Beckley, Oxfordshire
| Beckley | |
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 Parish church of the Assumption of the Blesséd Virgin Mary |
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 Beckley
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| Beckley shown within Oxfordshire | |
| Population | 608 (parish, including Stowood) (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SP5611 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Oxford |
| Postcode district | OX3 |
| Dialling code | 01865 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Beckley and Stowood |
Beckley is a village in Oxfordshire about 4.5 miles (7 km) northeast of the centre of Oxford. Beckley is part of the civil parish of Beckley and Stowood. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 608.
The village is 400 feet (120 m) above sea level on the northern brow of a hill overlooking Otmoor. The hill is the highest part of the parish, rising to 463 feet (141 m) south of the village near Stow Wood. On the eastern brow of the hill is Oxford transmitting station, a television relay mast that is a local landmark.
The course of the former Roman road that linked Dorchester on Thames with Alchester passes through the village. Part of it is now a bridleway. In the 19th century the remains of a Roman villa were found beside the road to Upper Park Farm east of the village. Artefacts from the villa are held in the Ashmolean Museum.
Until the Norman conquest of England the manor of Beckley was one of many that belonged to Saxon Wigod, thegn of Wallingford. After the conquest the Norman baron Robert D'Oyly married Wigod's daughter Ealdgyth and thereby acquired Wigod's estates. D'Oyly then gave a number of the manors to his brother-in-arms Roger d'Ivry. These included Beckley, which d'Ivry then made the caput of his estates. Beckley remained with Roger's heirs until early in the 12th century, but the d'Ivry family seems to have died out by about 1120.
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Wikipedia