Horspath Village

The village of Horspath is very ancient and has been occupied since before the Norman conquest, probably since Roman times as Roman pottery has been found around the village. The name apparently originated from an ancient bridle path that passed through the village from the nearby town of Wheatley and was called "Horsepadan" in Anglo-Saxon times, then anglicised to "Horsepath" but was changed to "Horspath" in 1912 by the parish council.

It lies about 5 miles from the centre of Oxford and one mile outside the Oxford city limit. The Mini plant is just over a mile from the centre of Horspath.

It has two pubs; the Chequers and the Queen's Head, a garage and a village shop. The Shotover Brewery is located in Horspath and makes excellent beer! The parish church, St. Giles, dates back to the 12th century and is well worth visiting.

The Horspath Archaeological Group website has some interesting timelines describing Horspath and some lovely old photographs of the village:

The British History Online website has a good writeup on the parish of Horspath and is worth a read: British History Online

The Oxford Brewery is small but produces excellent beer and supplies some of the local pubs (the Bear pub in central Oxford is one of them).