

Toby Bramley

Common ground's endless dedication to supporting creativity and community through constant events is felt unavoidably across the street and the whole of Jericho. The gig culture provided an essential foundation for my friends' band to start and grow, a task which would've been impossible without the remarkable cooperation of the staff and the cafe's accessibility as a venue. Common ground is a unique cornerstone of the area and its loss would be irreversible.

Ellee Su

I’ve made so many lovely memories here. Not least because it’s my girlfriend’s favourite place to work in Oxford, but because the people are so nice and the sense of community is pleasantly humming at all times. I’ve never had a bad cup of coffee here, and the after-hours events are always so culturally rich and jam-packed with people. I can guarantee that The University Of Oxford’s ranking in all measures will tank because knocking this place down will mean that many, many students’ favourite place to study and hang out is eradicated.

Salma Soliman

I spent one year in Oxford doing a masters degree. Common Ground sat at the core of my Oxford experience. It is where I met my closest friends, built the most beautiful community, spent my morning working and sipping coffee, and my evenings watching comedy shows and poetry nights. Common Ground was my home and I believe anyone living in Oxford should get the chance to experience it’s magic.

Kathleen Falconer

This was one of the first places I felt safe coming to after the first lockdown. In fact it was probably the first public space I ventured into. Since then I’ve spent many an afternoon working here drinking my weight in mint tea and even got to showcase my jewellery at its first ever art market. This is a space that I really needed and kept coming back to as it evolved. I would be heartbroken to see it no longer there.

Lizzie Couves

Common Ground is a linchpin of Oxford community and society. I have so many warm memories of Common Ground, playing music there, studying for my masters there, catching up with friends, a quick coffee before moving onwards, it is a beautiful and relaxed place and the only place of its kind in this particular area of Oxford. Common Ground has been a place of respite to me and it is part of my strong memories of home. Please save this vital vibrant warm and loving place.

Matilda Noble

Common ground is a place I can go several times a week to make Oxford feel like home, to catch up with friends, to get work done, or to just zone out for a bit. It is my favourite place in the entire city, and is truly invaluable.

For the last year or so I have been dealing with depression, and being able to go to common ground for a pastry, coffee, and good vibes has saved me from numerous awful days. Redevelopment of common ground into something else would be a real loss for me, and the wider community.

EB H

I’ve lived in Oxford for 11 years and have seen many cafes, pubs and venues come and go. Few have offered community quite in the same way Common Ground is able, and it would be a loss to Oxford, on an unfathomable scale, to see it go due to redevelopment. The history of Oxford and its many success stories are intwined in the fabric of its community spaces. To loose these spaces are to loose these communities and will result in the history of Oxford success staying well in history. Much of the city is inaccessible to those without university affiliation as it stands and to rip yet another community space from the people of Oxford would be, in my mind, unforgivable. To me and to the others writing, the space offers so much more than a morning coffee or an evening gig. It offers routine and refuge and friendship to people. It’s of utmost importance that we do not need to fight for yet another local business that does its community good to be able to stay. My hope is that instead we are given the time to focus our efforts on the events and the ideas and the art that comes from spaces like Common Ground. Let us stay.

Sofka Smales

I’ve lived in Oxford for over ten years. In that time, I’ve seen independent, vital, historic third places come and go. From gig venues to bookshops, cafes to community spaces - the casual erosion of thriving, vibrant life has been shocking.

And for what?

Whether you’re a transient ‘gown’ or have made deeper roots through ‘town’, we all need access to accommodating, diverse and creative spaces.

Common Ground is a vital heartbeat in our centre. In the last year alone it has provided me a respite from a cold day with an excellent peppermint tea, access to some curated handcrafted markets, the most incredible gigs with transcendent live music and a place to feel accepted, and greeted, as an equal.

I’m expecting my first child in a couple of weeks time. I’d like to think that I’ve chosen a place to live in which my son will have access to a place like Common Ground. A city which recognises and champions these places instead of eradicating them to further push out their citizens.

This is a space where he too can feel the warmth, inclusion and embrace that this special little corner of Oxford offers. Common Ground has roots, let them grow.

Mark Taylor

Common Ground has had so many important stories for me. I could talk about the joint local art exhibition which my artist wife helped curate and also exhibited in. I could talk about the many fantastic Divine Schism promoted gigs and festivals I have seen there including the one that my daughter performed at, I could talk about the fantastic Jericho Comedy nights I have attended first with my wife and now solo during our divorce, I could talk about the cafe and how it provided a comfortable refuge space for me and a friend to have a drink before we attended the funeral of a friend who had taken his life, I could talk about the beautiful community that is built around the venue and how the magic of the place means that magic things happen there. You can’t easily recreate such beauty and so I beg you to save this venue for the local community and the betterment of the City.

Malaika Aiyar

I run [orchard], a collective for makers in Oxford. We are grateful to be hosted by Common Ground, who also hosts similar community projects in the most lovely creative space. It's a cultural hub in Oxford, with a very strong community. Not to mention, the drinks, pastries, and toasties are the best! It is a place to hang out with friends, to get work done, to grab a bite, to listen to great music, to read a secondhand book, to look at vintage clothes, to meet someone new, or to sit with your thoughts, a place like no other.

A A

Common Ground is the most important space in Oxford. It provides a safe, welcoming space for anybody to read or study or just hang out during the daytime. In the evenings, Common Ground hosts the best gigs in Oxford. This space is so important to thousands of people as a community hub, and is also one of the few independent venues keeping the Oxford music scene alive.

James Gallagher

Common Ground is such a special place to me and many other artists within the Oxford music scene. They gave me the opportunity to put on my own show through their Common Ground Sounds initiative which would have been financially impossible for me otherwise. That performance helped my confidence massively, and it couldn’t have happened without the enthusiasm and kindness of the team at Common Ground.

The space itself is so unique to have in the centre of Oxford, and I always feel like I can breathe when I’m in there. I get quite anxious around larger groups of people, as I’m sure a lot of people do, so I love that the venue itself can feel busy and active, without feeling overwhelming.

It’s a vital space to so many other communities within Oxford and there’s honestly nothing else like it in the city. We need it! I need it x

Roshan Karthikappallil

I first started coming to Common Ground in 2021, when I was studying medicine at the university and had just started clinical school. It didn't take long for me to become a regular here. It was such a lifeline at really difficult transition point, and helped me to meet so many amazing people and really form a community within Oxford that was still around even outside of the traditional uni term time. Getting to know so many different people in the city really helped me to start investing in Oxford as my home and supporting my friends to do the same. Watching the Common Ground community grow over the years has been a great source of joy, and even though I have now graduated as a doctor and live in London, I still try my best to make a pilgrimage back whenever I can! Common Ground will forever be a huge and formative part of my experience at uni and as a young person, and gave me and my friends so many opportunities to create, explore, and broaden our horizons. Words cannot express how deep of a loss it would be if this pillar of the Oxford community disappeared.

Raoul Gheorghe

My name’s Raoul, and I run Dayums, a street food venture in Oxfordshire. I’m writing to you not just as a local entrepreneur, but as someone who truly understands the value of the spaces that make Oxford the wonderful city it is - spaces like Common Ground.

Common Ground isn’t just a café; it’s essential to this city. It’s where students, freelancers, artists, and entrepreneurs collide in a perfect mix of creativity, hard work, and collaboration. From the consistently great coffee to the atmosphere that radiates with energy and potential, it’s a hub where ideas and talent are nurtured. Whether it’s a student cramming for exams or an artist sketching their next masterpiece, you’ll find the pulse of Oxford here - raw, real, and authentic.

This isn’t a place built on pretense or flash. It’s gritty, it’s real, and it’s where ideas collide. If J.M.W. Turner or George Orwell had been around, they’d have been here, surrounded by messy sketches and crumpled manuscripts spread across the tables. That’s the energy at Common Ground - this is where creativity thrives, unpolished but powerful. And that energy is something we can’t afford to lose in an academic city.

When Dayums was just starting out, Common Ground took us in. They gave us the opportunity to pop up and showcase our food to their diverse, engaged crowd. That kind of exposure can make or break a small business, and I know first-hand how they support entrepreneurs and local talent. Their markets are bustling, and the trust people have in Common Ground means that when they support something, the city shows up.

Now, as redevelopment plans for Wellington Square put Common Ground at risk, I implore you to consider its value beyond a café space. Common Ground is the type of community-driven, creative hub that aligns with the values of innovation and collaboration that are central to Oxford University Development’s vision for the future of this city. This café isn’t just part of the city’s culture - it is a key part of what will continue to make Oxford an inspiring place to live, work, and study.

I encourage you to not only preserve Common Ground but to invest in it as part of the redevelopment. It’s not just about saving a beloved spot; it’s about securing a long-term asset that will continue to support local businesses, foster creativity, and generate the kind of organic energy that makes Oxford unique. Common Ground is a goldmine for Oxford, and supporting it isn’t just the right thing to do - it’s a smart investment in the city’s future.

Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Raoul
Founder & Chef, Dayums

Jason Warner

When CG first opened I pitched an idea to set up a gallery of my local musician photography. The CG team, always focused on supporting the community around them, said a big yes and I got to put on my first ever show. Everybody won - I got some exposure, the local music scene got some exposure and CG’s customers got to connect with one of the most vital parts of City living - the music scene. To lose CG would be yet another serious blow to an already suffering cultural landscape in Oxford.

Greta Markey

Common Ground has connected me with some of my favorite people. And now that I'm no longer living in Oxford, when people ask me what my favorite part about living there was, I tell them it was this coffee shop that's so much more than a coffee shop.

I have never experienced community so embodied in a space. Almost every time I visited CG, I saw a friend, or made a new one. I learned a new skill, or watched my friends perform their art. Common Ground made Oxford feel like home :)

Greg Ball

When I formed my band, Blue Bayou, in spring 2023 I had no idea how you went about getting gigs. Eventually, I reached out to Eddie, but I never really believed someone would let us host our own show at a place like Common Ground - I can remember coming home from work and being shocked that he'd said yes! I'm sure it was a risk for him, but he welcomed the idea, saying that he was looking to bring in more bands since he'd taken over - this was to be his second show.

Eddie and the team at Common Ground were consistently supportive: they gave us their own lights and plants to decorate the backline, championed the poster, let us store the gear downstairs, paid us more than fairly, and bought us beer! We couldn't believe how cosy the set felt, or how balanced the sound was - this was all the doing of the staff and the space.

On the night, I'm sure the community around Common Ground provided half the crowd and, in a very real way, helped springboard the band into the musical project it is now - that first show felt like it meant the world at the time, and to have hosted it in such an encouraging environment was more than a blessing.

We've since had the pleasure of returning to play a few times - its safe to say, a gig at Common Ground will always be a home fixture for us.

-

Oxford has lost so many of its small venues - Fusion Arts, the Cellar, the Wheatsheaf, Port Mahon. For new groups, it is almost impossible to actually realize being a band or artist without the existence of encouraging, small-medium sized venues in your city - in Oxford, there are preciously few options left. Common Ground remains a real beacon of light.

Lucy Kennedy

I went to Common Ground nearly every day in my third year at university and was only sorry I hadn't discovered it before. I found its gentle hubbub calming in my most stressful weeks and the people I met there inspired me in my academics and beyond. It is a place that feels endlessly creative and actively supports creativity in the community: it is always full of artists sharing work and ideas, many of whom have nowhere else to work; it hosts musicians, comedians, writing workshops, exhibitions which I would never have discovered otherwise; when I codirected a small budget student play in 2022, Common Ground provided all the furniture for the set free of charge. Finding a business with a social, artistic passion like this gives me faith in the world. It is also a place where people feel safe and supported. There were definitely days when the kindness of the baristas and the warmth of the regulars was the only thing getting me out of bed and into the world. I would have been lost without it. Places like this are so important, especially in a city like Oxford where the student population can be quite separate from the rest of the community. Common Ground is somewhere where all those people come together. Now that I have left the university, Common Ground is the one place I always feel welcome in the city and I would be so sad to lose that. Every place I live in now, I am looking for a Common Ground.

Isobel Powner

I’m a student and I’ve loved the creative atmosphere of Common Ground, and how it really encourages people to work on projects together as well as the amazing community and student events the space is used for (open mic nights / student and local bands / cooking events to name a few). I love the ethos of the cafe as a co-working space & look forward to spending my time there.

Miranda Grace

As a cult survivor community was one of the things I lost, and lost faith in, when I left the organisation , which still has an Oxford base. Over the past 3 years in Oxford community is one of the things I’ve gained, in new and unexpected ways. Common ground is a space that symbolises this for me and what community now means: acceptance, diversity, ethics, creativity and culture, laughter, unconditional love. It would be such a shame to see it go.

S. a. Green

I’ve been coming to Oxford for years. My husband is a Modern British historian at a university in the States (and son of a fierce woman from Kent with a PhD from Cornell but I digress). He’s overseen and/or our Summer Oxford program for many years. I taught in the same program in 2022. Jericho is my favorite neighborhood in all of the UK. Common Ground is a place to sit and breathe in a neighborhood that feels smart and personal. When I leave Worcester College and turn left, not right, I walk away from congestion and fast movements and sometimes, the tired and not so kind. I turn left with a slower pace on my mind. Please. No more trucks. No more construction. No more spaces for the hurried and tired and sometimes, not so kind. If change is ahead, can there be compromise? Can it wait? Who wins? Who gains?

Ian De Quadros

I used to work in Jericho around the corner from Common Ground at OUP. A morning coffee at Common Ground became a bit of ritual, which is good because the coffee is great. But it's not just about the coffee. The people, the ambiance and the whole set up make it. It still blows my mind that it used to be a bank!

The fact that Oxford seems to be losing venues to play and perform is frankly alarming but it's more than just a gig venue in many ways, it's a creative bohemian space that allows creative bohemian things to happen. And you can work there. And they do great coffee. The recent Tiger Mendoza and friends single launch gig was amazing and would not have been possible without the good folk at Common Ground doing what they do.

Lee Riley

I been to so many great events at Common Ground. A fantastic venue, friendly atmosphere and place to have a coffee or watch live music.

I have performed there a couple of times and curated an event which I am hoping to more of if this can stay a great space that felt really welcoming to helped to host a experimental night of music. Please let them do what they do and give others a chance to put on great nights music or events in a venue like that we need.

Dale Marie

I first walked in to CG just over two years ago looking for a place to write. We’d just moved to Oxford and I knew nobody. On that first visit, I was made to feel so welcome I went back the next day, and the next. Before long, I was spending most days at CG; I’d found a productive creative space that also gave me the much-needed opportunity to socialise when I needed a break. I’m in my sixties now and it’s not always easy to make connections at my age but the overriding ambience at CG is one of inclusivity and kindness and I’ve made many friends since I first walked through that door. There is no other space in Oxford quite like it. If the cafe ever had to close its doors, it would be an unimaginable loss for so many of us who have found a safe space here.

Elizabeth Johnson

Common ground has been a supportive, engaging and creative space where I have met friends and new people. It is unique in Oxford.

Callum Friend

Common ground is where I went to my first open mic night after having lived in Oxford for a few years. It is a vital space for community led music and performance and art, and there just isn't anywhere else like it in Oxford so committed to this goal and it must be allowed to continue undisturbed.

Rebecca L Greene

2018/19 I had the pleasure of visiting Common Ground Cafe on a fairly regular basis and enjoyed the shared working environment, great food and socially motivated projects. It was also an honour to have an exhibition in the space January 2020 with help from Jake Bakus & colleagues about the Arts project I had been doing in HMP Springhill, Drawing Connections.

A brilliant space, filled with shared humanity, and in my mind an essential space in the world of today, for the encouragement of people to be the best they can be.

Almas S

Common ground has provided me a space to sit, be and do my research while surrounded by enthusiastic students, professionals, artists and doggos! For somebody who was struggling to find a place to make home at Oxford, Common Ground easily became one. Losing this place would be akin to losing the most important part of Oxford in creating community and safe space.

Veronika Gvozdovaite

When the war broke out in Ukraine, I couldn't find a place for myself. All I could bring myself to do was come to the Common Ground to pack supplies donated by the generous people of Oxford.
The Common Ground became my haven in that first week of war, a place where I felt I made a difference. Also a place I felt understood.

Common Ground hosted an open mic to collect donations. So many people from all over came and sang, read, shared. At some point a group of students started up Hej sokoły, a Polish war song, and we all sang (even though we didn't know Polish).
It was the most at home I have felt in Oxford. No other place like the Common Ground

Rory Torrens

Monday night open late thingy, my friend Harry was DJing and amongst loads of other bangers played one of my favourite Steely Dan songs 'glamour profession,' great night

Beth Chamberlain

I started working at Common Ground in January 2020, after being a regular customer over the previous year.

Working at Common Ground gave me the financial stability to get through my degree, to keep me fed, warm, and socially active. But it also gave me more than that. It gave me a community of colleagues, customers, and collaborators, many of whom remain my friends five years on.

Common Ground taught me about coffee, supply chains, fair trade, fair wages, good food, sustainable packaging, community organising, event planning, social impact, and so much more.

Common Ground connected me to the comedy world, via the incredible Alex Farrow and the wider Jericho Comedy family, leading to me taking my first steps into the comedy world.

Despite now living many miles away, and through my adventures many miles beyond, Common Ground remains a huge part of who I am and who I aspire to be. It shaped my vision of a fair and sustainable workplace, as well as an engaged and supportive community.

The Little Clarendon community, through COVID and beyond, came together to serve local residents and students in a time of hardship. We grew a truly unique, organic and resilient neighbourhood on this street, and it has gone from strength to strength ever since.

Ask any Oxford student in the area: it is a true institution, and I know many of my friends, colleagues, and peers feel the same way.

Please don’t let this place go. Now more than ever, we need this place and many more places like it, to preserve a sense of common good and belonging. To all those who played a part in my Common Ground life - thank you.

Alice Hilder Jarvis

Common Ground is my favourite place in the world. It's a warm and affordable place where I can spend the whole day. Oxford doesn't have anywhere else like it (and I don't think anywhere else does either, to be honest). It would be an immeasurable loss for Common Ground to be shut as part of redevelopment.

Lucy Radford

I am a volunteer with Cowley Community Closet, which has been running clothes swaps at Common Ground for nearly a year. The space at Common Ground feels so welcoming and inviting, whether I’m there to volunteer or just to get a coffee and enjoy the atmosphere. I know that without spaces like Common Ground, initiatives like the clothes swap would struggle or perhaps cease due to lack of suitable location, and I fervently hope that the space can continue in its current form so that Oxford doesn’t lose something truly valuable.

Kasturi Pindar

I lived in 25 Wellington Square for the two years before it was closed. During this time Common Ground provided a space to relax, socialise, study and work. CG had a significant positive impact on my time in Oxford. More than a cafe, CG have created a welcoming, multi-purpose space that acts as a community hub unlike anywhere else in Oxford. It is valued by so many and it would be a huge loss to the city if it was to close.

Emma D

Common Ground is where I feel most at home in Oxford. Since moving to London, I miss it everyday, and it is the first place I go after getting off the train. The community there is wonderful and welcoming, and chatting with the baristas always makes my day better <3

Ab Brightman

When I was 24 I decided to set up my own business, working with charities. At that time I had a very limited income but needed a place to come and work where I could feel inspired, drink delicious coffee and not stuck cold at home. Common Ground was the perfect place and became a really important part of my routine, which then helped me build the business to a point where I could afford a full time studio space to work from. I'm 30 now and the business is still thriving, but I still return for the coffee and vibes with friends and to get a change of scene often!

Julia Whatley

Common Ground is a marvellous and necessary place.

It's atmosphere is a unique mixture of café, workspace, library, study and studio as well as an incredibly comfortable sitting room, where one can invariably find a seat to spend quality time.

It has a book shop, a record shop, a clothes store. 

It offers a very wide variety of workshops, activities and events.

The congenial and relaxed atmosphere of Common Ground extends to the individual, University connected or otherwise, a feeling of genuine welcome.

The charming, eclectic mix of furniture and lighting is what one would perhaps find at home.

The staff at Common Ground discreetly create an atmosphere of absolute comfort and safety.

A wide selection of excellent drinks and snacks are available all day.

It is where people come to live...to experience life...the posters advertising events and the exhibitions of art on the walls are diverting, interesting and aesthetically add to the positive vibes...good music, good coffee, good talk.

I come to Common Ground very often spend the entire day drawing.

I've been a professional illustrator since 1978 and the wonderful, immensely valued and valuable space which it affords has helped me immeasurably to progress, both personally and professionally.

When I first came to Oxford I was not well at all.

I was dealing with various setbacks and couldn't draw at the time.

Piotr was then the proprietor of Common Ground and he was unfailingly kind to me, as all the staff were.

Eddie took over and developed the space into the superb space it affords today.

I continue, as well as so many other individuals, to benefit from and enjoy all time spent Common Ground.

Common Ground is, in my opinion, the absolute antithesis of the soulless, laptop driven, so called 'state of the art' arrid, prescribed study location...cables and technology are kept in their rightful place in Common Ground by diversity and positive, creative real life.

Diana Volpe

Time and time again, I found in Common Ground not only a welcoming and inclusive space, but one where to find community and solidarity. It was first on my list when I wanted to organise a fundraising event for the Campaign to Keep Campsfield Closed, the local migrant detention centre in Kidlington that the Home Office is planning to re-open. Alex, Eddy and the whole staff was extremely supportive from the start, and gave us a space that was so powerful we decided to afterwards collect the open mic performances for a zine. Nick, from the Curio bookshop downstairs, also allowed us to use the space for intimate, queer-inclusive events with local people seeking asylum.

As a local organiser, and Oxford University member working on asylum related matters, I would be heartbroken to see Common Ground go, to make space for more University buildings. The mornings I have spent writing in this space, as well as the evenings I have spent laughing, are some of the memories I will forever cherish the most about this city.

Cat Strydom

I stumbled across this place when I was having a bad day and it brightened up my day. I could immediately tell there was a strong community spirit and atmosphere. There is a wonderful coworking area that was very good for both relaxing and productivity and also at the time I visited they were supporting a local seller of vintage clothes and I got a warm jumper for the cold snap we had approaching. It's a beautiful space to build community ties and to support local businesses. I think it's a really important space and Oxford would be darker and worse off without such spaces.

Aiden Canaday

I run events at Common Ground quite regularly with Divine Schism, bringing musical artists from all around the world to Oxford and Common Ground has been a very positive and essential space for us since we began using it regularly in early 2023 - it's an incredible and welcoming cafe and event space. Everyone who has played there has loved the venue as a performance space due to the way it's run by Eddie, Alex and the team - it's an inclusive and unique venue within the live music scene of the UK and it's helped put Oxford on the map again through their diverse listings. We've hosted many young people's first live performances through to professional cult musicians who have toured all around the globe - everyone has loved their experience in equal measure and in turn has brought in a wide range of people to the space for the first time, with many coming back. Long live Common Ground and community it creates!

jui zaveri

the day after a rough breakup, my best friend nick decided it was time to get out of bed and go to our favourite cafe. getting out of bed? getting dressed? getting seen by people? there was nothing i wanted to do less. but i let him persuade me anyway. and to my surprise, the familiar warmth and chatter and colour of common ground made me feel better. we sat there, sipping our coffees (dirty chai for me, flat white for nick) and talked books, films, gossip, life, heartbreak, joy, friendship, and everything in between. ive been to common ground hundreds of times and each time, i leave happier than i went in. it feels like home.

Sara Logie

I moved to Oxford 3 years ago from London. I worked in a coworking space called Kindred for 3 years that I loved and missed it until I found something down the road from me - Common Ground. This has a special welcoming vibe and is ESSENTIAL to the community. Oxford residents have little access to spaces - the majority of the city is consumed by the university and although I appreciate that without the university Oxford would have very little I am adamant that without the residents and locals and sharing spaces the university would also have nothing and the city would feel very empty out of term time so PLEASE keep this going. I don't use it as often as I should but it does a great coffee and welcomes dogs and you can meet some fab people in there. We cannot afford to lose another venue.