| Holywell | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Holywell Location within Oxfordshire | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Oxford |
| Postcode district | OX1 |
| Dialling code | 01865 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
Holywell was a parish in the city of Oxford, England, created in 1769. It was abolished for civil purposes in 1926 and for ecclesiastical purposes in 1966.
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The toponym is derived from the well of Saint Winifred and Saint Margaret. [1]
The Holywell area historically formed part of the parish of St Aldate's. St Cross Church was built as a chapel of ease to serve the area; the date the chapel was established is unknown, but the oldest parts of the current building date back to the 11th century. [2] The church was raised to the status of a parish church in 1769 and its former chapelry became a parish, known as "Oxford St Cross or Holywell" for ecclesiastical purposes, or just "Holywell" for civil purposes. [3] The parish covered an area to the north-east of the city centre, and was within the borough boundaries of Oxford. [4]
The civil parish was abolished in 1926 when all the urban parishes within Oxford were merged into a single parish matching the borough. [4] At the 1921 census (the last before the abolition of the civil parish), Holywell had a population of 846. [5] The ecclesiastical parish was subsequently abolished in 1966. [3]
