Cutteslowe Park, Oxford
Encyclopedia
Public space
A public space is a social space such as a town square that is open and accessible to all, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age or socio-economic level. One of the earliest examples of public spaces are commons. For example, no fees or paid tickets are required for entry, nor are the entrants...
park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
in Cutteslowe
Cutteslowe
Cutteslowe is a suburb of north Oxford, England, between Sunnymead and Water Eaton.-Manor:By AD 1004 St. Frideswide's Minster in Oxford held two hides of land at Cutteslowe. St. Frideswide's became an Augustinian Priory that continued to hold Cutteslowe until it was suppressed in 1525. It then...
in North Oxford
North Oxford
North Oxford is a suburban part of the city of Oxford in England. It was owned for many centuries largely by St John's College, Oxford and many of the area's Victorian houses were initially sold on leasehold by the College....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was
established in 1935 when Oxford City Council
Oxford City Council
The Oxford City Council provides local government for the city of Oxford in England.- Overview :Between the 2004 local elections, and 2010 the council was in minority administration, first by councillors from the Labour Party, with the Liberal Democrats being the official opposition...
acquired land of the former Cutteslowe Manor farm, whose house still stands at its centre. More land was acquired in 1937. The original manor house dates from at least the mid-17th century, being shown on a 1670s map by Michael Burghers
Michael Burghers
Michael Burghers was an illustrator and artist of the 17th century; born around 1647-48, he died in 1727.He was commissioned to create maps, estate plans, and illustrations of stately houses, by the English aristocracy of that period...
.
In 2006 Oxford City Council united the park with Sunnymead
Sunnymead
Sunnymead is a suburb in the northern part of Oxford, England, just south of the Oxford Ring Road .Close by are the suburbs of Cutteslowe to the north, Summertown to the south and Upper Wolvercote to the west. To the east is the River Cherwell, which flows south towards central Oxford....
Park, just to the south and of the Oxford Northern Bypass. The two parks now form a single administrative unit called Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park.
Cutteslowe Park has herbaceous borders and despite a recent disease damage during 2009-2010 there remain many horse chestnut trees
Aesculus
The genus Aesculus comprises 13-19 species of woody trees and shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere, with 6 species native to North America and 7-13 species native to Eurasia; there are also several hybrids. Species are deciduous or evergreen...
. Until further disease management in 2010 and early 2011, the park also contained some superb examples of White Willow
White Willow
Salix alba is a species of willow native to Europe and western and central Asia. The name derives from the white tone to the undersides of the leaves....
trees.
The park has a children's pool, crazy golf, small aviary
Aviary
An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds. Unlike cages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages...
, duck pond
Duck pond
A duck pond is a pond for ducks and other water fowl. Duck ponds provide habitats for water fowl and other birds, who use the water to bathe in and drink....
, and tennis court
Tennis court
A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...
s. There is a miniature steam railway
Ridable miniature railway
A ridable miniature railway is a ground-level, large scale model railway that hauls passengers using locomotives that are models of full-sized railway locomotives .-Overview:Typically they have a rail track gauge between and , though both larger and...
run by the City of Oxford Society of Model Engineers.
Subsequent purchases of farmland in 1937-8 gave the park a large recreation
Recreation
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun"...
ground on its east side, used for football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
and rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
in autumn and winter. The increased size of the park enabled the creation of a "Peace Mile": a running circuit that encompasses most of the perimeter of the park, inaugurated in 1985 by world harmony advocate Sri Chinmoy
Sri Chinmoy
Chinmoy Kumar Ghose, also known as Sri Chinmoy was an Indian spiritual teacher, poet, artist and athlete who immigrated to the U.S. in 1964., the founder of the religious organization "Sri Chinmoy Centre Church, Inc." better known as "Sri Chinmoy Centre"...
and the then Mayor of Oxford. The peace mile is popular with runners and in summer short running races are held around it by Sri Chinmoy Athletics Club.
A public footpath cuts diagonally across the lower recreation ground, originating on the line of an ancient drover
Drover (Britain)
A drovers' road, drove or droveway is a route for droving livestock on foot from one place to another, such as to market or between summer and winter pasture...
s' path, part of which is still visible at its southern extent for about 100 yards (91.4 m), bisected by the A40
A40 road
The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Fishguard, Wales and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road in all legal documents and Acts...
, the Northern Bypass. This linked Water Eaton
Water Eaton, Oxfordshire
Water Eaton is a hamlet in the civil parish of Gosford and Water Eaton, between Oxford and Kidlington in Oxfordshire.-History:The toponym Eaton is Anglo-Saxon, and "Water Eaton" means "farm by a river", referring to the manor's site beside the River Cherwell. Water Eaton manor house was built for...
and Oxford, and a short section of this path (at the bottom of Harpes Road, Islip Road and Victoria Road in North Oxford) is called Water Eaton Road. Further south this becomes a footpath from Lonsdale Road, and it emerges near the Cherwell School
Cherwell School
The Cherwell School is a state secondary school on the Marston Ferry Road in Oxford, England. The current school site was built in 1963 as a secondary modern school, later becoming the main comprehensive school for North Oxford...
.
To the north and east the park is bounded by farmland, while it is bounded to the south by the Oxford Northern Bypass Road, and to the West by 1960s–70s housing development
Subdivision (land)
Subdivision is the act of dividing land into pieces that are easier to sell or otherwise develop, usually via a plat. The former single piece as a whole is then known in the United States as a subdivision...
s of Cutteslowe
Cutteslowe
Cutteslowe is a suburb of north Oxford, England, between Sunnymead and Water Eaton.-Manor:By AD 1004 St. Frideswide's Minster in Oxford held two hides of land at Cutteslowe. St. Frideswide's became an Augustinian Priory that continued to hold Cutteslowe until it was suppressed in 1525. It then...
.
Community interest
On 21 February 2007 the Friends of Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park was formed "to promote the access, positive management and enhancement of the park and its facilities for the benefit of the local community and wider general public".Wind turbine proposal
In November 2009 a City council proposal to lease an area of the park to an energy management company for the construction of a wind turbine was challenged by the Friends, who felt that fuller community engagement should first be sought.External links
- Friends of Cutteslowe and Sunnymead, own site.
- Friends of Cutteslowe and Sunnymead from the Oxford City CouncilOxford City CouncilThe Oxford City Council provides local government for the city of Oxford in England.- Overview :Between the 2004 local elections, and 2010 the council was in minority administration, first by councillors from the Labour Party, with the Liberal Democrats being the official opposition...
. - Cutteslowe Park Management Plan information from Oxford City CouncilOxford City CouncilThe Oxford City Council provides local government for the city of Oxford in England.- Overview :Between the 2004 local elections, and 2010 the council was in minority administration, first by councillors from the Labour Party, with the Liberal Democrats being the official opposition...
(PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
).