Chilswell
Chilswell is a small settlement in the parish of Cumnor, Oxfordshire. It lies between the village of South Hinksey and Boars Hill. In 1974 it was transferred from Berkshire.
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The place was first mentioned in 1180 as Chiefleswelle. The name is of Old English origin, and appears to mean 'the stream of a man called Cifel'.[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]
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 website Archived 29 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- Oxoniensia Vol.51 (1986) p.186
- Poetry Landmarks website
- "Countryside and Nature Reserves". Oxford City Council. Retrieved 12 July 2014.