Heythrop is a village and civil parish just over east of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Dunthrop. The 2001 Census recorded the parish population as 93.

History

Heythrop had a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

parish church of

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

, but the nave has been demolished and only the chancel has been preserved as a mortuary chapel. The chapel's west doorway was the south doorway of the former nave. In 1657 an attempt to merge the Benefices of Enstone and Heythrop was abandoned in the face of local opposition. In 1923 the incumbent of Heythrop ceased to live in the parish and in 1964 it and Enstone were finally merged. In 2001 the Benefice of Enstone and Heythrop merged with that of

Ascott-under-Wychwood Ascott-under-Wychwood is a village and civil parish in the Evenlode valley about south of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 560. Toponym The village is one of three named after the hist ...

, Chadlington, and Spelsbury to form the Chase Benefice. Heythrop House in Heythrop Park was built from 1706 onwards by the architect

Thomas Archer Thomas Archer (1668–1743) was an English Baroque architect, whose work is somewhat overshadowed by that of his contemporaries Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. His buildings are important as the only ones by an English Baroque architec ...

for Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury. It was gutted by fire in 1831 and restored to designs by the architect

Alfred Waterhouse Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known f ...

in 1871 for Albert Brassey. It was a

Jesuit college The Jesuits (Society of Jesus) in the Catholic Church have founded and managed a number of educational institutions, including the notable secondary schools, colleges and universities listed here. Some of these universities are in the United Stat ...

from 1922 until 1969 and a training college for the National Westminster Bank from 1969 until 1999. Brassey rebuilt Heythrop as a

model village A model village is a type of mostly self-contained community, built from the late 18th century onwards by landowners and business magnates to house their workers. Although the villages are located close to the workplace, they are generally phys ...

in the 1870s and 1880s. He encouraged the growth of the church congregation such that it outgrew its Norman building. In 1880 he had a new

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

of St. Nicholas built by the Gothic Revival architect Sir

Arthur Blomfield Sir Arthur William Blomfield (6 March 182930 October 1899) was an English architect. He became president of the Architectural Association in 1861; a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1867 and vice-president of the RIBA in ...

. The south doorway incorporates 13th century mouldings from the demolished nave of the old church. Albert Brassey had the rectory built at about the same time. It remained in the Brasseys' ownership, and when the incumbent ceased to reside in the parish in 1923 it was renamed the Dower House and let as a private house. Former UK Prime Minister Theresa May was a pupil at Heythrop Primary School. The

Heythrop Zoological Gardens Heythrop Zoological Gardens is a private zoo and animal training centre in Heythrop, near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. The zoo has the largest private collection of exotic animals in the United Kingdom. The site also houses Amazing Animals, an ...

is located near the village.

References

Sources and further reading

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External links

Civil parishes in Oxfordshire Villages in Oxfordshire {{Oxfordshire-geo-stub