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Headington Quarry village is situated on the north-eastern outskirts of Oxford
city. Its name originated from the stone that was quarried there. It is now a
suburb of neighbouring Headington and no longer a village in its own right,
though it still keeps its individuality. One of Quarry’s assets is its close
proximity to Shotover. Until the advent of the eastern bypass, footpaths led
directly to Shotover Plain.
Visitors can easily lose themselves among the steep, winding, narrow roads and
the network of walled paths and alleyways that run behind houses and between
streets. The alleys are still very much as they were in days past and it is only
in recent years that they have been given names, most of them after well known
Quarry people such as Coppock’s Alley, Vallis Alley, Cox’s Alley and Mason’s
Alley.
Years ago stone was quarried here and transported to nearby Oxford to be used in
building the colleges for the University. The whole village, according to
records, is built on a vast rabbit warren of old quarries and tip heaps. The
survival of these quarries in a residential area is of great archaeological
interest. Nowadays the village is a mixture of small stone cottages and modern
brick houses.
Quarry boasts three public houses, the Mason’s Arms, the Six Bells and the
Chequers. In the 18th and 19th centuries the Chequers was the centre of the
village. The first school was started in a room next to the Chequers by
Catherine Mather. Later in 1864 the present school buildings were opened by
Bishop Wilberforce. The school of course has been greatly improved over the
years and it still teaches infants and primary children from Quarry and the
surrounding neighbourhoods.
Quarry has two places of worship, a Methodist chapel and Holy Trinity church.
The church was built in 1848—9. It is in the style of a 14th century church,
which deceives many visitors into thinking it is much older than it is. The
stone for the church was quarried from a nearby farm and was the gift of Mr
Thomas Burrows, a churchwarden of St Andrew’s church, Old Headington. C. S.
Lewis, the famous author and his brother are buried in the churchyard.
The Methodist chapel was started when the teachings of John Wesley were felt in
Quarry and a few men got together in a house near the Six Bells for prayers. For
some years they continued to meet at the house but on Easter Sunday 1830 the
first chapel was opened in Trinity Road. In 1860 a new and much larger chapel
was built in High Street.
The village hall was not built until 1933. In 1900 a pavilion was erected by
voluntary labour on land adjoining the Quarry Road. At that time this became the
centre for all village activities, but as it fell in disrepair the need for a
new hall was discussed and some land adjoining the recreation ground was
purchased. In 1929 Oxford City extended its boundaries and took in Quarry
village, and a new road linking Quarry Road and Windmill Road interfered with
the site. After three years of negotiations, in 1932 on a new site in Quarry
Road the Mayor of Oxford, Alderman Bennett laid the foundation stone and in 1933
the new hail was opened by a local MP, Sir Gifford Fox.
Morris dancing has been associated with Quarry for hundreds of years. Several
dances originated in this area including many well known favourites. Tunes were
handed down from fiddler to fiddler and the steps and figures to each younger
generation. They were never written down until Mr William Kimber, with the help
of Cecil Sharp, set about recording them. Nowadays the Morris dancers dance
outside each public house on Boxing Day and at Whitsun.
The Friends of Quarry was formed in 1970 and has done much to keep Quarry as an
exceptional place of interest. In 1971 Oxford City declared it a conservation
area. This has helped to keep the stone walls and the narrow pathways intact for
future generations and above all to retain the village atmosphere.
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