History of Land Use

The main settlement within the parish is established at South Hinksey Village, which has, a church (St Laurence) built in the thirteenth century and a later tower constructed in the 15th century.  There are approximately 150 households.  No shops or post office remain and the one public house (General Eliott) closed at the end of 2008. There are also two light industrial premises comprising a builders yard and a small plant engineering works.

Present and Future Land use 


South Hinksey comprises a range of different land uses. Those located in the area of the Chilswell Environs are shown on the map as an example of habitat biodiversity. Built developments are mainly found in South Hinksey village abutting the Southern by pass but also occur up Hinksey Hill. The area is predominately open countryside and forms part of the green belt to Oxford City. Much of the land in the lower flood plain northeast of the by pass is used as grazing pasture during the summer and is frequently flooded for long periods during the winter months. On the higher slopes southwest of the by pass land formerly used as arable and grazing pasture has in recent years been converted to recreational use as a golf course. A large field of 10 acres abutting Hinksey Hill has recently been sold as amenity land and is currently being converted to a woodland and flower meadow in a conservation scheme. The eastern border to the parish edges onto an extensive area of ancient woodland (Bagley Wood), which includes some plantation forest and is owned and managed by St Johns College, Oxford University. The remaining woodlands in the parish are fragmented into strips running through the stream valleys at Limekiln Copse, Chilswell Valley and just below Harcourt Hill to the west. There are some public allotment gardens in close proximity to a residential caravan area just below the Hinksey Hill interchange over the A34.