Harcourt Hill is a hill and community in

North Hinksey North Hinksey is a village in the civil parish of Botley and North Hinksey, in the Vale of White Horse district, in Oxfordshire, England, on the west side of the Thames flood plain immediately opposite the city of Oxford. The civil parish incl ...

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 ...

, England, west of the city 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 ...

. There is a good view of the city from the hill. It lies between Hinksey Hill to the southeast, Boars Hill to the south and Botley to the north. Until 1974 it was in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, but was transferred to Oxfordshire in that year.

History

The Conduit House on the northeast side of Harcourt Hill was built in 1616–17 to supply water to the city of Oxford and was in use until the middle of the 19th century. Harcourt Hill was part of an estate acquired by Earl Harcourt in 1772. The Harcourt family promoted various plans for developing the hill in the 19th century, and about 50 houses were eventually built there between the 1920s and the early 1960s. In 1959 Westminster College moved from London to a new site on the northwest side of Harcourt Hill, which is now a campus of

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...

Notable people

Well-known residents of Harcourt Hill have included Professor Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Muirhead Bone and

Martin Gilbert Sir Martin John Gilbert (25 October 1936 – 3 February 2015) was a British historian and honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. He was the author of 88 books, including works on Winston Churchill, the 20th century, and Jewish history inc ...

References

{{Vale of White Horse Hills of Oxfordshire Areas of Oxford Vale of White Horse