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The impact created by Old Headington is one of inherited timeless character as a
Village within a City! So it was aptly identified by Leslie Taylor and Jean
Cook in their book.
The polished axes of prehistoric man, found locally, can be seen in the
Ashmolean and Pitt-Rivers Museums. There is also evidence of Roman pottery and
kilns. Quarrying was a source of village livelihood, and many farms, dairy and
agricultural, were scattered over the area, giving a mixed community.
Many beautiful houses, some dating from the 17th century and vernacular in
character, lie alongside small attractive cottages. A feature of the village are
the rubble-stone walls that surround the properties and line the crofts and
lanes that criss-cross the village.
The manor house is now used as offices by the Oxfordshire Health Authority. It
had previously been the preliminary training school for nurses. The old TB
hospital and convalescent home have long since disappeared in a sea of
laboratories, and a large modern hospital has brought social and visual
dominance to the area. Undeterred are flocks of wagtails that gather on the roof
garden to roost, and the song of the nightingale can still be enjoyed.
Bury Knowle Mansion, built in the 19th century, and set in an attractive park
now open to the public, offers sports facilities and space to enjoy peace and
quiet. The City Council acquired the property that now houses a branch library
and doctors clinic.
Granny Berry, who had twelve children, started baking bread in the farm kitchen
when her husband died. The popular bakery was run by three generations, but
sadly is now closed and a modern house stands on the site.
A pub rhyme, naming all the old Headington pubs goes as follows:
A Black Boy rode a White Horse carrying a Royal Standard, shouting rule
Britannia. He chased the White Hart which had a Bell around its neck. This
disturbed the Fox which ran to ground at the Princess Castle. The White Hart,
the Black Boy and the Bell are still serving ale in the village, but the other
public houses are now outside the parish.
The church of St Andrew, which may have originated as a small Saxon building on
the same site, was founded by St Frideswide in 1004. Later rebuilt, it has had
many repairs and additions, the most recent in 1977 when the 19th century roof
was somewhat controversially redecorated in strong medieval colours. An
underground passage is said to run from the church to the Rookery now owned by
Ruskin College. The Fish Window in the baptistry marks the initiation of the
Fish Good Neighbourhood Scheme, adopted world wide. New seating arrangements
allow for religious plays, organ recitals and choral works to be performed.
From the original post office, telegrams were dispatched by horse and cart, and
the shops selling fresh bread, fish, meat and vegetables have sadly disappeared.
A large supermarket now supplies village needs, and a car park stands on the
site of what was once a market garden. Mattocks, the famous rose growers,
started their nurseries in the village.
Transport into Oxford was provided by the Rocket, a two-horse brake that needed
two extra horses to pull up Headington Hill. William Morris, later Lord
Nuffield, initiated the first double-decker buses. Now, ironically, the village
has no direct public transport.
The Friends of Old Headington, now affiliated with the Oxford Preservation
Trust, have been given three awards for watching over development proposals,
thus helping to preserve the character of the village, which has been recognised
as a conservation area. Many of the houses are designated as listed buildings,
and several new projects have been sympathetically designed and screened behind
the original rubblestone walling.
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