Risinghurst

Risinghurst is a quiet outlying residential area of Oxford, England, situated just outside the Eastern Bypass road which forms part of the Oxford ring road. It is around a mile from the centre of Headington and about 3 miles from Oxford city centre. It is part of the Risinghurst and Sandhills civil parish. It is typical of housing estates that were built between the wars to house an increasingly prosperous working class who were moving into new urban centres - in this instance to take advantage of the burgeoning motor industry in Oxford. They offered decent housing, relatively sizeable gardens, garage for a car and whilst Risinghurst isn't quite a 'cottage city' a sense of rural tranquility. The countryfication coming from the pebble-dash finish, the rough stone front wall, and a decent sized front garden where roses could be grown...and often were. A row of shops and a Post Office was included along Downside Road, a pub, a small library but neither a school, nor, initially, a church. So not quite a self-contained community and one that by and large was defined by 'the works' that offered a broad range of amenities.

Background and Houses

Most of the houses in Risinghurst are pebble-dashed semi-detached 1930's 3-bedroom residences, although there are newer houses behind Nielsen's UK headquarters that date from the 1970s, and some smaller ex-council houses dating from the late 1980s. In addition, in the SE corner of the estate is a small settlement of houses that dates back to the 17th century. The Estate was built primarily to house the increasing number of workers then employed at Morris Motors; until relatively recently most of the home-owners were still likely to be employed in the automotive industry. However, the 2001 Census showed that in the part of Risinghurst north of Kiln Lane (i.e. the original part of the estate) of 840 people in employment: 165 worked in healthcare/social work, 130 in real estate/renting/business activities, 121 in education, and only 105 in manufacturing. Property prices are relatively high — sometimes reaching £250,000. In the past, the Estate was bisected by the City Boundary. The part of the Estate within the Bullingdon Rural District Council enjoyed grass verges - lacking in the 'City' sector. The divide was just that as children in the two parts went to different schools - this led to little intermingling between families. Both sectors also had their own playing fields to further add to the division.

Places of interest

Risinghurst was home to the author C.S. Lewis, who lived in a house called The Kilns and the nature reserve directly behind his former house is named after him. This wild area is said to have been the inspiration for Narnia. Situated on the steep hill beyond the nature reserve lies Shotover Country Park, which is home to a variety of wildlife and is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The top of the hill offers views of Oxfordshire, although Oxford itself is hard to see. Through part of the estate runs the route of the Silchester to Towcester Roman road; the Kilns itself is so-named because kilns were excavated here that are thought to date back to the Roman period. Romano-British occupation was discovered during clay-quarrying in the late-nineteenth century (these pits have now become lakes.) Finds recorded in 1898 include building stones, gravel floors, and pottery dated mostly to the 3rd and 4th centuries but including some 2nd-century Samian ware. The surface of a 'probable road' was also sectioned, lying parallel to the main road but over 100 yards (90+ metres) to the east; this comprised of a spread of stones about 20 feet (c.6 metres) wide and about a foot (c.30.5 cm) thick in the centre, tapering to 'almost nothing at the edges'. Coins recovered from the site and recorded by Harding in 1939 ranged from issues of Tiberius (AD14–37) to Honorius (AD395–423).

Businesses and services

The centre of Risinghurst is home to The Ampleforth, the local public house which has recently been renovated, next door to Risinghurt Post Office, which contains a convenience store. Until the 1960s, a Co-Op could be found; and White's Grocery Store (sometimes branded a Spar), was a long-term fixture as was White's car hire.

The Ampleforth Arms pub has interesting connections. Anyone familiar with the monks' cloisters at Ampleforh Abbey in north Yorkshire will recognize the woodwork and other interior features as similar to the decoration in the Abbey. It seems that the foreman involved in the building of the Abbey was from Oxford and on his return built both the Ampleforth Arms and the Somerset House in Marston Road.

The Ampleforth Arms sits on the corner of Collinwood Road and Downside Road. There is often friendly rivalry between the Benedictine abbeys of Downside, in Somerset, and Ampleforth in North Yorkshire.

On the edge of Risinghurst is the UK headquarters of Nielsen, the global market research company who have been here since the early 1960s.

In another part of Risinghurst, there was once a harpsichord factory: Robert Goble & Son were harpsichord makers at Greatstones, a large house found further up the lane that leads off the Kilns. It is believed that they started manufacturing harpsichords during the 1950s.

On the Headington Roundabout corner of the Estate is a second row of shops and a McDonalds - this used to be the Shotover Arms built in 1931. What is now a Carphone Warehouse store was originally a filling station. A dentist can also be found close by but so far as is known, there was never a doctors' surgery.

Finally, at the end of Kiln Lane are a number of light engineering units.

Religion

There is one church: the Collinwood Road United Reformed Church. Originally a Congregationalist church established in the late 1940's, in 1972 it became part of the United Reformed Church (a union of Congregationalists, Presbyterians and later Churches of Christ) which is the now the main representative of the Reformed tradition in England. The original church building is now used a hall. The church itself was built later in the 1950's and is a simple but effective expression of church architecture. A later church hall was built in the 1980s. The Revd Tom Stiff was the driving force behind its establishment. Although he retired in the 1980's, he remained a member of the church, and in 2001 celebrated 50 years association with Collinwood Road. The present minister is the Revd Dick Wolff.

The Church provides a number of services to the community, including a weekly lunch-club for the elderly and a coffee lounge which is open for anyone to drop for conversation, coffee, tea and biscuits on weekday mornings. It also provides space for Scout and Guide Association groups.

The building is currently shared with three other congregations: the Korean Presbyterian Church, the Punjabi speaking Asian Evangelical Church, and a Portuguese speaking (largely Brazilian) Assemblies of God church.

External links

• Risinghurst and Sandhills Parish Council website
• Jock Coats's Risinghurst Blog