South Hinksey, Berkshire
Historical Description
Hinksey, South, a village and a parish in Berks. The village stands near the G.W.R., 1 mile SW from Oxford. The parish comprises 897 acres, of which 781 are in Berks and 116 in Oxfordshire; population, 181, or including that portion which is contained in the administrative county borough of Oxford, 1192; of the ecclesiastical parish, 1181. A new village, called New Hinksey, half a mile distant from the old one, which arose in consequence of the opening of the Oxford station, was transferred in 1889 to the city of Oxford, and has a post office under Oxford; money order and telegraph office, Oxford. The Happy Valley, near the old village, affords a charming walk, and was much loved by Dr. Arnold. The view of Oxford, by Turner, was taken from a hill between the villages of South Hinksey and North Hinksey. The conduit built by Otho Nicholson of Christ Church in 1617 to supply Oxford with water, is in the hill-fields above the villages. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Oxford; net value, £88 with residence. Patron, the Earl of Abingdon's trustees, who are also the lords of the manor. The church, dedicated to St Lawrence, is an ancient building of stone dating partly from the 13th and partly from the 14th centuries. John Piers, Archbishop of York, was a native.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Berkshire | |
| Ecclesiastical parish | South Hinksey St. John | |
| Hundred | Hormer | |
| Poor Law union | Abingdon |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1669, the pages relating to burials up to the year 1693 being missing.
Churches
Church of England
St. Lawrence (parish church)
The church of St. Lawrence is a building of stone partly of the 13th and partly of the 14th century, consisting of chancel, nave, north porch and a western tower, with plain parapet, containing 3 bells, two of which are cracked; on the smallest is the inscription, "Vox Augustini sonet in aure Dei," on the second, "Sancta Margareta ora pro nobis:" the nave has a good plain open-timbered roof; the chancel is divided from the nave by a small and low arch, not more than 6ft. 5in. in width, and there are traces of a rood loft, the stairs to which still remain; the chancel windows were altered and enlarged early in the 18th century; in the south wall is a curious double piscina, and there is one memorial window: the church affords 120 sittings: in the churchyard are the remains of a cross, presumably of the 15th century.
Civil Registration
South Hinksey was in Abingdon Registration District from 1837 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for South Hinksey from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Hinksey, South (St. John))
- Kelly's Directory of Berkshire, 1915
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Berkshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of South Hinksey are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Berkshire papers online:
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitations of Berkshire 1532, 1566, and 1665-6 is available online.