Horton-cum-Studley | |
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St Barnabas Church, Horton-cum-Studley |
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Horton-cum-Studley shown within Oxfordshire | |
Area | 9.04 km2 (3.49 sq mi) |
Population | 455 (2011 Census) |
• Density | 50/km2 (130/sq mi) |
OS grid reference | SP5912 |
Civil parish |
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District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | OXFORD |
Postcode district | OX33 |
Dialling code | 01865 |
Police | Thames Valley |
Fire | Oxfordshire |
Ambulance | South Central |
EU Parliament | South East England |
UK Parliament | |
Website | Horton-cum-Studley |
Horton-cum-Studley is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about 6 1⁄2 miles (10.5 km) northeast of the centre of Oxford and bordering Otmoor, and is one of the "Seven Towns" of Otmoor. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 455.
Although traditionally a rural community, according to the latest demographic data, it is now home to professionals who work in Oxford and the surrounding urban centers of Bicester, High Wycombe and West London. There are a large number of younger professional families in the village because of a popular village school in nearby Beckley. A majority of residents in the village work in the Healthcare and Educational Sectors.
The hamlet of Studley was originally in two parts: one in Oxfordshire and the other in the Hundred of Ashendon in Buckinghamshire. Horton was always part of Oxfordshire. Horton and all of Studley, including the Buckinghamshire part, were originally part of the ancient parish of Beckley. The Buckinghamshire part of Studley became a separate civil parish, but was then transferred to Oxfordshire under the Reform Act 1832 and the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844. Meanwhile Horton and the Oxfordshire part of Studley had been separated from Beckley to form the civil parish of Horton-cum-Studley. The two parts of Studley were reunited in 1932, when the Studley and Horton-cum-Studley civil parishes were finally merged.
Horton's toponym is derived from Old English horu 'dirt' and tūn 'settlement, farm, estate', presumably meaning 'farm on muddy soil'. The oldest known record of Horton is from the reign of Æthelred the Unready: a charter of 1005-11 that records its agricultural land as five hides. However, the Domesday Book of 1086 has no separate entry for Horton as it had been part of the manor of Beckley since before the Norman Conquest of England.