Shotover, Oxfordshire
Historical Description
Shotover, formerly an extra-parochial tract, afterwards a parish, but which was included in 1883 in the parish of Forest Hill, Oxfordshire. The name, according to some authorities, is a corruption of the words, " Chateau Vert." It is 1½ mile W from Wheatley station on the Wycombe, Thame, and Oxford branch of the G.W.R., and 4½ miles E from Oxford. Acreage, with Forest Hill, 1979; population, 343. Shotover House is a chief residence. Shotover Hill was long a royal forest, was given to Dr. Strutt, physician to George III., passed to the Drurys, was the scene of Queen Elizabeth's meeting with the authorities of Oxford on occasion of her visiting that city, was under charge of an ancestor of the poet Milton in capacity of ranger, is associated with the event of Milton's first marriage, and with the residence of Mickle the translator of the " Lusiad." It possesses great interest for both botanists and geologists, rises to the height of 599 feet, and commands a fine view of Oxford.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Oxfordshire | |
| Hundred | Bullingdon | |
| Poor Law union | Headington |
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 Shotover from the following:
Land and Property
A full transcript of the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Oxfordshire is available online
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.