Chilswell
| Chilswell | |
| Berkshire | |
|---|---|
 Chiswell Valley | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SP488034 |
| Location: | 51°43’40"N, 1°17’38"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Oxford |
| Postcode: | OX1 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Vale of White Horse |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Oxford West and Abingdon |
Chilswell is a hamlet in the parish of Cumnor in Berkshire. It lies between South Hinksey and Boars Hill.
The place was first mentioned in 1180 as Chiefleswelle. The name is of Old English origin, and appears to mean 'Cifel's stream' after an otherwise unknown landowner of a past age.[1] An older form of the name is Childsworth, and the place is mentioned by that name in the poem Thyrsis by Matthew Arnold. Arnold's "signal elm" is in a field nearby, bought by the Oxford Preservation Trust from All Souls College, Oxford in 2009.[2]
The remains of a Roman villa have been found nearby.[3]
Chilswell House, on the edge of Boars Hill, was once the home of the poet Robert Bridges.[4]
Chiswell Valley
Chilswell Valley (also known as 'Happy Valley'), between Chilswell and South Hinksey, is a nature reserve managed by Oxford City Council.[5]
References
- ↑ Gelling, M. (1974) Place-Names of Berkshire p.446
- ↑ Oxford Preservation Trust
- ↑ Oxoniensia Vol.51 (1986) p.186
- ↑ Poetry Landmarks website
- ↑ "Countryside and Nature Reserves". Oxford City Council. http://www.oxford.gov.uk/PageRender/decLP/Nature_Reserves_occw.htm. Retrieved 12 July 2014.