The village, now known as Old Headington to distinguish it from the modern suburb and shopping centre, lies within the ancient bounds of the royal forest of Shotover and Stoward and has its origins in a royal manor belonging to the Saxon Kings. The boundaries of the present village are clearly defined; on the south by Cuckoo Lane; on the west by the grounds of the former Manor House estate, now John Radcliffe Hospital; on the north open agricultural land (and of course the A40), and on the east by Bury Knowle Park.

Although the original royal manor house was already ruinous in medieval times and successive fires destroyed the ancient crofters cottages, many of the more substantial postmedieval stone houses and the medieval Church of St Andrew have survived.

Our overview document below provides a brief introduction to the conservation area:

Old Headington Conservation Area (168kB PDF)

Old Headington Conservation Area Appraisal

A Character Appraisal to define the special interest and character of the conservation area was prepared between Summer 2010 and Spring 2011. The appraisal was endorsed by the East Area Planning Committee on 6 July 2011 and is available to download below with accompanying maps:

 Old Headington Conservation Area Appraisal (2.3MB PDF)
 Map 1 Conservation Area (PDF)
 Map 2 Old Headington Spatial Analysis (PDF)
 Map 3 Old Headington Positve Buildings (PDF)
 Map 4 Old Headington Character Areas (PDF)
 Map 5 Old Headington 1899 Map (PDF)

Community involvement and Consultation

An important part of the appraisal process is finding out how people value the area. The appraisal was prepared with the assistance of community groups, businesses and local residents and using the Oxford Character Assessment Toolkit. A consultation draft was presented for comment between 1 April and 11 May 2011, with an invitation for submission of written comments on the draft. After reviewing comments received a revised draft of the appraisal has been prepared to reflect the opinions expressed, where these were relevant and correct.

A report of the responses to the consultation is can be downloaded below:

Old Headington Conservation Area Appraisal Report of Public Consultation (191kB PDF)