The Street Names of Headington
When the three villages of Headington were absorbed into the City of Oxford in 1929, the consequent duplication of street names proved a problem. For instance, the name Church Street existed not only in Old and in New Headington, but also in other attached villages such as Cowley, Iffley, Marston, New Hinksey, and Summertown, as well as St Ebbe’s in central Oxford.
It was not until 1942, however, that anything was done to remedy the situation. In that year the three village high streets of Old Headington, New Headington, and Quarry were respectively renamed Old High Street, New High Street, and Quarry High Street: this prevented them from being confused with each other and with the High Streets in St Thomas, St Clement’s, and central Oxford. The other duplications between Headington and Oxford were not dealt with until 1959 (with the Headington name being changed in every single case, even when it had been around longer!).
In order to trace the history of a house through directories, maps, and old documents, it is of course vital to know the original name of the street.
| Present Name | Former Name | To avoid confusion with |
| Bateman Street | East Street, New Headington | East Street, Osney |
| Dunstan Road | Cemetery Road, Old Headington | [Unappealing name] |
| Gardiner Street | South Street, New Headington | South Street, Osney |
| Gathorne Road | Alexandra Road, New Headington | Alexandra Road, Osney |
| Gladstone Road | Elms Road | Elms Road, Botley |
| Holyoake Road | Western Road, New Headington | Western Road, Grandpont |
| Kennett Road | New Road, New Headington | New Road, Central Oxford |
| Larkin’s Lane | Church Lane, Old Headington | Numerous Church Streets/Lanes |
| New High Street | High Street, New Headington | Numerous High Streets |
| Old High Street | High Street, Old Headington | Numerous High Streets |
| Osler Road | Manor Road, Old Headington* | Manor Road, Central Oxford |
| Perrin Street | Church Street, New Headington | Numerous Church Streets/Lanes |
| Piper Street | Cross Street, New Headington | Cross Street, St Clement’s |
| Quarry High Street | High Street, Headington Quarry | Numerous High Streets |
| Quarry Hollow | St Mary’s Road, Headington Quarry | St Mary’s Road, East Oxford |
| St Andrew’s Lane | Church Lane, Old Headington | Numerous Church Streets/Lanes |
| St Andrew’s Road | Church Street, Old Headington | Numerous Church Streets/Lanes |
| St Leonard’s Road | Southern Road, New Headington | [Vague name] |
| Wilberforce Street | William Street, New Headington | William Street, New Marston |
* Before the Lords of the Manor moved
to a new Manor House
in
Headington in 1801, it was known as Sandy Lane
Whereas the old street names tended to be descriptive and sometimes rather banal, the new ones often commemorated local families. Big landowners such as the Latimers of Headington House, the Finches of the Rookery, the Mathers of Mather’s Farm, the Morrells of Headington Hill Hall, the Whartons of Headington Lodge, the Burrows of Southfield Farm, and the Fortnams, Holleys, and Franklins are remembered in Latimer Road, Finch Close, Mather Road, Morrell Avenue, Wharton Road, Franklin Road, Holley Crescent, Burrows Close, and Fortnam Close. But equally honoured are the families that were employed by them as servants and agricultural labourers: hence Bateman Street, Bushnell Close, Cooper Place, Coppock Close, Gardiner Street, Gurden Place, Hedges Close, and Trafford Road. Horwood Close is named after the Headington man who built it, leaving the Whorwoods who were Lords of the Manor of Headington from 1613 to 1849 unremembered; yet other shorter-lived Lords of the Manor are remembered in Brome Place, Wilcote Road, Peppercorn Avenue, and Bassett Road. Ethelred Close was named after King Ethelred, Headington’s earliest known inhabitant, while the adjacent Dunstan Road recalls St Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury who helped to get him on the throne. Weyland Road was named after Captain Mark Ulick Weyland, Chairman of the shortlived (1927/8) Headington Rural District Council; it seems likely that Mark Road was also named after him.
Other roads remember worthy individuals with Headington connections: for example Osler Road and Perrin Street, which were named after Sir William Osler and Canon Perrin; while fifteenth-century Headington quarrymen, whose names are preserved in the accounts of Merton College, were dug up for Norton Close, Piper Street and Kennett Road. A famous orthopaedic surgeon, Gathorne Girdlestone, provided names for both Gathorne Road and Girdlestone Road (although he would probably not have been pleased, as he refused to allow the Wingfield Hospital to bear his name). Dr J. S. Stansfeld, who founded what is now the Stansfeld Field Study Centre on the corner of Quarry Road, is unfortunate in having his name mis-spelt in both Stansfield Close and Stansfield Place. A recent informal trend is to use the person’s full name: examples are Cecil Sharp Place and William Kimber Crescent, which recall the famous meeting in Headington which led to the revival of English morris-dancing; John Snow Place, named after a well-known local mason in the nineteenth century, Douglas Downes Close, named after an Oxford economics tutor who went on the roads during the depression to help the homeless; and William Orchard Close, named after the architect of Magdalen College chapel and cloister, who died in 1504.
Many names on newer estates are based on a theme. Hence to the north-east of the London Road there is a forest of trees in Ash Grove, Beech Road, Blackthorn Close, Chestnut Avenue, and Hawthorn Avenue. To the north-west is the "lake district", with Ambleside Road, Bowness Avenue, Coniston Avenue, and Derwent Avenue.
The Gipsy Lane estate boasts no fewer than five Oxford MPs: Cardwell Crescent (Edward Cardwell, Liberal MP 1853–1874); Grays Road (Frank Gray, Liberal MP in the 1920s and founder of the Oxford Mail); Harcourt Terrace (Sir William Harcourt, Liberal MP 1868–1880); Stonor Place (Thomas Stonor, a Roman Catholic Whig MP in the 1830s); and Valentia Road (Viscount Valentia, Conservative MP 1895–1917).
Famous prime ministers appear in Gladstone Road and Pitts Road (although some prefer to believe that the latter name had more to do with the nearby quarries). Sir Thomas Stapleton (Tory MP for Oxford, 1759–1761) lends his name to Stapleton Road; while Bickerton Road commemorates Joseph Jones Bickerton, a well-known Oxford Town Clerk and Liberal councillor who died in 1894 and who had purchased some of the land of the former Highfield Farm.
Oxford Mayors are well represented in Headington by Fettiplace Road, Alden Crescent, Atkinson Close, Burchester Avenue, and Underhill Circus in Barton;Chillingworth Crescent and Pauling Road in Wood Farm; Dora Carr Close and Ingle Close in Northway; and Franklin Road, Flexney Place, and Langley Close, and probably Roberts Close .
The Wood Farm estate occupies the site of the former farm of that name; Pether Road is named after its nineteenth-century-farmer; and Nuffield Road commemorates that farmer’s grandson, William Morris, who lived in this part of Headington as a child. Leiden Road is named after Oxford’s Dutch twin. Titup Hall Drive is named after Titup Hall, which used to be on the site of the Crown & Thistle.
Some road names have obvious explanations. Holyoake Road is named after the nearby Holyoake Dance Hall (now a snooker club); Stile Road crosses the point where there was a stile on the old diagonal footpath from Quarry; and Nursery Close and Mattock Close were built on the former Ryman’s and Mattock’s nurseries. Even Brookside used to be an obvious name – until the adjoining Boundary Brook was diverted underground. Others streets are named after old Headington field names, such as Sandfield Road, Highfield Avenue, and Southfield Road, while Bulan Road and Dene Road share the name of a field called Bulandene. Lewis Close in Risinghurst is named after C.S. Lewis, whose former home stands at the end of that road, Henry Taunt Close in Barton is named after the famous Oxford photographer; and Acland Close after the well-known Oxford doctor.
Other names defy categorization. Why is Cinnaminta Road named after a beautiful gipsy girl whose family used to camp in Cowley, or Coolidge Close after an American Fellow of Magdalen who was an authority on the Alps? Why was it thought appropriate to name Weyland Road after an MP who graduated from Christ Church in 1792 and wrote on the Poor Laws, or Waynflete Road after an Oxford benefactor who died in 1486? And was the Margaret of Margaret Road really Margaret of Anjou, and if so, why was it named after a fifteenth-century English queen? And can anyone explain Binswood, Bracegirdle, Calcot, Lyndworth, Palmer,Rede, or Staunton?