Kellys_Berks_Bucks&Oxon_1915_0897.jpg

O X FO R D SH IR F.

d ir e c t o r y . ]

,
d3 W alter, carrier & shopkpr
a Hland Mark, farm er

Hollyfield W illiam , farm er
O liver C harlotte (M rs.), shopkeeper
Pratley Edward, haulier
t
Scott Jam es Robert, saddler
T7 'l'field Noah, p ig killer, Post office 1Tappin Thom as T rebble, Crown P.H
Hollyheld Charles, shopkeeper
¡Tidm arsh R iley, farm er
« A .,« F re d e ric k ,

c a rp e n te r &

w h e e l-

F O R E S T H I L L w i t l i S H O T O V E B is a civil
narish formed 17 A p ril, 1883, i£ m iles north-w est from
Wheatley station on the Oxford and Princes Risborough
cpction of the G reat W estern railw ay, and 4 east from
Oxford in the Mid division of th e county, hundred and
nettv sessional division of Bullingdon, union of Headingfon county court district of O xford, ru ra l deanery of
Tclin and archdeaconry and diocese of Oxford. The
village extends into two parishes, F orest H ill and Stanton
St John. The foundation charter of Oseney A bbey, O x­
ford, mentions a chapel here in 1x47. Ttie church of
St Nicholas, enlarged by the addition of an aisle and
or^an chamber, and also restored in th e year 1849 by
the late Sir G ilbert S cott R .A . is a b uilding of stone
chiefly of Transition Norm an date, and consists of chan­
cel and nave under a single roof, north aisle, and at
the west end a lofty gabled bell-cot, pierced for 3 b e lls ;
this bell-gable appears to be part of the origin al T ra n ­
sition work, b ut is supported b y two buttresses of
enormous projection, one extending westward 11 and the
other 14 feet, added in 1639: there is a modern east
window of three lancets and a good Perpendicular west
window: the chancel arch is probably p art of an earlier
Norman church: the outer doorway of the south poTch
is an elegant exam ple of Transition N o rm a n : there is a
pedestal piscina, a credence recess and an au m b ry w ith
door: the staircase to the Tood loft now serves for the
pulpit: the font is m odern: from its position on the
summit of a h ill, its ivy-m antled walls and singular
bell-oot, the church form s a very picturesque ob ject;
it was consecrated 6th Ju ly, 1273, by Reginald, Bishop
of Cloyne, acting for the Bishop of Lincoln : there are
120 sittings. The register dates from th e year 1564,
and contains the entry, Jan. 28th, 1625, of the baptism
of Mary, daughter of Richard Powell, and afterw ards
wife, in 1645, of the poet M ilton ; she died in 1651.
The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £120, with
residence, in the g ift of the Rector and Fellows of
Lincoln College, Oxford, and held since 1904 by the
Rev. Albert Edward N egus M .A. of that oollege. Here
is a Wesleyan chapel. In 1898 a readin g room was
erected at a cost of £200. The estate and chapel of
Forest Hill formed p art of the g ran t of Robert D’Oiley
to the church of St. G eorge in Oxford C astle, b ut was
afterwards transferred to the A bbey of O sen ey; the
manor house, with a considerable part of the * estate,

FR E E L A N D .

101

FAW LER.
(M arked thus * receive their letters
through W oodstock.)
Douthwaite Jn.W m .farm er, Manor frm
♦Fowler Thos. farm er, Hill Barn farm
Hadland Joseph, grazier, Faw ler m ill
*Lam b George, farm er, Oaklands

subsequently becam e the property of the Rector and
Fellows of Lincoln College, Oxford, who are now lords
of the m anor and principal landowners. T h e soil is
sandy; subsoil, clay. T h e chief crops are wheat, barley
and oats. T he area is 1,972 acres of land and 7 of
w a ter; rateable value, £2,966; the population in 1911
was 399 in th e c iv il parish and 191 in the ecclesiastical
parish of Forest Hill.
Parish C lerk, Robert Craddock.
Post Office.— A lfred F rederick H arris, sub-postm aster.
L e tters arrive by the O xford and YVheatley m ail cart
a t 5 55 a m. & 3 p.m . ; S u n d a y s , 5.55 a . m . ; dispatched
to Oxford at 10.15 a.m . & 7.50 p .m .; Sundays, 7.50
p.m . W heatley, 2 m iles distant, is the nearest money
order & telegraph office
Th e children of this parish attend the school a t Stanton
S t. John
C arriers to O xford.— Charles Stayton & Alfred G eorge
H arris, mon. wed. fri. & sat
SH O TO V E R , the nam e of which is said to be a p er­
version of the words “ C h ateau V e r t,” was form erly a
royal forest and extra-parochial, and afterw ards a
parish, b ut in 1883 was included in th at of F orest Hill.
T h is place is noticeable as being the spot where Queen
E lizabeth took leave of the authorities of the U niversity
and C ity of Oxford, on the occasion of her visits in
A u gu st, 1566, and Septem ber, 1592, when she gave an
extem pore Latin reply bo th e address of the U niversity.
S h otover House, w ith about 60 acres of grounds, is the
seat of C ol. A lfred Douglas M iller D .S .O ., D .L ., J.P.
who is th e principal la n dow ner; the park consists of
150 a c r e s ; the m ansion was visited by Queen Elizabeth,
and in modern tim es by G eorge I. and GeoTge II.
The area of Shotover is 950 acres.
T h is portion of the Forest H ill parish, w ith a popula­
tion in 1911 of 72, is reputed to be extra-p aroch ial for
ecclesiastical purposes.
Shotover H ill Place, form erly extra-p arochial, is now
included in the civil parish of F orest H ill w ith Shotover,
and is p art of H eadington Q uarry ecclesiastical parish.
L etters th rou gh Oxford. W heatley is th e nearest m oney
order & telegrap h office
T h e children of these places attend th e schools at
W heatley, Stanton & H eadington Q u arry

F O R E ST H ILL.
Parsons-Guy W illiam , m iller (steam Lawrence Capt. W a lter E rnest, ShotHanson Miss, Hillside
water) (letters through Headover lodge
Negus Rev. A lbert Edward M .A.
ington)
M iller Col. Alfred Douglas D .S .O .,
(vicar), Vicarage
Pollard B artley, farm er, Vent farm
D .L ., J.P . Shotover house
Watt Major Redmond Edward, H ead­ Ray H erbert & Joseph, harness mas
COMM ERCIAL.
ington End (letters through H ead­ Reading Room (E dm und Harris, sec)
ington) ; & A rm v & N avy club, Soanes F rederick, hurdle m aker
¡*C ruickshank Andrew , land steward
London S W
Stone Alfred, farm er
I to C ol. A.D . M iller D .S .O .,D .L .,J .P
c o m m e r c ia l .
Trafford W illiam , beer retailer
Dennis M ichael, farm er
Allen William, jobbing gardener
Turn er W illiam , cycle dealer
IK im ber Frederick, stone mason
Boffin Ephraim James, shopkeeper
W atts W illiam , farmer
jK im ber Thom as, carm an
Craddock Robt. m kt. gdnr.V icarage lo W atts W illiam , jun. carpenter
Orledge W illiam Roe, farm er
W heeler John, farm er, The Boundary
all Jeremiah, baker
I
<?Tm rrfiVF'R
Harris A lfd.Fredk.baker, & Post office
b H O iO V E R .
♦Whiting Thom as, gardener to Col.
Harris Alfred George, carrier
i Marked thus * receive th eir letters
A. D. M iller D .S .O ., D .L ., J.P
Harris Edmund S. farm er, Manor fm |
through W heatley.
Messenger A rth .T .J .K in g ’s A rm s P.H Drew A rth u r John, The Oaks
R E E L A N D is a sm all village and ecclesiastical
Pfpsh formed from the c iv il parish of E ynsham in
f
■
i*' *s Pleasantlv situated about 3 m iles north-west
rom Eynsham station on the O xford and Fairford
ranch of the G reat W estern railw ay, about 2J southWef w ° m Handborough station on the Oxford, W orcester
an Wolverhampton section of the sam e system , and 5
nor h-east from W itney, in the M id division of the
uHt)- petty sessional division of Bam pton E ast, county
nivKa
^rict °* W itney, ru ral deanerv of Woodstock and
arcnaeaconry and diocese of Oxford. ’ The church of St.
afc8^
ie
erected by p rivate m unificence in 1869
E n ^ V f £>2 ' 9° 7> is a b uilding of stone in th e E arly
R A
i
from designs by the late Mr. J. L. Pearson
anii '
consists of apsidal chancel, nave, south porch
taini
^ ^ eastern tow er w ith saddle-back roof conbv
<b ells: the chancel, separated from the nave
screen, has a stone groined Toof, and is
by seven stained la n c e ts ; the w alls are deco­

rated w ith paintings depictin g th e “ P a ssio n ; ” the
reredos, of alabaster, is divided into thirteen trefoil­
headed com partm ents or niches filled w ith sculptured
figures, the cen tral com partm en t exh ib itin g “ The C r u ­
cifixion : ” the porch has a stone groined ceilin g and
parvise over i t : the ch urch affords 150 s ittin g s ; there
is a lych-gate, built in 1873. T h e register dates from the
year 1869. T he livin g is a vicarage, net yearly value
£ 154, w ith residence, in the g ift of trustees, and is at
present (1915) vacant. The vicarage house, b u ilt in
1869, is of stone and adjoins the church. The whole cost
of the church, parsonage and schools was over £6,000.
Here is a sm all W esleyan chapel, b u ilt in 1817. T h e
St. M ary’s Horne for invalid ladies was opened in 1909.
The poor of this village share in th e E ynsham ch arity.
Freeland House, the property of Jam es F rancis Mason
esq. M.P. and the residence of Mrs. Mason, was rebuilt
of stone in 1890 on the form er site.
Th e soil is
v a r io u s ; subsoil, clay. T h e chief crops are th e usual