Headington was a thriving village from Saxon times to 1928 (see Brief History), but since that time it has been part of the city of Oxford. It is now the largest and busiest suburb of Oxford, starting at the top of Headington Hill and stretching eastwards along the London Road as far as Sandhills. It is dominated by Oxford Brookes University and numerous hospitals, and has a population of about 30,000; yet the countryside is not far away, as this aerial view of the centre of Headington shows:
© Newsquest (Oxfordshire) Ltd; reproduced by permission of the Oxford Mail
The above photograph of central Headington in 1993 shows the London Road running horizontally across the centre from New High Street on the west side (far left) to Stile Road on the east side (far right). Bateman Street is in the foreground; in the background large buildings such as St Andrew’s Church, Headington House, and Bury Knowle House, and the old vicarage can easily be spotted.The row of pink houses beside the church and Emden House can also be distinguished.
The New High Street corner now occupied by Turret House and the Iron Bed Company was just a grassy site. The other large buildings on the London Road – now Peacock’s, Kennett House, Londis, Holyoake Hall, and finally the flat-roofed Co-op – all stand out well.
The picture illustrates well the contrast between the harsh, straight, modern roads of the planned 1850s village of New Headington in the foreground and the gentle curves of the original village behind. It also shows how near the countryside is to the deceptively urban centre of Headington.
The new Barton Park estate will be built in the fields to the north surrounding the electricity substation in the middle. The field to the noth again belongs to Christ Church.
