| Horspath | |
|---|---|
 St Giles' parish church | |
  Horspath Location withinOxfordshire | |
| Area | 4.66 km2 (1.80 sq mi) |
| Population | 1,378 (2011 census) |
| • Density | 296/km2 (770/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | SP5704 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Oxford |
| Postcode district | OX33 |
| Dialling code | 01865 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Welcome to Horspath |
| |
Horspath is a village andcivil parish inSouth Oxfordshire about3+1⁄2 miles (5.6 km) east of the centre ofOxford, England. The2011 census recorded the parish's population as 1,378.[1]
The parish's western boundary largely follows the course of aRoman road that linkedDorchester on Thames andAlchester Roman Town. In theRomano-British period there were pottery kilns producing Oxfordshire red/brown-slipware at Horspath Open Brasenose.[2] Production of redslipware had begun by about 240 and continued until the end of 4th century.[2] Production at the Horspath kiln was from the mid-3rd century until the 4th century. A wide range of red-slipped tables wares, often decorated with rouletting, stamps or white slip, was produced in the Oxfordshire potteries and widely distributed across Britain during the 3rd and 4th centuries.[2] A Romano-British pottery mould has been found at Horspath andRoman pottery has been found on theallotments and on the common to the north of the village.[2][3]
In theMiddle Ages there were originally two distincthamlets: Upper or Old Horspath and Nether, Lower or Church Horspath. The oldpackhorse road joining the London Road through the neighbouring village ofWheatley gave the village theOld English name of"Horsepadan", which became "Horsepath."[3] Finally, in 1912 the Parish Council changed the village's name to the unique form "Horspath."[4] Horspath parish was once part of the medievalRoyal Forest of Shotover, with dense woodland cover extending fromIslip toCuddesdon until "disafforestation" in 1660.[2]
TheDomesday Book of 1086 records that theNorman baronRoger d'Ivry, who had numerous estates inOxfordshire, held an estate of five and a halfhides at Horspath. This, along with many other d'Ivry estates, became part of theHonour ofSt Valery, and then passed to theHonour of Wallingford and from 1540 the Honour ofEwelme.[3] ThreeOxford University colleges:Corpus Christi,Magdalen, andBrasenose have owned land and property in the parish. A connection withQueen's College comes from the 15th century when, according to legend, studentJohn Copcot, walking inShotover Forest reading hisAristotle, was attacked by awild boar. He thrust the volume down the animal's throat and 'the boar expired'. The college ceremony of carrying in the Boar's Head at Christmas is derived from this, as is thestained glass window in St Giles church, presented in 1740 by the President of Magdalen to commemorate the Copcot Legend.[4]
The oldest part of Horspath manor house was built for William Bedyll shortly before 1513. The southern front is lateElizabethan and includes a staircase and four fireplaces built in about 1600. The eastern part of the house was designed by the architectJohn Malcolm and added in 1885.[3][5] A ghost, "The Grey Lady", is reputed to wander the landings and garden. Killed by her husband in a quarrel, her body was placed in apriest hole. Several sightings have been reported and in December 1878 a first-class shot claimed he had fired three times at the figure, and found two bullets embedded in the wall.[4] In 1870–72John Marius Wilson described Horspath thus:
TheChurch of England parish church ofSaint Giles seems to have been built late in the 12th century. TheEarly English Gothic[7] southaisle, including the south door and three and a halfbay southarcade date from this period. From this time the east wall of the chancel had a trio of three steppedlancet windows. The earlyDecorated Gothic southtransept was added late in the 13th or early in the 14th century[7] as achantry chapel. The south porch was added late in the 14th century.[3] Around 1400 the present westtower and tower arch were built. The tower arch features two unusual almost life-size sculptures of human figures: one playing the bagpipes and the other showing an expression of amazement.[7] Also in the 15th century the pitch of the nave roof was greatly reduced in typicalPerpendicular Gothic style.[7] Late in the 15th century, Perpendicular Gothic windows were inserted in both sides of the chancel and the north wall of the nave. The Perpendicular Gothicpiscinae in the chancel and south transept are also 15th century.[3]
In the 18th centuryMagdalen College, Oxford and theEarl of Abingdon contributed to the building of awest gallery in the nave. By 1840 the east wall of the chancel was out of alignment so the chancel was demolished and rebuilt to designs by thearchitectHJ Underwood, who retained thePerpendicular Gothic side windows with their medievalstained glass but dispensed with the medieval roof and replaced theEarly English Gothic east windows with a neo-Perpendicular one. A contemporary condemned this work as"wanton destruction".[3] By 1849 the nave was dilapidated so in 1852 theclerestory and west gallery were removed, the north wall was rebuilt and the north transept was added. Once again Underwood was the architect. The work cost £800, of which Baker Morrell of the local Morrell brewing family and Magdalen College each paid £200.[3] The church is aGrade II* listed building.[8]
By 1554 St. Giles' had three bells and by the 18th century it had five.[3] It now has aring of six bells plus aSanctus bell. Of the current ring, the oldest is the fourth bell, which Joseph Carter ofReading, Berkshire[9] cast in 1602.[10] William Yare, also of Reading,[9] cast the tenor bell in 1611.[10] AbrahamRudhall of Gloucester[9] cast the second and third bells in 1718.[10]W&J Taylor of Loughborough, who from 1821 to 1854 had a bell-foundry in Oxford, cast the fifth bell in 1838.[9] Mears and Stainbank of theWhitechapel Bell Foundry cast the treble bell in 1866.[10] James Wells ofAldbourne,[9]Wiltshire cast the Sanctus bell in 1811.[10] St Giles' has a disusedturret clock without a dial, the frame of which appears to be late 17th century.[11]
St Giles' has anElizabethan silverchalice made in about 1569,[7] a carved lateJacobeanpulpit,[7] and a number ofmonumental plaques. One of these, toJames Salisbury of Bullingdon Green (who died in 1770), is elaborately decorated. Another is to the five children of Thomas and Esther Herbert, who died from a recurrence of thebubonic plague between 1686 and 1688. Esther, whose family foundedNew College, also died in 1688 aged 33. A ceramic statuette of St Giles made by a local potter in 1988 is in the southchapel.[4] In 1451the Crown granted theadvowson to the Hospital ofSt John the Baptist outside the East Gate, Oxford. In 1456 the hospital was suppressed, and all its property granted toMagdalen College, Oxford, newly founded byWilliam Waynflete. From then until 1950 the vicar of St Giles was always a member of the college. George Wilkynson, who was incumbent from 1483, was Dean of Divinity of theUniversity of Oxford.[3]
Many vicars of St Giles were distinguishedfellows of the college, but some of the post-Reformation ones neglected the parish.Richard Byfield, who was incumbent from 1666, was a scholar ofHebrew.Baptist Levinz, who was incumbent from 1680 to 1682, becameBishop of Sodor and Man in 1685.George Horne, who was incumbent from 1760 to 1764, becameVice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford in 1776 andBishop of Norwich in 1790.Edward Ellerton, who was incumbent from 1814, founded Horspath parish school and left land in the parish to fundscholarships toMagdalen College, Oxford.Frederick Bulley, who was incumbent from 1843 to 1849, became President of Magdalen College in 1855.Henry Bramley, who was incumbent from 1861 to 1869, was ahymnologist who worked with the composer SirJohn Stainer.[3]
In the 19th century aMethodist congregation developed in the village. It met in people's homes until 1871 when the current brick-built chapel just west of the village green was completed and opened.[3] It was a member of The OxfordMethodist Circuit of theMethodist Church of Great Britain.[12] In 2014 it ceased to be used for worship. The village community has bought the building and converted it into "Horspath Community Hub".[13]
In the western part of the parish, between Horspath village and the Roman road, is Bullingdon Green. Some weeks after theBattle of Edgehill in 1642 theRoyalists disarmed the county'strained bands here. In 1644Sir Arthur Aston, the Royalist Governor of Oxford, was thrown from his horse and injured here when"kerveting on horseback . . . before certain ladies". Aston's successorSir Henry Gage reviewed Royalist troops here in the presence ofCharles I. As the war turned against the Crown,Parliamentary troops assembled here in 1644 under theEarl of Essex and again in 1645. In 1648 George Nicolson, vicar of St Giles, was deprived of hisdemyship toMagdalen College for abusing Parliamentary soldiers.[3]
Buildings in Horspath reflect the underlyinggeology, with many older houses built fromrubblestone of the distinctive localCorallian limestone.[2][3] Red tiles orthatch are common as roofing materials.[2][3] Horspath has 15listed buildings including farm outbuildings and a cowhouse, themanor house, theparish church, and two thatched cottages, of which there were once 17, but fire has destroyed most.[4] In 1936 the Queen's Head public house caught fire and sparks from the thatch destroyed two cottages opposite. The pub was restored with a tiled roof, as was Shepherd's Cottage, this thatch being burnt in the mid-1970s. The Chequers Inn, although dated 1624, was built in the 19th century.[4]
In the 19th and early 20th centuries laundresses stretched their lines across the village green and market gardeners tended their vegetables forPembroke College, Oxford. Farmers also reared pigs for the college tables. The1871 census recorded a population of 373, including 93 employed on the land, 14 craftsmen, 30 in other trades, acurate and twopublicans. There were 12 farmers in 1841 and only two in 1990, but the village still has two publicans.[4] TheHorspath Cricket Club played its first game in 1894 against Garsington. The present pitch was created in 1924. The club has played in the Oxford Times Cherwell League, Division 1, since 2008.[citation needed]
Early in the 20th century there was much change withTarmacadam roads, housing developments and mobile homes replacing farmland and manor grounds, and the loss of theelms and the village pond.[4] In 1912William Morris moved his car manufacturing from Oxford to larger premises inCowley. Surveys in 1938 and 1946 recorded more than 80 Horspath villagers working atMorris Motors.[14] Horspath's population now includes people from many occupations, including employees of what is now theBMW Mini factory.
In 1864 theWycombe Railway was built and opened through the parish, including the 524 yards (479 m) long Horspath Tunnel between Horspath village and the hamlet ofLittleworth.[15] It is sometimes called Wheatley Tunnel, but it is in fact entirely within Horspath parish. TheGreat Western Railway took over the Wycombe Railway in 1867 and openedHorspath Halt in 1908. The halt was closed in 1915 but reopened in 1933. In 1963British Railways withdrew passenger services betweenPrinces Risborough andOxford and closed the halt. Horspath Tunnel is now owned byOxfordshire County Council and is ahibernaculum for several species of bat.[16] In 1982 Horspath Parish Council bought the disused railway cutting southwest of the tunnel, enabling community volunteers to modify it to increase its biodiversity as Horspath Parish Council Wildlife Conservation Area.[16]
Horspath has avillage shop and twopubs, the Chequers and the Queen's Head.[17] The Chequers includes aNepalese restaurant, the Gurkha Kitchen.[18][19]
Oxford Bus Company route 46 links Horspath with Oxford viaCowley and withGreat Milton viaLittleworth andWheatley. Buses run hourly, seven days a week, from early morning until after midnight.[20]
