Place:Shotover, Oxfordshire, England

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Shotover from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"SHOTOVER, an extra-parochial tract in Headington [registration] district, Oxfordshire; 1½ mile W of Wheatley r. station, and 4½ E of Oxford. Acres: 900. Real property: £1,668; of which £40 are in quarries. Population: 157. Houses: 33. [Shotover] Park is the seat of G. Gammie, Esq. [Shotover] Hill was long a royal forest; was given to Dr. Strutt, physician to George III.; passed to the Drurys; was the scene of Queen Elizabeth's meeting with the authorities of Oxford, on occasion of her visiting that city; was under charge of an ancestor of the poet Milton, in capacity of ranger; is associated with the event of Milton's first marriage, and with the residence of Mickle the translator of the "Lusiad; possesses great interest for both botanists and geologists; rises to the height of 599 feet; and commands a fine view of Oxford."

Shotover was a civil parish from 1858 until 1881 and was part of the Headington Registration District and the Headington Rural Sanitary District during that time. Shotover Hill is 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Oxford. Its highest point is 557 feet (170 m) above sea level.

In 1881 it merged with Forest Hill to become the civil parish of Forest Hill with Shotover.

Research Tips

• Victoria County History of Oxfordshire, volume 5, chapter on Shotover.
• Oxfordshire History Centre, St Luke's Church, Temple Road, Oxford, OX4 2HT
• Oxfordshire FHS covers the whole county. The Family History Society provides an interactive map to assist in locating individual parishes and also relates the society's progress in transcribing parish registers and gravestone information for that particular parish. Browse the website to see what else the society can provide.
• Further information from GENUKI
• Ordnance Survey map of Oxfordshire 1900 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time
• Ordnance Survey map of Oxfordshire 1944 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time
• English Jurisdictions 1851, a parish finding aid provided by FamilySearch, particularly helpful in large towns and cities.