| Headington | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Headington | |
| OS grid reference | SP5407 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Oxford |
| Postcode district | OX3 |
| Dialling code | 01865 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | www.headington.org.uk |
| |
Headington is an eastern suburb ofOxford, in the county ofOxfordshire, England.[1] It is at the top ofHeadington Hill overlooking the city in theThames valley below, and borderingMarston to the north-west,Cowley to the south, andBarton andRisinghurst to the east. The life of the large residential area is centred uponLondon Road, the main road between London and Oxford.
The site of Headington shows evidence of continued occupation from theStone Age, as the 2001 fieldexcavations inBarton Lane found, suggesting a date in the 11th century BC. Pottery was found on theManor Ground, suggesting anIron Age settlement there in the 7th century BC.Roman kilns from about 300 have been found, including one now on display at theMuseum of Oxford.Anglo-Saxon burial remains from about 500 have also been discovered. Headington'stoponym is derived from theOld EnglishHedena's dun, meaning "Hedena's hill", when it was the site of a palace or hunting lodge of theKings of Mercia. In acharter of 1004,Æthelred the Unready, "written at the royal ville called Headan dune", gave land in Headington toSt Frideswide's Priory, which included the quarry and the area around it.
Henry I granted a chapel at Headington to theAugustiniancanons regular of St Frideswide's Priory, when the priory was founded in 1122.[2] Theparish church of Saint Andrew was built in the middle of the 12th century and enlarged in the 13th century.[2][3] Thebell tower was started in the 13th or 14th century[3] and completed in about 1500.[2] St. Andrew's was repaired in the 17th and 18th centuries.[2] TheGothic Revival architectJ.C. Buckler restored the building[2] and lengthened thenave in 1862–1864.[2][3]
Headington developed rapidly in the early 20th century, significant amounts of housing developing around the medieval village, now known as Old Headington, around the original parish church of St Andrew. New Headington refers to some of the area on the south side of the London Road, originating as a late 19th-century suburb.[4] Other neighbourhoods of the modern Headington suburb include Highfield, Quarry, andHeadington Hill.[5]
TheCity of Oxford Silver Band began as the HeadingtonBrass Band having been founded in the 19th century. In 2002 a re-warding of the City created a ward called Headington representing both sides of the London Road, from Bury Knowle Park to Headley Way, with two elected representatives. The first councillors for this ward were David Rundle (2002–2014) andStephen Tall (2002–2008). Ruth Wilkinson was elected to succeed Stephen Tall in May 2008, and Mohammed Altaf-Khan to succeed David Rundle in 2014.
Headington was anancient parish in theBullingdon Hundred of Oxfordshire.[6] In 1868, an area on the western edge of the parish aroundHeadington Hill was included in theOxford constituency, and in 1889 the same area was added to the city andmunicipal borough of Oxford.[7] Thecivil parish of Headington was reduced to just cover the area outside the borough of Oxford in 1894. At the same time, Headington was given a parish council and included in theHeadington Rural District.[8]
The parish of Headington was removed from the rural district and converted into anurban district in 1927. It was only an urban district for two years; in 1929 the civil parish and urban district of Headington was abolished. Most of the area was absorbed into Oxford, including the original village. Some of the more rural edges of the old parish were transferred to the neighbouring parishes ofHorspath,Forest Hill with Shotover,Elsfield, and Stowood (the latter becoming part ofBeckley and Stowood in 1932).[6][9][10] In 1921 (the last census before the civil parish was abolished) it had a population of 5,328.[11]
Headington has a large and growing population.[12] Headington's main employment sectors are medicine, education, and research. In the centre of Headington are a number of shops,pubs, cafés, restaurants, and other services. The area also includes the main campus ofOxford Brookes University,Ruskin College (which moved in its entirety from centralOxford to its Headington site in 2012), and the city's main hospitals, including theJohn Radcliffe,Nuffield andChurchill.
Headington's most famous modern landmark isThe Headington Shark, made byJohn Buckley for local broadcasterBill Heine in 1986. Headington has a number of green spaces includingHeadington Hill Park, Bury Knowle park andSouth Park. Close by isShotover Hill, aheath and woodland area with views overOxfordshire, and listed as aSite of Special Scientific Interest. TheWarneford Meadow a wild grassland, bought in 1918 by public subscription for the adjacentWarneford Hospital, has been registered as a Town Green and has thus escaped development.
Oxford United were formed as Headington F.C. in 1893,[13] adding the suffix United in 1911 after merging with Headington Quarry. Until 2001 their home ground was theManor Ground, which had its main entrance onLondon Road.[14] In 2001 Oxford United moved to theKassam Stadium nearBlackbird Leys.[15] The Manor Ground has since been demolished and a private hospital built on the site.[16] Headington has anon-league football team,Headington Amateurs, who play at theBarton Recreation Ground.
A number ofOxford academics have lived in Headington over the years. They includeLord Krebs,David Marquand,Anthony Kenny, SirIsaiah Berlin, the historianA. B. Emden, the chemistDalziel Hammick,Lord Elton,Michael Ernest Sadler,Cyril Bailey, his daughterMary Creighton Bailey who was born there, andJohn Johnson (the University Printer). Others included the authorElizabeth Bowen,Robert Maxwell and his daughterGhislaine Maxwell,Lord Nuffield (William Morris), andAnne Diamond, the television presenter and author.
The City ofOxford | ||
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