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Botley is a residential area in the
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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
of Botley and North Hinksey, in the
Vale of White Horse The Vale of White Horse is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district of Oxfordshire in England. It Historic counties of England, was historically part of Berkshire. The area is commonly referred to as the 'Vale of ''the'' White Hors ...
district, in the county of
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
, England, just west of the
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
city boundary. Historically part of
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
, it stands on the Seacourt Stream, a stream running off 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, s ...
. The intersection of the A34 and A420 is to the village's north.


Topography

Botley, aside from central offices and a commercial square, is a residential
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
of Oxford. Generally, house prices are above average for the Oxford area, from average in its east (similar to much of Dean Court), to very expensive towards where the settlement adjoins
Cumnor Hill Cumnor Hill is a hill in the civil parish of Cumnor, to the west of (but not within) the city of Oxford, in the English county of Oxfordshire. In 1974 it was transferred from Berkshire. It is also the name of the ribbon development between th ...
, in its south. It lies, apart from a small section which is southeast, southwest of the junction between 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 traf ...
) and the A420 westward to
Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...
. The contiguous neighbourhood Dean Court adjoins Botley to its west, in the Cumnor civil parish. The other settlements which merge into this settlement are North Hinksey and Cumnor Hill.Grid square map
Ordnance survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...
website
Elevations range from 56m on the Hinksey Stream marking much of the eastern border to the western border which ranges from 80 to 120m AOD from north to south. The southern point is a border of Cumnor Hill and adjoins Matthew Arnold School.


Landmarks and economy

Botley shops comprise Elms Parade and the West Way shopping precinct. The various large office buildings along the main road include Seacourt Tower, known locally as "Botley Cathedral" owing to its small metal spire, originally built in 1965–66 as a car showroom and garage to a design by Beecher and Stamford. It remains in the ownership of Hartwell Ford.


Religion

Botley's Church of England church of St Peter and St Paul on West Way, built in 1958, is one of four in its
benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
which reaches outside the historic
ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
to include St Frideswide's Church, Oxford, St Lawrence's Church, North Hinksey and St. Margaret of Antioch, Binsey. Other Christian churches in Botley include Calvery Chapel and Roman Catholic Church, the oldest being Botley Baptist established in 1890.


History

Botley was first settled in the Saxon era. Its
toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...
comes from the
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
, meaning a woodland clearing of a man called Bota. It has since fallen within the
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
of
North Hinksey North Hinksey is a village in the civil parish of Botley and North Hinksey, in the Vale of White Horse district, in Oxfordshire, England, on the west side of the Thames flood plain immediately opposite the city of Oxford. The civil parish incl ...
, and so was historically in the county of
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
, as marked in its northern half by the
Vale of White Horse The Vale of White Horse is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district of Oxfordshire in England. It Historic counties of England, was historically part of Berkshire. The area is commonly referred to as the 'Vale of ''the'' White Hors ...
district boundary on the map. Because the main road west out of Oxford has passed through Botley since the 16th century, development since then was centred here rather than in the village of North Hinksey itself, slightly further southeast. From the 1880s, the centre of the village began to be called Old Botley, in distinction to the New Botley development along Botley Road in Oxford. The name Old Botley is preserved in a street set back from the main road. The major development which began in the 1930s took place to the west, beyond the current ring road. To the north of Botley was the lost village of Seacourt. The site of the former village is in neighbouring
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 ...
parish, but it is commemorated in Botley in the names of Seacourt Tower, Seacourt Hall and the Seacourt Bridge
public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
.


Localities


New Botley

A
park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...
site is closest to Botley itself in the much narrower New Botley which is confined by low-lying playing fields, an allotment site and river meadows on the north and south sides. Immediately east is the seven arches bridge, which is listed. To the north side of that section is a
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
driving range and on the south side, the large Osney Mead industrial estate.


Famous inhabitants

* Guy Browning, humorist, grew up in BotleyBrowning, ''Maps of my life'' (London: Square Peg, 2008), chapters 7 and 9. * Oswald Rayner, MI6 agent and journalist


References


Sources

* *


External links


Oxfordshire Heritage Photo: Seacourt Tower
{{authority control Areas of Oxford Housing estates in Oxfordshire Villages in Oxfordshire Vale of White Horse