Hinksey Stream, North Hinksey Village - geograph

Hinksey Stream is a branch of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

to the 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 ...

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 ...

. It starts as Seacourt Stream (also known as Wytham Stream), which leaves the Thames at a

bifurcation Bifurcation or bifurcated may refer to: Science and technology * Bifurcation theory, the study of sudden changes in dynamical systems ** Bifurcation, of an incompressible flow, modeled by squeeze mapping the fluid flow * River bifurcation, the ...

north of the village of

Wytham Wytham ( ) is a village and civil parish on the Seacourt Stream, a branch of the River Thames, about northwest of the centre of Oxford. It is just west of the Western By-Pass Road, part of the Oxford Ring Road ( A34). The nearest village is ...

, and rejoins the river south of the city near

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between the ...

Course

Seacourt Stream

From the bifurcation Seacourt Stream flows south past Wytham and under the A34

Oxford Ring Road The Oxford Ring Road circles the city of Oxford, England. It is a dual carriageway ring road for most of its length apart from a short section between Woodstock Road and Banbury Road in the north of the city. The severe restrictions on traffi ...

. Near the site of the lost village of

Seacourt Seacourt is a deserted medieval village ( DMV ) near the City of Oxford. The site is now mostly beneath the Oxford Western By-pass ( A34 ), about south of the Seacourt / Hinksey Stream crossing. Name The earliest known refere ...

Botley Stream branches off Seacourt Stream on its left bank, and flows 0.8 km to enter

Bulstake Stream Bulstake Stream, also spelt Bullstake Stream, is a backwater of the River Thames at Oxford, England. The stream leaves the main stream of the Thames at a river junction known as Four Rivers, at the south west corner of Fiddler's Island oppos ...

.Oxford Area Flood Information Guidance Booklet
, pages 37–38. Seacourt Stream then flows under

Botley Road Botley Road is the main road into the centre of Oxford, England from the west. It stretches between Botley, on the Oxford Ring Road ( A34) to the west of the city, and Frideswide Square at the junction with Oxford railway station, close t ...

and enters Bulstake Stream near

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 b ...

. Seacourt Stream is 12.7 km long.

Hinksey Stream

Hinksey Stream branches off Seacourt Stream on its right bank just before the confluence with Bulstake Stream. It flows between the village of

South Hinksey South Hinksey is a village and civil parish just over south of the centre of Oxford. The parish includes the residential area of Hinksey Hill about south of the village. The parish was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes trans ...

to the west and the suburb of

New Hinksey New Hinksey is a suburb in the south of the city of Oxford. Geography The suburb is west of the Abingdon Road ( A4144). To the north is Grandpont and to the east, over Donnington Bridge, which crosses the River Thames, is Cowley. To the west i ...

to the east. It flows under the

near its junction with the

Abingdon Road Abingdon Road is the main arterial road to the south of the city of Oxford, England. The road passes through the suburbs of Grandpont and New Hinksey. It is named after the town of Abingdon to the south. History Part of the road was known as ...

( A4144). Shortly afterwards it is joined on its left bank by Weirs Mill Stream, another branch of the Thames, 2.1 km long, which leaves the river just north of

Donnington Bridge Donnington Bridge is a modern road bridge (completed in 1962) over the River Thames, in the south of the city of Oxford, England. At this point the river is commonly called the Isis. The bridge carries the B4495 road ( Donnington Bridge Road) ...

. Hinksey Stream joins the Thames just above

Kennington Railway Bridge Kennington Railway Bridge is a railway bridge over the River Thames near Kennington, Oxfordshire between Sandford Lock and Iffley Lock. It carries the freight railway branch line that serves the BMW Mini factory at Cowley. The freight railway ...

. The

Thames Path The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from its source near Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 but it only opened in 1996. The ...

crosses Hinksey Stream on a footbridge at this point. A ferry used to operate between Ferry Hinksey Road, off the Botley Road in west Oxford, and North Hinksey, former known as Ferry Hinksey. This ceased operation in 1928 and the two are now linked by bridges. Hinksey Stream is 4.2 km long.

Boundary

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

times Seacourt Stream formed part of the border between

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , y ...

and

Wessex la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...

, and until 1974 it was part of the boundary between

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 Ber ...

and

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, primaril ...

. In the 16th century the stream was known as Shire Lake. Downstream of North Hinksey the boundary between Berkshire and Oxfordshire was Hogacre Stream (or Hogacre Ditch), a branch of Bulstake Stream which runs parallel to Hinksey Stream and joins it after 1.9 km. Between 1889 (when

Grandpont Grandpont is a mainly residential area in south Oxford. It is west of Abingdon Road, and consists mainly of narrow streets that run at right angles to the main road, with terraced late- Victorian and Edwardian houses. It also contains the Grandp ...

and New Hinksey were absorbed into Oxfordshire) and 1974, Hinksey Stream was the boundary south of its confluence with Hogacre Stream.

References

External links

Oxford Area Flood Map
{{authority control Geography of Oxford Rivers of Oxfordshire 0HinkseyStream