Binsey, Oxfordshire

{{Short description|Village in Oxfordshire, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}} {{Use British English|date=August 2015}} {{infobox UK place |official_name= Binsey |static_image_name=Binsey church oxford uk.jpg |static_image_width= |static_image_caption= Parish church of Saint Margaret |coordinates = {{coord|51.770|-1.295|display=inline,title}} |label_position= left |os_grid_reference= SP4907 |population= |population_ref= |civil_parish= |shire_district= [[Oxford]] |shire_county= [[Oxfordshire]] |region= South East England |country= England |post_town= [[Oxford]] |postcode_district= OX2 |postcode_area= OX |dial_code= 01865 |constituency_westminster= [[Oxford West and Abingdon (UK Parliament constituency)|Oxford West and Abingdon]] |website= }}

'''Binsey''' is a small village on the west side of [[Oxford]], in [[Oxfordshire]], England. It lies on the banks of the [[River Thames]] about {{convert|1.5|mi|km}} northwest of the centre of Oxford, on the opposite side of the river from [[Port Meadow, Oxford|Port Meadow]] and about {{convert|1|mi|km}} southwest of the ruins of [[Godstow]] Abbey.

==History== The village and its associated farmland belonged to [[St Frideswide's Priory]] during the 14th and 15th centuries, until the priory's [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|dissolution]] and apparent incorporation into [[Christ Church, Oxford|Christ Church]], a college of [[University of Oxford|Oxford University]], which now owns all of the buildings in Binsey, save one.<ref>[http://archive.theoxfordtimes.net/2002/10/10/32816.html "U-turn over pub pleases villagers", ''Oxford Times'' (10 October 2002)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100307074545/http://archive.theoxfordtimes.net/2002/10/10/32816.html |date=7 March 2010 }}</ref> Plans in 2001 by Christ Church to double the size of the village by demolishing a barn and constructing seven new residences were met with worldwide protests, leading to withdrawal of the proposal.<ref name = OT103/>

Binsey was sometimes deemed part of Oxford from the Middle Ages. It was settled as being within the city's boundaries from at least 1800.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Crossley |first1=Alan |last2=Elrington |first2=C. R. |title=A History of the County of Oxford |date=1979 |publisher=Victoria County History |location=London |pages=260–264 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/oxon/vol4/pp260-264 |access-date=24 September 2023}}</ref> It remained a separate [[civil parish]] until 1926, but as an [[urban parish]] it had no parish council of its own, being administered by the city council direct. In 1921 the parish had a population of 63.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10319079/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Binsey AP/CP through time|publisher=[[A Vision of Britain through Time]]|accessdate=18 August 2023}}</ref> On 1 April 1926 the parish was abolished and merged with the parish of St Giles and St John, which in turn was abolished in 1933 when all the civil parishes within the city were united into a single parish of Oxford.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/abingdon.html|title=Abingdon Registration District|publisher=UKBMD|accessdate=18 August 2023}}</ref>

===Church of St Margaret=== Binsey's most noted feature is the [[Church of England parish church|parish church]] of [[Saint Margaret the Virgin|St Margaret]], set at some distance north of the surviving houses. It dates from the 12th century and is a Grade I [[Listed Building]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://osneybenefice.org.uk/node/4/|title = Osney Benefice, Oxford}}</ref><ref>{{NHLE|num=1047335|desc=Church of St Margaret|access-date=9 August 2020}}</ref> Its fame lies mostly in that just outside its west end and belltower stands St Margaret's Well, a Grade II [[Listed Building]],<ref>{{NHLE|num=1369348|desc=St Margarets Well with arch and steps|fewer-links=yes|access-date=9 August 2020}}</ref> which is the model for [[Lewis Carroll]]'s "Treacle Well" from [[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]; this is a holy well dedicated to [[Frideswide|St Frideswide]], patron saint of [[Oxford]]. According to legend, she fled to Binsey in a bid to escape marriage to a king of [[Mercia]], whose pursuit of her was halted when he was struck blind at the gates of Oxford. Frideswide's prayers brought forth a healing spring, whose waters cured his blindness, and the spring was walled into a shallow [[holy well|well which became a focus for pilgrimage]], the mediaeval sense of the word "[[treacle]]" meaning "healing unguent". The well became a pilgrimage site in mediaeval times.<ref name=OT103>At least one pilgrimage still takes place annually: in 2018 the pilgrimage is on Thursday 19 July (the Eve of the Feast of St Margaret) (https://www.osneybenefice.org.uk/events/updated-pilgrimage-holy-well-and-church-st-margaret-antioch). [https://archive.today/20070420111329/http://archive.theoxfordtimes.net/2001/10/3/53431.html "Binsey beats off new homes bid", ''Oxford Times'', (3 October 2001)]</ref>

The reason for the apparent separation of church and village is revealed best from the air; [[cropmarks]] show the floor-plans of houses that lay along the straight road that runs between them, suggesting a much larger village during the mediaeval period, or possibly one that has migrated south.

==Architecture== Binsey features a total of nine listed buildings. As well as St Margaret's Church and St Margaret's Well, they are: * Medley Manor Farmhouse<ref>{{NHLE|num=1047336|desc=Medley Manor Farmhouse, including doorway in garden wall|fewer-links=yes|access-date=9 August 2020}}</ref> * Manor Farm Cottage<ref>{{NHLE|num=1047377|desc=Manor Farm Cottage (40 yards to west of Perch Inn)|fewer-links=yes|access-date=9 August 2020}}</ref> * Manor Farm House<ref>{{NHLE|num=1369326|desc=Manor Farmhouse|fewer-links=yes|access-date=9 August 2020}}</ref> * The Limes (known locally as Great Leys)<ref>{{NHLE|num=1047376|desc=The Limes|fewer-links=yes|access-date=9 August 2020}}</ref> * Barn at Manor Farm<ref>{{NHLE|num=1047334|desc=Barn to west of Manor Farm Cottage and adjoining it|fewer-links=yes|access-date=9 August 2020}}</ref> * The Thatched Cottage<ref>{{NHLE|num=1369347|desc=The Thatched Cottage|fewer-links=yes|access-date=9 August 2020}}</ref> *[[The Perch (Binsey)|Perch Inn]]<ref>{{NHLE|num=1185191|desc=The Perch Inn|fewer-links=yes|access-date=9 August 2020}}</ref><ref>[http://www.the-perch.co.uk/ The Perch Inn]</ref>

==In literature== An avenue of [[Populus|poplars]] in Binsey was made famous by [[Gerard Manley Hopkins]] in his poem "[[Binsey Poplars]]", written when he found the riverside trees felled. The replacements for these trees, which stretch from Binsey to [[Godstow]], lasted until 2004, when the present replantings began.<ref>Hatts, 2005, page not cited</ref>

Theo Faron, the main character in [[P. D. James]]'s 1992 dystopian novel ''[[The Children of Men]]'', visits or refers to various landmarks in Binsey—including St Margaret's, St Frideswide's Priory and The Perch Inn—after having walked to the village from across [[Port Meadow, Oxford|Port Meadow]].<ref name="james1992">{{cite book |last1=James |first1=P. D. |title=The Children of Men |date=1992 |publisher=Warner Books |location=New York |isbn=0-446-36462-2 |pages=74–78}}</ref>

==Gallery== <gallery> Image:Binsey village.jpg|Road through Binsey village. Image:BoyceBinsey1862.jpg|''[[At Binsey, near Oxford]]'' (1862), by [[George Price Boyce]]. Image:St_Margarets_well_Binsey.jpg|St Margaret's Well, Binsey File:"The Perch" at Binsey - geograph.org.uk - 1555159.jpg|"The Perch" at Binsey </gallery>

==References== {{reflist}}

==Sources== *{{Cite book |last=Hatts |first=Leigh |title=The Thames Path |year=2005 |publisher=[[Cicerone Press]] |isbn=978-1-85284-436-3 }} *{{Cite book |last=Sherwood | first=Jennifer |author2=Pevsner, Nikolaus |authorlink2=Nikolaus Pevsner |title=[[Pevsner Architectural Guides#Buildings of England|The Buildings of England]]: Oxfordshire |year=1974 | publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |location=Harmondsworth | isbn=0-14-071045-0 | pages=456–457}}

==External links== *{{commons category-inline|Binsey, Oxfordshire}}

[[Category:Villages in Oxfordshire]] [[Category:Geography of Oxford]] [[Category:Populated places on the River Thames]] [[Category:Former civil parishes in Oxfordshire]]