Old Headington, Oxford

Image: © David Hallam-Jones Taken: 1 Aug 2013

This is a shot taken halfway along Cuckoo Walk with the access point onto Stephen Road visible in the distance identifiable by some railings. Osler Road lies behind the photographer and at its other end this passageway empties out onto Old High Street, a few yards southwest of North Place, a cul-de-sac used by local people to access Bury Knowle Park. Stephanie Jenkins, a local researcher, has discovered that according to a map of this area drawn by someone associated with Corpus Christi College in 1605 that this footpath probably ran from Pullens Lane (Headington Hill) to the village of Barton (now separated from Headington by the A40, i.e. the Northern By-Pass). This almost-subterranean passage was created by William Wootten-Wootten, who bought Headington House in 1848. An ancient field that now hosts Stephen Road and part of the London Road shopping area was part of a swathe of his land surrounding the Hall. By submerging the public right-of-way and building two narrow bridges across it for his family's use and that of his servants, it seems that he was able to continue to enjoy an uninterrupted view of his large estate whilst lesser mortals continued their journeys to and fro unobserved. When Stephen Road was built in 1920s, steps were provided down to Cuckoo Lane to provide the inhabitants access to this ancient thoroughfare.

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