Binsey, Oxfordshire

Historical Description

Binsey, a small village and a parish in Oxfordshire. The village stands on the right bank of the Isis, 1¼ mile NNW of Oxford. It was originally called Thorney or Thornbury, from a profusion of thorns around it, and it afterwards took the name of Binsey, signifying the Island of Prayer, from its being a retreat of nuns and a great resort of pilgrims. A rude church was constructed adjacent to it about the year 730 by St Frideswide, and this, together with a reputed holy well, drew crowds of pilgrims for ages, insomuch that 24 inns stood in the neighbourhood for their accommodation. Post town, Oxford, which is the money order and telegraph office; population of the ecclesiastical parish, 73. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Oxford; net yearly value, £71. Patron, Christ Church College, Oxford. The church is an ancient stone building in mixed styles, without a tower.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Church Records

Ancestry.co.uk, in association with Oxfordshire Family History Society and Oxfordshire History Centre, have images of the Parish Registers for Oxfordshire online.

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Binsey from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Binsey (St. Margaret))

Land and Property

A full transcript of the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Oxfordshire is available online

Maps

Online maps of Binsey 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 Oxfordshire newspapers online:

• Oxford Journal
• Banbury Advertiser
• Banbury Guardian
• Oxford University and City Herald
• Oxford Chronicle and Reading Gazette
• Faringdon Advertiser and Vale of the White Horse Gazette
• Oxford Times
• Banbury Beacon
• Ossett Observer

Visitations Heraldic

The Visitations of Oxfordshire, 1566, 1574 &1634 are available on the Heraldry page.