Harpsden, Oxfordshire

Historical Description

Harpsden, a village and a parish in the county and diocese of Oxford, 1 mile from Henley station on the G.W.R. Post town and money order and telegraph office, Henley-on-Thames. Acreage, 2021; population, 244. The manor belonged formerly to the Harpsdens, and passed from them to the Fosters and Halls, and it now belongs to the Hodges of Bolney Court on the Thames. This was formerly a country house belonging to the Abbey of Westminster, with chapel and graveyard attached, but no part of the old buildings now remains. The manor-house, Harpsden Court, adjoining the church, though much diminished in size, is still of considerable extent, and contains some good panelled rooms; it dates from three or four centuries back. The living is a rectory in the gift of All Souls' College, Oxford. The church, dedicated to St Margaret, is of flint and stone, and dates from the 12th century; it has a Norman font and doorway, besides a crusader's tomb and some good brasses; the tower, N aisle, and vestry were added in 1848-54, when the nave was also lengthened.

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.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Harpsden from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Harpsden (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 Harpsden 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.