Iffley

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Village in Oxfordshire, England

title: "Iffley" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["areas-of-oxford", "populated-places-on-the-river-thames", "former-civil-parishes-in-oxfordshire", "conservation-areas-in-england"] description: "Village in Oxfordshire, England" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iffley" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Village in Oxfordshire, England ::

::data[format=table title="infobox UK place"]

FieldValue
official_nameIffley
static_image_nameSt Mary's Church, Iffley - geograph.org.uk - 1218597.jpg
static_image_captionSt Mary's parish church
coordinates
os_grid_referenceSP535037
shire_districtOxford
shire_countyOxfordshire
regionSouth East England
countryEngland
post_townOxford
postcode_districtOX4
postcode_areaOX
dial_code01865
constituency_westminsterOxford East
pushpin_mapUnited Kingdom Oxford
::

|official_name= Iffley |static_image_name= St Mary's Church, Iffley - geograph.org.uk - 1218597.jpg |static_image_caption= St Mary's parish church |coordinates = |os_grid_reference= SP535037 |population= |population_ref= |shire_district= Oxford |shire_county= Oxfordshire |region= South East England |country= England |post_town= Oxford |postcode_district= OX4 |postcode_area= OX |dial_code= 01865 |constituency_westminster= Oxford East |website= |pushpin_map = United Kingdom Oxford Iffley is a village in a designated conservation area in Oxfordshire, England. It lies within the boundaries of the city of Oxford, between Cowley and the estates of Rose Hill and Donnington, and in proximity to the River Thames (Isis). A notable feature is its largely unchanged Norman church, St Mary the Virgin, which has a modern stained glass Nativity window designed by John Piper and another window designed by Roger Wagner. The church is a Grade I listed building.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/IffleyLockFromTowpath.jpg" caption="The lock at Iffley village"] ::

::quote[attribution="Merton College]] records in the 1290s call it ''Iftele'' and ''Yiftele''; it is ''Yeftley'' to the civil servants writing up the Domesday of Inclosures, in Latin, in 1517 – 18; [[Lincoln College, Oxford"] "In the chronicles of Abingdon Abbey (941 – 946) the place is called Gifteleia. The Domesday Book of 1086 it is Givetelei. [[Merton College, Oxford ::

The ending of the name of this village near Oxford, means "cleared ground": the Old English term for that was "ley" — just up the road from modern Iffley, the town of Cowley also preserves the Old English ending and meaning in its name. No records of the foundation of Iffley have been found, but the reason for its founding is clear from the location: Iffley has a little hill, and so is the first place downriver from Oxford from which traffic on the Thames might be surveyed, and controlled — and where people might be safe from floods:

::quote "It is likely that the hill, running to 295 ft, now known as [[Rose Hill, Oxfordshire ::

During the 12th century Oxford townsmen built a watermill at Iffley, which was bought by Lincoln College, Oxford in 1445: the mill burned in 1908, having survived for nearly 800 years. Products ground at the Iffley mill included malt, barley, corn and other cereals — for a brief time during the 15th century it was a fulling mill. The mill,

::quote

::

In 1156 Iffley was among the holdings of the Norman family of St. Remy, until about 1200. They established Iffley as a parish, and built the parish church, "in size and decorative splendour out of all proportion to the place". The manor was owned by many, thereafter. The Archdeacons of Oxford were given the right to appoint the parish priest in 1279: they held this until 1965, when the power was given to the Dean and Chapter of Christ Church, Oxford. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/IffleyVillageMap.png" caption="Map of Iffley village"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Fritillaries_at_Iffley_Meadows.JPG" caption="Fritillaries at Iffley Meadows"] ::

In 1921 the civil parish had a population of 405. On 1 April 1929 the parish was abolished and merged with St Giles and St John and Littlemore.

Domesday Book entry

::quote[attribution="Earl Tosti]]; Earl [[Aubrey de Coucy]] of Northumbria; Edwin the sheriff; [[Henry de Ferrers]]; Hugh; Hugh d'Ivry; Hugh de Bolbec; [[Edith of Wessex"] People mentioned: Abbey of St Mary of Winchcombe; Aelfgifu; Alnoth; Alric; Alwine; Azur; Bondi; Brian; Cynewig; [[Tostig Godwinson ::

Iffley Meadows

Iffley Meadows is a nature reserve occupying much of Iffley Island, an area of flood-meadow on the opposite side of the Thames. The reserve is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust on behalf of Oxford City Council. The meadows are notable for their large population of snake's head fritillaries.

Notable people

References

Sources

References

  1. [https://www.iffley.co.uk/ Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Iffley]
  2. [https://www.iffleyhistory.org.uk/History/History3.htm The Iffley History Society]
  3. "Population statistics Iffley CP/AP through time". [[A Vision of Britain through Time]].
  4. "Relationships and changes Iffley CP/AP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time.
  5. [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=7576866&queryType=1&resultcount=1 The National Archives Documents Online]. Description. Place name: Iffley, Oxfordshire. Folio: 157v Great [[Domesday Book]]. Domesday place name: Givetelei
  6. "Iffley Island, Oxford". Oxford Conservation Volunteers.
  7. "Iffley Meadow Nature Reserve". [[Oxford City Council]].
  8. "Iffley Meadows". [[Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust]].
  9. Simons, Paul. (2015-04-22). "Plantwatch: A rare glimpse of a field full of 'the snaky flower'". [[The Guardian]].
  10. Caudle, J. J.. (23 September 2004). "Nowell, Thomas (1730?–1801)".
  11. [[United Kingdom Census 1901. 1891 Census of Headington District]], RG11/1166, Folio 49, page 9.
  12. (19 December 2024). "Oxford professors win court battle over hotel privacy breach". [[The Times]].
  13. (24 April 2018). "Sir John Grimley Evans". [[The Times]].
  14. Tim Hughes, [https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/leisure/musics/music/10810939.Protest_singer_Peggy_Seeger_is_still_a_rebel_with_a_cause/ "Protest singer Peggy Seeger is still a rebel with a cause"], ''Oxford Mail'', November 14, 2013.
  15. Duckles, Jo. (14 January 2015). "God in the life of Stephen Lawhead". [[Diocese of Oxford]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

areas-of-oxfordpopulated-places-on-the-river-thamesformer-civil-parishes-in-oxfordshireconservation-areas-in-england