South Oxfordshire
Explore hidden histories, historic photos, and things you never knew about South Oxfordshire from the collections and archives of Historic England.
Discover your local listed buildings and places
Introducing some of South Oxfordshire's most historic sites, included in the National Heritage List for England. Some of these captions have been summarised by AI. Click through for the official List entry. Skip this section and go to place by numbers
Imperial Hotel and associated buildings
Henley-on-Thames
Hotel with parade of shops and domestic accommodation, c.1897 by William Theobalds.
Friar Park
Henley-on-Thames
Friar Park, built in the late 19th century, features elaborate gardens designed by Frank Crisp, including a large rock garden and various themed sections, located in Henley-on-Thames.
Chantry House
Henley-on-Thames
Chantry House is a circa 1400 timber-framed building featuring a mix of brick and plaster infilling, Tudor doorway, and distinctive early leaded glazing.
Shirburn Castle
Shirburn
Shirburn Castle, originating from 1377, features significant gardens and pleasure grounds dating from the 18th and 19th centuries around a remodeled late 14th-century castle.
Fairmile Hospital
Cholsey
Established in the late 19th century as a lunatic asylum, Fairmile Hospital was designed by C H Howell and features grounds planned by Robert Marnock. Today, it remains in institutional use.
Lady Grove Farmhouse
Didcot
Lady Grove Farmhouse, a 17th-century structure, features timber framing, red brick, and tile roof with 20th-century additions, highlighting historical architectural elements.
Bridge End House
Dorchester
House. Built in 1965 by the architects Donald Morrison and Julia Fielding as their family home.
Battle of Chalgrove 1643
Chalgrove
The site of the Battle of Chalgrove 1643, a largely cavalry battle, which ended in the defeat of the Parliamentarian horse by the Royalists under Prince Rupert and the death of Sir John...
Rupert Cottage Rupert Place
Henley-on-Thames
Rupert Cottage is historically associated with Prince Rupert, serving as his headquarters during attacks on Phyllis Court.
Goring Mill
Goring-on-Thames
Goring Mill is a Grade II listed 18th-century mill in Goring-on-Thames, with 19th-century alterations, featuring red brick, grey headers, and irregular fenestration.
St Lucian's and Attached Former Maltings St Lucian's Lowe…
Wallingford
St Lucian's, a mid-16th-century house with 17th-century maltings, features pargeted roughcast facades, Tudor-arched fireplaces, and original maltings roof structure.
Nuneham Courtenay
Nuneham Courtenay
Nuneham Courtenay features an 18th-century landscape park with contributions from Earl Harcourt, Lancelot Brown, and William Mason, emphasizing picturesque vistas and historical landscapes.
Ye Olde Leathern Bottle Public House
Lewknor
The Ye Olde Leathern Bottle Public House is a Grade II listed building from the 17th century with significant architectural history.
Holy Trinity Church
Henley-on-Thames
Holy Trinity Church, designed by Benjamin Ferrey, showcases a cohesive flint exterior and consistent medieval detailing, unaltered since its 19th-century construction phases.
Thame Park
Thame
Thame Park, on the site of a former Cistercian abbey, features a 14th-century stone house with later additions and extensive pleasure grounds and parklands.
Duchess Close
Whitchurch-on-Thames
18th-century brick house with a plain tile roof and sash door, noted for its group value.
Church of St Leonard
Watlington
The Church of St Leonard in Watlington features 12th and 14th-century architecture, rebuilt in 1877. Notable elements include decorative stained glass by Kempe and an octagonal marble font.
3-10, The Mint
Wallingford
3-10 The Mint in Wallingford is a converted brewery dated 1774, now a row of houses, noted for its historic architectural features.
Stonor House and Attached Walls and Buildings
Pishill with Stonor
Stonor House, with its rich architectural evolution, showcases elements from the 13th to the 19th century.
Corn Exchange Theatre
Wallingford
The Corn Exchange Theatre in Wallingford, built in 1856, is a single-storey Italianate structure with architectural features like Corinthian pilasters and a rose window.
33 and 35, Duke Street
Henley-on-Thames
33 and 35 Duke Street feature an early 19th-century facade with stucco, steeply pitched roofs, dormers, and modified shop fronts from the same period.
Red Lion Hotel
Henley-on-Thames
The Red Lion Hotel is an 18th-century L-shaped building with distinctive red brick facades and a terra-cotta lion, forming a group with nearby historic structures.
Checkendon Court
Checkendon
Checkendon Court is a 17th-century country house expanded in 1920, notable for its red brick structure and 20th-century architectural details.
Fair Mile Hospital
Cholsey
Fair Mile Hospital, built in 1870 as a lunatic asylum by C.H. Howell, features red brick, complex roofs, and distinctive windows. It underwent 19th and 20th-century additions.
Northfield House
Henley-on-Thames
Northfield House is an early 19th-century Grade II* listed house with a stucco facade, notable for its rusticated ground floor and distinctive sash windows.
Culham Station Ticket Office and Waiting Room
Culham
The Culham Station ticket office and waiting room, designed by I.K. Brunel in 1844, embodies a Domestic Tudor style and is notable for its unique historical significance.
Church of St Paul
Culham
The Church of St. Paul in Culham, built primarily in the early 18th and mid-19th centuries, features Early English style architecture with unique interior decorations.
9, Norman Avenue
Henley-on-Thames
9 Norman Avenue is a late Victorian-style house built circa 1890s with distinctive red brick and stone Gothic features.
Flint Cottage Flint House
Wallingford
Flint Cottage and Flint House, now a museum and dwelling, date back to the mid-16th century, featuring flint and stone mixture architecture on Wallingford High Street.
The Nook
Didcot
The Nook is a Grade II listed early 17th-century house featuring large timber framing and a thatch roof, located in Didcot. It has distinctive historical architectural elements.
Newington House
Newington
Newington House, built around 1635 for Walter Dunch, showcases 18th-century Georgian architecture with rich historical ties to the Pallavicini family.
Pillar in Bull Croft Park Approximately 35 Metres North E…
Wallingford
A late 18th-century stone pillar with worn carvings, originally marking a bull-baiting spot, now located in Bull Croft Park for its historical significance.
Garsington Manor
Garsington
Garsington Manor, a 16th/17th-century manor house surrounded by Italianate gardens, was a hub for Bloomsbury Group intellectuals due to Lady Ottoline Morrell's influence.
Kenton Theatre
Henley-on-Thames
The Kenton Theatre features an early 19th-century facade with a red brick design and notable interior details like a curved gallery and Corinthian pillars.
Kings Arms Public House
Henley-on-Thames
Kings Arms Public House is a timber-framed building with a plastered facade and old tiled roof, notable for its architectural group in the market place.
Boathouse the Moorings
Henley-on-Thames
Early 20th-century boathouses, "The Moorings & Boathouse," feature roughcast and timbering, gabled roofs, and a distinctive pyramidal roofed extension with arched wooden pillars.
Explore more
Search for more listed places in South OxfordshireSouth Oxfordshire through time
This timeline shows the first period of use for buildings and places on the National Heritage List for England, just one of the details recorded for every list entry. Click around to see how South Oxfordshire changes over time. Skip this section and go to aerial photos
Prehistoric Before AD 43
Prehistory covers a million years of human occupation before the Roman invasion, from hunter-gatherers of several human species, including Neanderthals, to more recent herders and farmers. It was a time of developing technologies and belief systems, involving contact with and migration from Europe, all reflected in the variety of artefact and monument types characteristic of particular prehistoric periods.
Roman AD 43 to AD 410
Britain was invaded by four legions of the Roman army in AD 43, who relatively rapidly conquered England from landing points in Kent. Parts of Wales and Scotland soon followed.
Roman culture brought urbanism, monumental buildings, wide-ranging religious beliefs, writing, and strong social hierarchy. The Roman administrative system was withdrawn in AD 410.
Early medieval AD 410 to AD 1066
This period, often associated in England with Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, saw a reduction in urban living from the Roman period and increased migration from northern Europe.
Traces of this period can be found in cemeteries, particularly in artefacts and in some of the very early churches, as this period also saw the growth of Christianity in Britain.
Medieval AD 1066 to AD 1540
This period, sometimes known as the Middle Ages, began with the Norman invasion in AD 1066. It saw a significant rise in military and defensive buildings such as castles and earthworks, as well as religious houses dominating a largely agricultural landscape.
The monarchy and Church dominated the period, which also saw the break with the Roman Catholic Church and the English reformation.
Post medieval AD 1540 to AD 1901
The Post-Medieval period brought seismic changes to life in England, with religious reformation leading to the democratization of worship and the destruction of hundreds of religious houses.
In parallel, there was a huge expansion of scientific study and enlightenment that permanently altered the nation's social structure and landscape. Industrialization and mass production lead to wider global trade, emigration, and immigration.
20th century AD 1901 to AD 2000
The 20th century saw an incredible expansion of England's transport networks, with suburban growth shadowing rapid infrastructural expansion. The establishment of state schools, hospitals, and modern technical colleges, with new architectural styles, radically changed the appearance of towns and cities.
Two catastrophic world wars and the 1918 pandemic also brought unprecedented change, altering England's built environment and social structures forever.
Prehistoric Before AD 43
Prehistory covers a million years of human occupation before the Roman invasion, from hunter-gatherers of several human species, including Neanderthals, to more recent herders and farmers. It was a time of developing technologies and belief systems, involving contact with and migration from Europe, all reflected in the variety of artefact and monument types characteristic of particular prehistoric periods.
Roman AD 43 to AD 410
Britain was invaded by four legions of the Roman army in AD 43, who relatively rapidly conquered England from landing points in Kent. Parts of Wales and Scotland soon followed.
Roman culture brought urbanism, monumental buildings, wide-ranging religious beliefs, writing, and strong social hierarchy. The Roman administrative system was withdrawn in AD 410.
Early medieval AD 410 to AD 1066
This period, often associated in England with Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, saw a reduction in urban living from the Roman period and increased migration from northern Europe.
Traces of this period can be found in cemeteries, particularly in artefacts and in some of the very early churches, as this period also saw the growth of Christianity in Britain.
Medieval AD 1066 to AD 1540
This period, sometimes known as the Middle Ages, began with the Norman invasion in AD 1066. It saw a significant rise in military and defensive buildings such as castles and earthworks, as well as religious houses dominating a largely agricultural landscape.
The monarchy and Church dominated the period, which also saw the break with the Roman Catholic Church and the English reformation.
Post medieval AD 1540 to AD 1901
The Post-Medieval period brought seismic changes to life in England, with religious reformation leading to the democratization of worship and the destruction of hundreds of religious houses.
In parallel, there was a huge expansion of scientific study and enlightenment that permanently altered the nation's social structure and landscape. Industrialization and mass production lead to wider global trade, emigration, and immigration.
20th century AD 1901 to AD 2000
The 20th century saw an incredible expansion of England's transport networks, with suburban growth shadowing rapid infrastructural expansion. The establishment of state schools, hospitals, and modern technical colleges, with new architectural styles, radically changed the appearance of towns and cities.
Two catastrophic world wars and the 1918 pandemic also brought unprecedented change, altering England's built environment and social structures forever.
Aerial photos of South Oxfordshire
Aerial photography helps reveal secrets of England's changing landscapes that are impossible to see from the ground. Skip this section and go to archive images
Shirburn
Shirburn Castle and All Saints' Church, Shirburn, 1947
Shirburn
Shirburn Castle, Shirburn, 1953
Sonning Eye
Sonning Bridge, the River Thames and Sonning, Sonning Eye, 1930
Sonning Eye
Sonning Village, Sonning Bridge and environs, Sonning Eye, 1948
Henley-On-Thames
Hart Street area, Henley-on-Thames, 1920
Henley-On-Thames
Henley-on-Thames, the Henley Royal Regatta in progress and the town, 1952
Thame
St Mary's Church, Thame, 1927
Thame
The town, Thame, 1953
Wallingford
View over Wallingford from the Kine Croft, Wallingford, from the west, 1920
Wallingford
The town centre, Wallingford, 1952
South Oxfordshire in the Historic England Archive
The Historic England Archive cares for over 15 million images, dating from the 1850s to the present day. Discover stunning images of South Oxfordshire's past. Skip this section and go to stories about heritage
Eric de Mare
South Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire
Date created: 1945 - 1980
Exterior detail view of St Peter's Church in Wallingford.
John Gay Collection: Miscellaneous
South Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire
Date created: 1949 - 1951
A group of people arrive at Great Milton Neighbours Hall carrying blankets and lights for a music rehearsal
John Gay Collection: Counties
South Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire
Date created: 1959
View of thatched cottages on the High Street, showing a chimney stack projecting from the gable of the house in the foreground with Bridge End Cottage...
Alfred Newton and Sons
Culham, South Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire
Date created: Jun 1903
GENERAL VIEW FROM RIVERBANK
Eric de Mare
South Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire
Date created: 1945 - 1980
General view of Wallingford Bridge from the bank showing children in the water and on the bankside.
John Gay Collection: Miscellaneous
South Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire
Date created: 1949 - 1951
A group of people with a dog arrive at Great Milton Neighbours Hall carrying blankets and lights for a music rehearsal
John Gay Collection: Counties
South Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire
Date created: 1959
View of thatched cottages on the High Street, showing a chimney stack projecting from the gable of the house in the foreground with Bridge End Cottage...
Alfred Newton and Sons
South Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire
Date created: Jun 1903
RIVER THAMES AT LOCK WOOD
Eric de Mare
South Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire
Date created: 1949
Children playing on the banks of the River Thames beside Wallingford Bridge
John Gay Collection: Miscellaneous
South Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire
Date created: 1949 - 1951
Two people unload costumes and lights from a car outside Great Milton Neighbours Hall, while a woman with a bicycle looks on
John Gay Collection: Counties
South Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire
Date created: 1959
View of thatched cottages on the High Street, showing a chimney stack projecting from the gable of the house in the foreground with Bridge End Cottage...
Alfred Newton and Sons
Nuneham Courtenay, South Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire
Date created: Jun 1903
DISTANT VIEW FROM RIVER THAMES OBSCURED BY RUSTIC BRIDGE
Stories about heritage in your local area
Historic England publishes news, blogs, research, videos, and podcasts celebrating England's rich heritage. Discover the stories we have about South Oxfordshire. Skip this section and go to education
5 Listed Pub Signs in England
Mentions The Spread Eagle Hotel
Take a look at these historic calling cards for pubs and inns across England.
Heritage at Risk at the Movies
Mentions Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin
Our Heritage at Risk programme protects and manages the historic environment, so the number of ‘at risk’ historic places and sites across England is...
Picturesque Goring Gap Boathouse Listed
Mentions Saunders' Boathouse, Goring Mill, Goring Paddle and Rymer Weir
A Victorian boathouse in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire has been listed at Grade II.
Heritage at Risk in the South East Revealed
Mentions Wallingford Castle
25 sites have been saved and 15 sites added to the Heritage at Risk Register 2023 in the South East of England.
£4.5 Million Increase to the Heritage Stimulus Fund
Mentions Stonor House and Attached Walls and Buildings
Funding will ensure essential repairs and restoration can be completed as well as supporting thirty-three new historic sites for the first time.
Places With Queer Histories Listed to Mark 50th Anniversary of the Partial Decriminalisation of Homosexuality
Mentions Henley Bridge
The two new listings come ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act 1967.
South Oxfordshire's social history through photos
Over 10,000 images from the Historic England Archive have been specially selected and re-captioned for teachers, students, and anyone who wants to learn more about their local area. Skip this section and go to grant-aided places
Wheatley Windmill, Wheatley, Oxfordshire
Period: Georgian (1714 - 1836)
This windmill was built in the mid 18th century. Records show that it was rebuilt in 1763 after a fire.
Wheatley Windmill, Wheatley, Oxfordshire
Wheatley Anglo-Saxon Cemetery, Wheatley, Oxfordshire
Period: Anglo Saxon (Britons/English/Vikings) (410 - 1065)
Looking into a trench at an exposed skeleton (identified as 'no.3') during archaeological excavations at an Anglo-Saxon cemetery site near the village...
Wheatley Anglo-Saxon Cemetery, Wheatley, Oxfordshire
Watercress beds at Ewelme, Oxfordshire
Period: Victorian (1837 - 1901)
Men gathering watercress from a large growing bed, with cottages of the village beyond.
Watercress beds at Ewelme, Oxfordshire
Wallingford Castle, Wallingford, Oxfordshire
Period: Medieval (Middle Ages) (1066 - 1484)
This fragment of wall is all that is left of Wallingford Castle. The castle was begun in 1067 by order of William the Conqueror.
Wallingford Castle, Wallingford, Oxfordshire
Wallingford Castle, Wallingford, Oxfordshire
Period: Medieval (Middle Ages) (1066 - 1484)
A fragment of wall, probaby of 13th-century date, from a castle which dates back to the Conquest. It was destroyed by Cromwell in 1652.
Wallingford Castle, Wallingford, Oxfordshire
Vicarage, South Stoke, Oxfordshire
Period: World War One (1914 - 1919)
Captain G.M Morrell and Mrs E.
Vicarage, South Stoke, Oxfordshire
The Mill, Mapledurham, Oxfordshire
Period: Medieval (Middle Ages) (1066 - 1484)
This watermill is the only working mill left on the river Thames (2009). It still produces high quality flour.
The Mill, Mapledurham, Oxfordshire
The Barley Mow Inn, Clifton Hampden, Oxfordshire
Period: Medieval (Middle Ages) (1066 - 1484)
An exterior view showing the cruck-framed gable end of the inn, with new extension behind. There is a date of 1352 on the panel to right of centre.
The Barley Mow Inn, Clifton Hampden, Oxfordshire
Visit grant-aided places near you
These places and buildings have been helped by Historic England's financial grants. Find local heritage in your neighbourhood that you never knew existed! Please note that opening times may vary. Skip this section and go to related locations
Remains of St Nicholas College, Wallingford Castle, Wallingford
These ruins of uncoursed limestone rubble are probably date from the 13th century, with 15th, 16th century and later alterations, along with a...