Begbroke ( ) is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

about west of

Kidlington Kidlington is a village and civil parish in the Cherwell district of Oxfordshire, England. It is in-between the River Cherwell and Oxford Canal, north of Oxford and south-west of Bicester. It had a population of 13,600 at the 2021 Census. ...

and northwest of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. The 2011 census recorded the parish's population as 783.

Archaeology

Fragments of early pottery have been found in the parish, as well as flints, scrapers, and an axe and arrow head. Aerial photographs show ancient crop marks.

Toponym

The

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

"Begbroke" is

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

for "Little Brook". This refers to Rowel Brook which runs through the village and was the reason for its early settlement. Rowel Brook is a tributary of the

River Cherwell A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...

Manor

Begbroke Manor House was built in about 1700. In the 19th century it became part of the Priory of St Philip, which until 2000 was the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

house for the Roman Catholic Servite Friars in England. It was then sold to a Church of England order of nuns, the

Community of St John Baptist The Community of St John Baptist (CSJB), also known as the Sisters of Mercy, or formerly Clewer Sisters, is an Anglican religious order of Augustinian nuns. History The Community was founded in England in 1852 by Harriet Monsell (the first Sup ...

. The brethren of the Servites were well known in the village and served as

Air Raid Precautions Air Raid Precautions (ARP) refers to a number of organisations and guidelines in the United Kingdom dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air raids. Government consideration for air raid precautions increased in the 1920s a ...

(ARP) wardens in World War II.

Parish church

The

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

Saint Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...

was a 12th-century

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

building. The uppermost stage of the tower was rebuilt in the 14th century and the nave and chancel were repeatedly "

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004, by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard Aus ...

" in the 19th century.

Economic and social history

The former Begbroke Hill Farm was owned by the Giffard and FitzHerbert families for nearly 500 years. It was built early in the 17th century for either Humphrey FitzHerbert (died 1616) or his son Robert (died 1632). It is now the site of the Oxford University

Begbroke Science Park Begbroke Science Park is a science park located five miles north of Oxford, England. It is owned by Oxford University and managed as part of the university's Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division It lies within the parish of Be ...

(which, despite the name, is accessible only from the neighbouring village of

Yarnton Yarnton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about southwest of Kidlington and northwest of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,545. Archaeology Early Bronze Age decorated beakers have been found in the par ...

but is in the boundary of Begbroke parish). Orchard House, next to St Michael's parish church, also belonged to the FitzHerberts. More recently it was the home of science fiction author

Brian Aldiss Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for oc ...

. Begbroke Place was built in 1906. From 1940 until 1984 the house was incorporated into the campus of St Juliana's Convent School, an independent girls' school run by the sisters of the Servite Order. Commuter homes were built in the village beginning in the 1930s, mainly on the east side of Woodstock Road.

Amenities

The village has a public house, the ''Royal Sun'' inn, that has traded since at least 1711. Begbroke has a village hall with cricket and bowling greens.

Solid State Logic Solid State Logic Ltd. (SSL) is a British company based in Begbroke, Oxfordshire, England that designs and markets audio mixing consoles, Audio signal processing, signal processors, and other audio technologies for the post-production, video p ...

, the world's largest manufacturer of professional analogue and digital audio consoles for music, broadcast, post production and film, is headquartered at Begbroke. SSL bought the convent and convent school buildings.

Transport

The

A44 road The A44 is a major road in the United Kingdom that runs from Oxford in southern England to Aberystwyth in west Wales. History The original (1923) route of the A44 was Chipping Norton to Aberystwyth. No changes were made to the route of the ...

passes through the village. In 2025, work began to install a

toucan crossing A toucan crossing is the British term for a type of pedestrian crossing that also allows bicycles to be ridden across. Since ''"two can"'' cross together (both pedestrians and cyclists) the name “toucan” was chosen. In the United Kingdom t ...

across the road.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Begbroke Parish CouncilWelcome to Begbroke Science Park
{{authority control Civil parishes in Oxfordshire Villages in Oxfordshire Cherwell District