Harcourt Hill

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Harcourt Hill
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Harcourt Hill
Location within Oxfordshire
OS grid reference SP4904
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Oxford
Postcode district OX2
Dialling code 01865
Police Thames Valley
Fire Oxfordshire
Ambulance South Central
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Oxfordshire
51°44′20″N1°17′35″W / 51.739°N 1.293°W / 51.739; -1.293

Harcourt Hill is a hill and community in North Hinksey in Oxfordshire, England, west of the city of Oxford. There is a good view of the city from the hill. It lies between Hinksey Hill to the southeast, Boars Hill to the south and Botley to the north. Until 1974 it was in Berkshire, but was transferred to Oxfordshire in that year.

Contents

History

The Conduit House on the northeast side of Harcourt Hill was built in 1616–17 [1] to supply water to the city of Oxford and was in use until the middle of the 19th century.

Harcourt Hill was part of an estate acquired by Earl Harcourt in 1772. The Harcourt family promoted various plans for developing the hill in the 19th century, [2] and about 50 houses were eventually built there between the 1920s and the early 1960s.

In 1959 Westminster College moved from London to a new site on the northwest side of Harcourt Hill, which is now a campus of Oxford Brookes University.

Notable people

Well-known residents of Harcourt Hill have included Professor Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Muirhead Bone and Martin Gilbert.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxfordshire</span> County of England

Oxfordshire is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Gloucestershire to the west. The city of Oxford is the largest settlement and county town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Botley, Oxfordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Botley is a village in the civil parish of Botley and North Hinksey, in the Vale of White Horse district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England, just west of the Oxford city boundary. Historically part of Berkshire, it stands on the Seacourt Stream, a stream running off the River Thames. The intersection of the A34 and A420 is to the village's north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Hinksey</span> Human settlement in England

North Hinksey is a village in the civil parish of Botley and North Hinksey, in the Vale of White Horse district, in Oxfordshire, England, on the west side of the Thames flood plain immediately opposite the city of Oxford. The civil parish includes the large settlement of Botley, effectively an isolated suburb of Oxford, with the Botley Road as the sole highway link across the flood plain. North Hinksey was in all respects part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred administration of the Vale of White Horse district to Oxfordshire County Council; it remains part of the historic county of Berkshire however, since the 1974 act did not change the ancient county boundaries. The village of North Hinksey has a manor house, The Fishes public house, a Church of England primary school and a Church of England parish church, St. Lawrence's, which dates back to at least the 12th century. Four of the older houses have thatched roofs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wytham</span> Human settlement in England

Wytham is a village and civil parish on the Seacourt Stream, a branch of the River Thames, about 3 miles (5 km) northwest of the centre of Oxford. It is just west of the Western By-Pass Road, part of the Oxford Ring Road (A34). The nearest village is Godstow. Wytham was the northernmost part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The toponym is first recorded as Wihtham around 957, and comes from the Old English for a homestead or village in a river-bend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumnor</span> Village west of Oxford, England

Cumnor is a village and civil parish 3½ miles (5.6 km) west of the centre of Oxford, England. The village is about 2 miles (3.2 km) south-west of Botley and its centre is west of the A420 road to Swindon. The parish includes Cumnor Hill,, Chawley, the Dean Court area on the edge of Botley and the outlying settlements of Chilswell, Farmoor, Filchampstead and Swinford. It was within Berkshire until the 1974 local government boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 5,755.

Abingdon was a rural district in the administrative county of Berkshire from 1894 to 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boars Hill</span> Human settlement in England

Boars Hill is a hamlet 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Oxford, straddling the boundary between the civil parishes of Sunningwell and Wootton. Historically, it was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Hinksey</span> Human settlement in England

South Hinksey is a village and civil parish just over 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the centre of Oxford. The parish includes the residential area of Hinksey Hill about 0.5 miles (800 m) south of the village. The parish was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.

New Hinksey is a suburb in the south of the city of Oxford.

Hinksey is a place name associated with Oxford and Oxfordshire. In 1974, many of the places associated with the name were transferred from the county of Berkshire in the county boundary changes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinksey Stream</span> Stream in Oxfordshire, England

Hinksey Stream is a branch of the River Thames to the west of the city of Oxford, England. It starts as Seacourt Stream, which leaves the Thames at a bifurcation north of the village of Wytham, and rejoins the river south of the city near Kennington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wytham Abbey</span> Grade I listed Manor House in Wytham, England

Wytham Abbey is a privately-owned Grade I listed historic manor house situated in the village of Wytham, 3 miles northwest of the centre of Oxford, England, near the River Thames.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seacourt</span> Deserted medieval village in Oxfordshire, UK

Raleigh Park is a park of about 27 acres (110,000 m2) in North Hinksey, Oxfordshire, just west of Oxford. The land was formerly part of the estates of the Harcourt family. The land was sold in 1924 to Raymond ffennell, then owner of Wytham Abbey, who gave it to the City of Oxford for use as a park. It was named in honour of Professor Sir Walter Raleigh, who lived nearby on Harcourt Hill and died in 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carfax Conduit</span>

The Carfax Conduit was a water conduit that supplied the city of Oxford with water from 1610 until 1869.

Dean Court is a suburb 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the centre of Oxford, England. Dean Court was part of Berkshire until the 1974 local government boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferry Hinksey Road</span> Road in west Oxford, England

Ferry Hinksey Road is a road in west Oxford, England, leading south from the Botley Road. The road leads to the Osney Mead Industrial Estate to the east, started in 1961. To the east is Osney Ditch.

References

  1. Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966). Berkshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 186.
  2. Hanson, W.J. (1996). A Thousand Years: a study of the interaction between people and environment in the Cumnor, Wytham and North Hinksey Area. Wytham Publications.