Holwell is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

about south of

Burford Burford () is a town on the River Windrush, in the Cotswold hills, in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is often referred to as the 'gateway' to the Cotswolds. Burford is located west of Oxford and southeast of Che ...

West Oxfordshire West Oxfordshire is a local government district in northwest Oxfordshire, England, including towns such as Woodstock, Burford, Chipping Norton, Charlbury, Carterton and Witney, where the council is based. Area The area is mainly rural downland ...

. The 2001 Census recorded the parish's population as 17.

History

During the time that

Robert de Chesney Robert de Chesney (died December 1166) was a medieval English Bishop of Lincoln. He was the brother of an important royal official, William de Chesney, and the uncle of Gilbert Foliot, successively Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London. Educat ...

was

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and ...

(1148–66), land at Holwell was given to the Cistercian Abbey at

Bruern Bruern or Bruern Abbey is a hamlet and civil parish on the River Evenlode about north of Burford in West Oxfordshire. The 2001 Census recorded the parish population as 62. Cistercian Abbey In 1147 Nicholas Basset founded a Cistercian Abbey ...

. The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary was built in the 13th century. It was rebuilt in 1842 and again in 1895. The latter rebuilding was designed by the architect Walter Mills of

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshir ...

, using a Gothic Revival interpretation of Perpendicular Gothic. St Mary's parish is now part of the Benefice of Shill Valley and Broadshire, which includes also the parishes of Alvescot,

Black Bourton Black Bourton is a village and civil parish about south of Carterton, Oxfordshire. The village is on Black Bourton Brook, a tributary of the River Thames. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 266. RAF Brize Norton adjoins the par ...

, Broadwell, Broughton Poggs,

Filkins ''For people with the surname, see Filkins (surname).'' Filkins is a village in the civil parish of Filkins and Broughton Poggs, about southwest of Carterton in Oxfordshire. Church and chapel Church of England The Gothic Revival architect ...

Kelmscott Kelmscott is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in West Oxfordshire, about east of Lechlade in neighbouring Gloucestershire. Since 2001 it has absorbed Little Faringdon, which had been a separate civil parish. The 2011 Census reco ...

, Kencot, Langford,

Little Faringdon Little Faringdon is a village and civil parish in West Oxfordshire, about north of Lechlade in neighbouring Gloucestershire. The 2001 Census recorded its population as 63. Manor In the late Anglo-Saxon era Little Faringdon was part of a larg ...

Shilton Shilton may refer to: Places *Shilton, Oxfordshire, England *Shilton, Warwickshire, England **Shilton railway station, a former station Other *Shilton (surname) *Earl Shilton, a town in Leicestershire, England *Chilton (disambiguation) *Shelton ( ...

and Westwell.

Attractions

The

Cotswold Wildlife Park The Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens exhibits over 260 different species of animals. The park is set in of landscaped parkland and gardens 2 miles south of Burford, on the A361, Oxfordshire, England. Around 350,000 people visited the park in 2 ...

is within the ecclesiastical parish of Holwell, and the bordering civil parish of Broadwell.

References

Sources and further reading

* * *

External links

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