Jump to content

Botley, Oxfordshire: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
History: Added redlink to New Botley. Deleted "ribbon development" as New Botley has side streets.
History: Corrected paragraph about Seacourt. Botley has not absorbed its site; it is in Wytham parish.
Line 34: Line 34:
Botley was first settled in the [[History of Anglo-Saxon England|Saxon era]]. Its [[Toponymy|toponym]] comes from [[Old English]], meaning a woodland clearing of a man called Bota.<ref>Hanson, 1995, page 7</ref> It falls within the parish of [[North Hinksey]], and so was historically in the county of [[Berkshire]]. Because the main road west out of Oxford has passed through Botley since the 16th century, development since then was centred here rather than in the village of North Hinksey itself, slightly further south. From the 1880s the centre of the village began to be called Old Botley, in distinction to the [[New Botley]] development along [[Botley Road]] in Oxford.<ref>Hanson, 1995, page 26</ref> The name Old Botley is preserved in a street set back from the main road. The major development which began in the 1930s took place to the west, beyond the current ring road.
Botley was first settled in the [[History of Anglo-Saxon England|Saxon era]]. Its [[Toponymy|toponym]] comes from [[Old English]], meaning a woodland clearing of a man called Bota.<ref>Hanson, 1995, page 7</ref> It falls within the parish of [[North Hinksey]], and so was historically in the county of [[Berkshire]]. Because the main road west out of Oxford has passed through Botley since the 16th century, development since then was centred here rather than in the village of North Hinksey itself, slightly further south. From the 1880s the centre of the village began to be called Old Botley, in distinction to the [[New Botley]] development along [[Botley Road]] in Oxford.<ref>Hanson, 1995, page 26</ref> The name Old Botley is preserved in a street set back from the main road. The major development which began in the 1930s took place to the west, beyond the current ring road.


As well as outgrowing its original parent village, Botley has also absorbed the vanished hamlet of [[Seacourt]], which is commemorated not only in Seacourt Tower but also the Seacourt Bridge (a pub) and the nearby [[park and ride]] site.
To the north of Botley was the [[Deserted medieval village|lost village]] of [[Seacourt]]. The site of the former village is in neighbouring [[Wytham]] parish, but it is commemorated in Botley in the names of Seacourt Tower, the Seacourt Bridge [[public house]] and the nearby [[park and ride]] site.


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 09:51, 5 April 2010

Botley
Seacourt Tower
OS grid referenceSP483060
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townOxford
Postcode districtOX2
Dialling code01865
PoliceThames Valley
FireOxfordshire
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Oxfordshire

Botley is a village in the civil parish of North Hinksey, just west of the Oxford city boundary in the English county of Oxfordshire. In 1974 it was transferred from Berkshire. It lies near the junction between the A34 Oxford ring road and the A420 to Swindon.

Botley is effectively a suburb of Oxford, a largely residential area with property prices ranging from relatively cheap in some places, to very expensive, in the direction of Cumnor.

The settlement of Dean Court adjoins Botley, in the parish of Cumnor.

Buildings

Botley includes a small local shopping centre at Elms Parade and a small precinct called West Way; a small retail complex containing amongst other stores Oxford's Habitat branch; and the Church of England parish church of St Peter and St Paul, built in 1958. The various large office buildings along the main road include Seacourt Tower, known locally as "Botley Cathedral" owing to its small metal spire, originally built in 1965-66 as a car showroom and garage to a design by Beecher and Stamford.[1] It is still owned by Hartwell Ford.

History

Botley was first settled in the Saxon era. Its toponym comes from Old English, meaning a woodland clearing of a man called Bota.[2] It falls within the parish of North Hinksey, and so was historically in the county of Berkshire. Because the main road west out of Oxford has passed through Botley since the 16th century, development since then was centred here rather than in the village of North Hinksey itself, slightly further south. From the 1880s the centre of the village began to be called Old Botley, in distinction to the New Botley development along Botley Road in Oxford.[3] The name Old Botley is preserved in a street set back from the main road. The major development which began in the 1930s took place to the west, beyond the current ring road.

To the north of Botley was the lost village of Seacourt. The site of the former village is in neighbouring Wytham parish, but it is commemorated in Botley in the names of Seacourt Tower, the Seacourt Bridge public house and the nearby park and ride site.

References

  1. ^ Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 333
  2. ^ Hanson, 1995, page 7
  3. ^ Hanson, 1995, page 26

Sources

  • Hanson, John (1995). The Changing Faces of Botley and North Hinksey. Witney: Robert Boyd. pp. 7, 26. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Sherwood, Jennifer (1974). The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 335. ISBN 0 14 071045 0. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)