Waterperry is a village and former

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 ...

, now in the parish of

Waterperry with Thomley Waterperry with Thomley is a civil parish in the South Oxfordshire district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It includes the village of Waterperry (Ordnance Survey grid reference SP626066) and the abandoned former village of Thomley (OS Gr ...

, in the

South Oxfordshire South Oxfordshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England. Its council is temporarily based outside the district at Abingdon-on-Thames pending a p ...

district, in

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 ...

and close to the county boundary with

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, England. It is beside the

River Thame The River Thame is a river in Southern England. A tributary of the River Thames, the river runs generally south-westward for about from its source above the Buckinghamshire town of Aylesbury to the Thames in south-east Oxfordshire. Course Thr ...

, about east 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

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 Mary the Virgin Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

is partly

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

and has notable medieval

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

, sculptural memorials, Georgian

box pew A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries. History in England Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in c ...

s and memorial brasses. In 1961 the parish had a population of 161. On 1 April 1994 the parish was abolished and merged with Thomley to form "Waterperry with Thomley". The 2011 census combined data for the village with

Waterstock Waterstock is a village and civil parish on the River Thame about west of the market town of Thame in Oxfordshire. The parish is bounded to the north and west by the river, to the south largely by the A418 main road, and to the east largely b ...

, due to the small population of the village. Waterperry House is a 17th-century mansion, remodelled early in the 18th century for Sir John Curson and again around 1820. It is now a house of seven

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

and three storeys with a balustraded parapet and Ionic porch. The house has extensive grounds, and until 1971 housed the

Waterperry School of Horticulture Waterperry is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Waterperry with Thomley, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire and close to the county boundary with Buckinghamshire, England. It is beside the River Thame, about ...

under

Beatrix Havergal Beatrix Helen Havergal (born Grace Beatrix Helen Havergal, 1901-1980) was an English horticulturist. In 1932 Havergal founded Waterperry School of Horticulture, a residential horticultural college for women. When she retired as principal in 1 ...

. Since 1971 the house has been owned and used as a country retreat by the

School of Economic Science The School of Philosophy and Economic Science (SPES), also operating under the names the School of Philosophy and the School of Practical Philosophy and legally named the School of Economic Science (SES), is a worldwide organisation based in L ...

. The gardens are now a horticultural business and visitor destination,

Waterperry Gardens Waterperry Gardens are gardens with a museum in the village of Waterperry, near Wheatley, Oxfordshire, Wheatley, east of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. Description Beatrix Havergal (1901–1980) established in 1932 the Waterperry School of ...

. The of gardens include rose and alpine gardens, a formal

knot garden A knot garden is a garden style that was popularized in 16th century England and is now considered an element of the formal English garden. A knot garden consists of a variety of aromatic and culinary herbs, or low hedges such as box, planted in ...

, trained fruit and nursery beds and a riverside walk. The grounds also have nurseries, orchards, plant centre and teashop. Gardening courses are still taught here. The grounds host the annual Art in Action festival of art and craft each July.Art in Action: Waterperry House and Garden Tours
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References

Sources and further reading

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External links

* ttp://www.waterperrygardens.co.uk/ Waterperry Gardensbr>Art in Action
Villages in Oxfordshire Former civil parishes in Oxfordshire South Oxfordshire District {{Oxfordshire-geo-stub