Ferry Hinksey Road is a road in westOxford,England, leading south from theBotley Road.[1] The road leads to theOsney Mead Industrial Estate to the east, started in 1961.[2] To the east isOsney Ditch.
The road is named after the village ofFerry Hinksey, now known asNorth Hinksey, on the other side ofHinksey Stream, one of the branches of theRiver Thames in Oxford. There was once apunt ferry that operated overBulstake Stream.[3]
The most notable path between Oxford and North Hinksey, a continuation of Ferry Hinksey Road, is a metalledbridleway andcycle track, variously known asWillow Walk andRuskin's Ride. The latter is named afterJohn Ruskin (1819–1900) who used to pass this way between Ferry Hinksey and Oxford, where he was the firstSlade Professor of Fine Art from 1869.[4] The path was originally built in 1876–77 byAubrey Harcourt (1852–1904), a major local landowner,[5] but was not made open to the public until 1922. There is also a smaller unmade path which begins alongside the large back garden of The Fishes and crosses Hinksey Stream by a bridge at the site of the old ferry, which linked Ferry Hinksey with Oxford. The ferry ceased operation in 1928. The various streams are now crossed by small bridges. A 'Ferry Cottage' still remains.
A poem calledFerry Hinksey byLaurence Binyon (1869–1943) describes the bucolic nature of the area before Osney Mead Industrial Estate was developed.[3]
Arup Associates designed the building for theOxford Mail andTimes in 1970–2.[6]West Oxford Community Primary School,[7] formerly West Oxford First School,[8] is also located here.Holywell Press moved to Ferry Hinksey Road in 1989.Oxford Open Learning, adistance learning company, is at King's Meadow off Ferry Hinksey Road.[9]
51°45′02″N1°16′35″W / 51.75054°N 1.27643°W /51.75054; -1.27643
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