Hethe, Oxfordshire
| Hethe | |
|---|---|
 St Edmund & St George parish church |
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 Hethe
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| Hethe shown within Oxfordshire | |
| Area | 5.75 km2 (2.22 sq mi) |
| Population | 279 (2001 census) |
| • Density | 49/km2 (130/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | SP5929 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Bicester |
| Postcode district | OX27 |
| Dialling code | 01869 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
Hethe is a village and civil parish about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) north of Bicester in Oxfordshire.
The village's toponym comes from the Old English hæð meaning "heath, uncultivated ground".
Before and after the Norman Conquest of England Wulfward the White, a thegn of King Edward the Confessor's Queen Edith, owned the manor of Hethe. However, by 1086 William the Conqueror had granted the manor to Geoffrey de Montbray, who was both Bishop of Coutances and also one of William's senior military commanders. By the 12th century the manor belonged to the Earls of Gloucester, with whom it stayed until the 4th Earl of Gloucester died without a successor in 1314. In 1347 the manor passed to the 1st Earl of Stafford. It remained with the Staffords (who from 1402 were also Dukes of Buckingham) until 1521, when Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham was executed for treason and his properties were attainted to the Crown.
Somewhen after 1167 St Bartholomew's Hospital in London was given a hide of land at Hethe. In 1537 the hospital was dissolved under the dissolution of the monasteries and the Crown seized all its lands, but in 1547 the hospital was refounded. The hospital retained its holding at Hethe at least as late as 1682.
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