Over Norton Park is a farm of 210 acres (85 ha) at Over Norton, lying to the north of

Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the civil parish population as ...

, in the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It has been in the Dawkins family since the 1720s. Originally a larger country estate, it was inherited by John Dawkins (1915–2010), the father of the biologist

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ath ...

, under whose management it became a single commercial farm which he farmed himself.

History

The estate at Over Norton was bought in 1726 by James Dawkins (c. 1696–1766), the son of Colonel Richard Dawkins of Jamaica, and a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for . He was the uncle of

Henry Dawkins Henry Dawkins II (24 May 1728 – 19 June 1814) was a Jamaican plantation and slave owner and Member of the Parliament of Great Britain (MP). Background The Dawkins family settled on Jamaica shortly after its seizure from the Spanish in 1655. ...

the Younger (1728–1814), who inherited the property on his death. A

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

page comments on the build-up of Dawkins family holdings in the Chipping Norton area, including the purchase of Salford Manor by Henry Dawkins II. Down through the generations, Over Norton belonged to

Henry Dawkins (1765–1852) Henry Dawkins II (24 May 1728 – 19 June 1814) was a Jamaican plantation and slave owner and Member of the Parliament of Great Britain (MP). Background The Dawkins family settled on Jamaica shortly after its seizure from the Spanish in 1655. ...

(Henry Dawkins III), third son of Henry Dawkins; then Henry Dawkins (1788–1864) (Henry Dawkins IV), both Members of Parliament for , then to William Gregory Dawkins (1825–1914), passing down to the eldest sons. William Gregory Dawkins replaced the Georgian mansion in 1874. By 1945, a much-reduced estate was in the hands of his great-nephew Hereward Dawkins. The passing of Over Norton to another branch of the Dawkins family went back to the line of another son of Henry Dawkins III, Clinton George Augustus Dawkins (1808–1871). He was the great-grandfather of John Dawkins.

References

External links

Over Norton Park Farm Shop website
{{coord, 51.9559, -1.5371, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Companies based in Oxfordshire Parks and open spaces in Oxfordshire Farms in Oxfordshire Historic farms Cotswolds Richard Dawkins