Ferry Hinksey Road is a road in west

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 ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, leading south from the

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 to ...

. The road leads to the Osney Mead Industrial Estate to the east, started in 1961. To the east is

Osney Ditch The Osney Ditch is a side channel of the River Thames at Oxford, England. It is one of the principal watercourses in west Oxford. The ditch leaves Bulstake Stream just east of Binsey Lane and then rejoins the main stream of the Thames south of ...

History

The road is named after the village of

Ferry 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 ...

, now known as

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 ...

, on the other side of

Hinksey Stream Hinksey Stream is a branch of the River Thames to the west of the city of Oxford, England. It starts as Seacourt Stream (also known as Wytham Stream), which leaves the Thames at a bifurcation north of the village of Wytham, and rejoins the riv ...

, one of the branches 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, s ...

in Oxford. There was once a punt ferry that operated over Bulstake Stream. The most notable path between Oxford and North Hinksey, a continuation of Ferry Hinksey Road, is a metalled

bridleway A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider ...

and

cycle track A cycle track or cycleway (''British'') or bikeway (''mainly North American''), sometimes historically referred to as a sidepath, is a separate route for cycles and not motor vehicles. In some cases cycle tracks are also used by other users such ...

, variously known as Willow Walk and Ruskin's Ride. The latter is named after

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

(1819–1900) who used to pass this way between Ferry Hinksey and Oxford, where he was the first

Slade Professor of Fine Art The Slade Professorship of Fine Art is the oldest professorship of art and art history at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and University College, London. History The chairs were founded concurrently in 1869 by a bequest from the art collect ...

from 1869. The path was originally built in 1876–77 by Aubrey Harcourt (1852–1904), a major local landowner, but was not made open to the public until 1922. There is also a smaller unmade path which begins alongside the large back garden of The Fishes and crosses Hinksey Stream by a bridge at the site of the old ferry, which linked Ferry Hinksey with Oxford. The ferry ceased operation in 1928. The various streams are now crossed by small bridges. A 'Ferry Cottage' still remains. A poem called ''Ferry Hinksey'' by

Laurence Binyon Robert Laurence Binyon, Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (10 August 1869 – 10 March 1943) was an English poet, dramatist and art scholar. Born in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, England, his parents were Frederick Binyon, ...

(1869–1943) describes the bucolic nature of the area before Osney Mead Industrial Estate was developed.

Buildings and companies

Arup Associates Arup Group Limited, trading as Arup, is a British multinational professional services firm headquartered in London that provides design, engineering, architecture, planning, and advisory services across every aspect of the built environment. ...

designed the building for the ''

Oxford Mail ''Oxford Mail'' is a daily tabloid newspaper in Oxford, England, owned by Newsquest. It is published six days a week. It is a sister paper to the weekly tabloid ''The Oxford Times''. History The ''Oxford Mail'' was founded in 1928 by MP Fra ...

'' and ''

Times Time is the continued sequence of existence and events, and a fundamental quantity of measuring systems. Time or times may also refer to: Temporal measurement * Time in physics, defined by its measurement * Time standard, civil time specificat ...

'' in 1970–2. West Oxford Community Primary School, formerly West Oxford First School, is also located here.

Holywell Press Holywell Press Ltd is a family printing and publishing company based in Oxford, England. The firm was established in 1890 by Harry Burrows and Thomas Doe. A major customer has been the University of Oxford, including publication of the universit ...

moved to Ferry Hinksey Road in 1989. Oxford Open Learning, a

distance learning Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

company, is at King's Meadow off Ferry Hinksey Road.

Gallery

File:Ferry Hinksey Road - geograph.org.uk - 1102672.jpg, View of Ferry Hinksey Road File:Footpath and Cycleway to North Hinksey - geograph.org.uk - 854706.jpg, Footpath and cycleway to

off Ferry Hinksey Road File:Bridge over the ditch - geograph.org.uk - 1102463.jpg, Bridge off Ferry Hinksey Road to the right File:More of the substation - geograph.org.uk - 1102794.jpg, The large

electrical substation A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. Between the generating station an ...

on Ferry Hinksey Road File:Pollarded willows - geograph.org.uk - 1103301.jpg,

Pollarded Pollarding is a pruning system involving the removal of the upper branches of a tree, which promotes the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches. In ancient Rome, Propertius mentioned pollarding during the 1st century BCE. The practice h ...

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

trees along the edge of the

playing field Play is a range of Motivation#Intrinsic and extrinsic, intrinsically motivated activities done for recreation. Play is commonly associated with children and juvenile-level activities, but may be engaged in at any life stage, and among other high ...

s by Ferry Hinksey Road File:Sports field in the gloom - geograph.org.uk - 1103291.jpg,

Sports field A pitch or a sports ground is an outdoor playing area for various sports. The term ''pitch'' is most commonly used in British English, while the comparable term in Australian, American and Canadian English is playing field or sports field. For mo ...

off Ferry Hinksey Road File:Ferry Hinksey School - geograph.org.uk - 1102684.jpg, View of West Oxford Community Primary School File:Ruskin Crew Roadbuilders Ferry Hinksey Oxford.jpg, Ferry Hinksey late 1800s

References

Streets in Oxford {{England-road-stub

History

Buildings and companies

Gallery

See also

References