- Osney
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Coordinates: 51°45′07″N 1°16′26″W / 51.752°N 1.274°W
Osney 
Osney Island viewed from Osney Bridge
Osney
Osney shown within OxfordshireOS grid reference SP502060 Parish unparished District Oxford Shire county Oxfordshire Region South East Country England Sovereign state United Kingdom Post town Oxford Postcode district OX1 Dialling code 01865 Police Thames Valley Fire Oxfordshire Ambulance South Central EU Parliament South East England UK Parliament Oxford West and Abingdon Website Oxford City Council List of places: UK • England • Oxfordshire Osney, Osney Island, or Osney Town (pronounced /ˈoʊzni/; an earlier spelling of the name is Oseney) is a riverside community in the west of the city of Oxford, England. It is located off the Botley Road, just west of the city's main railway station, on an island surrounded by the River Thames, known in Oxford as the Isis. Osney is part of the city council ward of Jericho and Osney. Established during the Middle Ages, the place plays a minor but significant role in The Miller's Tale in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.[1]
Contents
History
The name of Osney is Old English, and means either "island in the Ouse" (possibly an old name for the Thames)[2] or "Osa's Island".[3] Until the early 20th century the name was applied to the island formed by two streams of the River Thames immediately west of the centre of Oxford, Castle Mill Stream and the stream which is now the main channel of the river.[4] To the north the island is bounded by a short channel between the River Thames and the Castle Mill Stream, the Sheepwash Channel, which separates it from Fiddler's Island.
Osney Abbey was founded on the south part of the island in 1129, and Rewley Abbey was founded in the north of the island in 1280. Osney Mill was established by Osney Abbey on the west side of the island. The lands of both abbeys passed to Christ Church following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538.[5] The island formed part of St. Thomas's parish.
In 1790 the mill stream feeding Osney Mill on the west side of the island became the main navigation channel of the river, when Osney Lock was opened.[6]
Until the beginning of the 19th century, only the side of the island east of St Thomas's Church was developed. In the 19th century the island changed significantly. The Great Western Railway built its line across the island from north to south in 1850, with new bridges across the Thames at the south end of the island, and across the Sheepwash Channel to the north. A new railway station was opened on the island 2 years later. In 1851 the Buckinghamshire Railway opened its line from the north across Sheepwash Channel to its Rewley Road station next to the GWR station. To house railway workers Osney Town was laid out in 1851 by George P. Hester, on an island west of Osney leased by Hester from Christ Church. In the 1860s New Osney was developed around Mill Street, south of Botley Road between the railway and the river. The Cripley estate, north of Botley Road, was laid out in 1878.[7] Osney Cemetery was opened in 1848 in the south of the island.
Modern Osney
The name Osney is today usually applied to Osney Town. Most of Osney's two hundred-odd households live in 19th century terraced cottages built on Hester's original grid, although there are a number of newer buildings on Bridge and West Streets, as well as a few significantly larger houses scattered throughout the island.
The island presently has two public houses, The Punter and The Hollybush. A Working Men's Club and Institute Union affiliate, the West Oxford Democrats Club, also has premises on the island.
New Osney
The name Osney is no longer applied to the island which historically bore the name. The part of the island east of the railway is now usually called St Thomas. The name survives on the island in New Osney, Osney Lane, Osney Cemetery, Osney Mill and Osney Marina. Osney Bridge carries the Botley Road (A420) west from the historic Osney island. Osney Lock was constructed in the river in 1790, between the island then known as Osney and the island now known as Osney.
Osney Mead
From 1961 an industrial estate, named Osney Mead in 1966, was developed on meadowland between Osney and Bulstake Stream, to the east of Ferry Hinksey Road.[8] The estate was initially intended to relocate badly sited existing local businesses.[9] Organisations based there include publishers Alden Mowbray and Oxford Community Church, the latter occupying a building on the estate formerly used by Oxford Instruments.
Newspaper House was designed by Arup Associates with mostly open plan Bürolandschaft offices and built 1970–72.[10] It is the Oxfordshire headquarters of Newsquest which publishes local tabloid newspapers including the weekly The Oxford Times and daily Oxford Mail.
References
- ^ Canterbury Tales Miller's Tale, Chapter 4, line 88
- ^ Hibbert, C. (ed) (1988) Encyclopedia of Oxford Macmillan ISBN 0 333 48614 5, s.v. Osney
- ^ Marriott, Paul (1977). Oxford Street Names Explained. ISBN 0 9505730 1 9.
- ^ VCH vol.4 Outlying parts of the liberty
- ^ VCH vol. 4 Sites and Remains of Religious Houses
- ^ VCH vol. 4 Communications:Rivers and river navigation
- ^ VCH vol. 4 Modern Oxford: Development of the city
- ^ Ann Spokes Symonds; Nigel Morgan (2010). The Origins of Oxford Street Names. p. 166. ISBN 978 1 899536 99 3.
- ^ Modern Oxford: Economic History after 1918, Volume 4, Victoria County History.
- ^ Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, pages 334-335
Sources
- Crossley, Alan; Elrington, C.R. (eds.); Chance, Eleanor; Colvin, Christina; Cooper, Janet; Day, C.J.; Hassall, T.G.; Selwyn, Nesta (1979). A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 4. Victoria County History. (VCH)
- Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). Oxfordshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 334–335. ISBN 0 14 071045 0.
External links
See also
- Osney Abbey
- Osney Bridge (1885)
- Osney Cemetery (1848)
- Osney Footbridge
- Osney Rail Bridge
- Osney Lock
- Osney Marina
- Osney Mill
Next island upstream River Thames Next island downstream Fiddler's Island Osney Island Rose Isle Wards, suburbs,
neighbourhoods
and districtsBarton • Binsey • Cowley (Florence Park, Temple Cowley) • Cutteslowe • Donnington • Godstow • Grandpont • Headington (Headington Hill, New Headington, Old Headington) • Holywell • Iffley • Jericho • New Botley • New Hinksey • New Marston • Norham Manor • North Oxford (Central North Oxford, Park Town) • Northway • Osney • Port Meadow • St Clement's • St. Ebbes • St John Street area • St. Thomas' (Oxpens) •Science Area • Summertown • Sunnymead • Walton Manor • Wolvercote • Waterways
Civil parishes Blackbird Leys (Greater Leys) • Littlemore (Rose Hill) • Marston • Risinghurst and Sandhills (Risinghurst, Sandhills, Barton, Headington Quarry, Wood Farm)Former district
and boroughFormer
constituenciesCategories:- Districts of Oxford
- Islands of the River Thames
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