Harcourt Hill is a hill and community in

North Hinksey North Hinksey is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, immediately west of Oxford. The civil parish includes the large settlement of Botley, effectively a suburb of Oxford. North Hinksey was part of Berkshire until the 1974 bo ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, England, west of the city of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. There is a good view of the city from the hill. It lies between

Hinksey Hill Hinksey Hill is a hill and residential area south of the centre of Oxford. It is in South Hinksey civil parish, about south of the village. Hinksey Hill was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. ...

to the southeast,

Boars Hill Boars Hill is a hamlet southwest of Oxford, straddling the boundary between the civil parishes of Sunningwell and Wootton. Historically, part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. History The earliest ...

to the south and Botley to the north. Until 1974 it was in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, but was transferred to Oxfordshire in that year.

History

The Conduit House on the northeast side of Harcourt Hill was built in 1616–17 to supply water to the city of Oxford and was in use until the middle of the 19th century. Harcourt Hill was part of an estate acquired by

Earl Harcourt Earl Harcourt, of Stanton Harcourt in the County of Oxford, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1749 for Simon Harcourt, 2nd Viscount Harcourt. He was made Viscount Nuneham at the same time, also in the Peerage of G ...

in 1772. The Harcourt family promoted various plans for developing the hill in the 19th century, and about 50 houses were eventually built there between the 1920s and the early 1960s. In 1959 Westminster College moved from London to a new site on the northwest side of Harcourt Hill, which is now a campus of

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic (United Kingdom), Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and High ...

Notable people

Well-known residents of Harcourt Hill have included Professor Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir

Muirhead Bone Sir Muirhead Bone (23 March 1876 – 21 October 1953) was a Scottish etcher and watercolourist who became known for his depiction of industrial and architectural subjects and his work as a war artist in both the First and Second World Wars. A fi ...

and

Martin Gilbert Sir Martin John Gilbert (25 October 1936 – 3 February 2015) was a British historian and honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. He was the author of eighty-eight books, including works on Winston Churchill, the 20th century, and Jewish h ...

References

{{Vale of White Horse Hills of Oxfordshire Areas of Oxford