Hinksey

Hinksey is a place name associated with Oxford and Oxfordshire. In 1974, many of the places associated with the name were transferred from the county of Berkshire in the county boundary changes.

The place name is of Old English origin. It is first mentioned in the 10th century in the form Hengestesige, and probably means "stallion island". It may also mean "island of a man named Hengest", but there is no evidence to link the place to the historical Hengest. Place names ending in “ ey” (“island”, commonly used of higher ground in a marshy area) are of early formation, probably names bestowed by the first English farmers who tackled the area. The Hinksey villages were not mentioned as separate villages until 1316. Hinxey Hall was located in Oxford during the 14th to 16th centuries. The Carfax Conduit from Hinksey Hill to Carfax in the centre of Oxford was completed in 1617. Hinksey Halt railway station served New Hinksey in south Oxford during 1908−15. In 1934, Hinksey Park was laid out in New Hinksey.

There are now two villages, North Hinksey to the west of the city of Oxford and South Hinksey to the southwest.

The watercolour painter William Turner (1789–1862) painted Oxford from above Hinksey. The art critic John Ruskin (1819–1900) used to walk between Abingdon, where he stayed at the Crown and Thistle, and Oxford. He found the path muddy and organized a party of undergraduates to improve the roadway in the Hinksey area. Laurence Binyon (1869–1943) wrote a poem entitled Ferry Hinksey. Matthew Arnold (1822 1888) mentions Hinksey in his poems Thyrsis and The Scholar Gipsy.

Hinksey Pool was the original home of Hinksey Sculling School, a community rowing club.