| Littlemore | |
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Littlemore
Littlemore shown within Oxfordshire |
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| Population | 7,421 (2001 census)[1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SP537028 |
| Parish | Littlemore |
| District | Oxford |
| Shire county | Oxfordshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Oxford |
| Postcode district | OX4 |
| Dialling code | 01865 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Oxford East |
| List of places: UK • England • Oxfordshire | |
Littlemore is a district of Oxford, England. It has a parish council that also represents parts of Rose Hill. It is about 2.5 miles (4 km) southeast of the city centre of Oxford, between Rose Hill, Blackbird Leys, Cowley, and Sandford-on-Thames.
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In the Middle Ages, and perhaps earlier, most of Littlemore was a detached part of the parish of St Mary the Virgin in Oxford[2]. Other parts of the township were in the parish of Iffley. Littlemore did not become a separate ecclesiastical parish until 1847. It became a civil parish in 1866[3].
Until the early 20th century Littlemore was a rural area. Extensive development started in the 1920s and continued in the 1950s[2].
Until the 19th century Littlemore had no church. In 1828 John Henry Newman was appointed vicar of St. Mary's and he started agitating for a separate church at Littlemore. The new parish church of Saint Mary and Saint Nicholas, designed by the architect H.J. Underwood, was consecrated in 1836.[2] The church was built in the Gothic Revival style and became a model for smaller churches of the time.[2]
Dominating the southeast side of Littlemore on Sandford Road is the Littlemore Mental Health Centre, which includes Ashurst Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)[4].
Across the road is the former Littlemore Asylum building, founded in 1846[5], which has been converted to private dwellings and renamed "St George's Manor", along with several newbuild blocks named "Surman House" and "Radcliffe House". Mandelbrote Drive, which services the estate, is named for the association with Bertram Mandelbrote, whose pioneering work in the area of the therapeutic community[6] ultimately led to the move to new accommodation and sale of the building to private developers.
The SAE Institute moved their headquarters in 2008 to the former Yamanouchi building, itself using a building from the former hospital. The building was acquired by RO Developments Limited in 2005 from Yamanouchi (more latterly Astellas Pharma). RO Developments then converted the former hospital and extensively refurbished the building prior to selling to SAE Institute in 2008.
The Wycombe Railway opened Littlemore railway station in 1864 as part of its extension from Thame to Oxford.
In 1963 British Railways withdrew passenger services between Princes Risborough and Oxford and closed all intermediate stations including Littlemore. The line through Littlemore remains open for freight traffic between the Didcot Oxford main line at Kennington Junction and the BMW Mini factory at Cowley.
Littlemore is now probably best known for the work of Cardinal Newman, whose connection with the village began in 1828, when he was appointed vicar of St Mary the Virgin and soon began holding classes for the residents of Littlemore. He organised a successful petition to have a new church built. From 1842 to 1846 Newman lived at Littlemore, in a house in College Lane, under a rule of strict monastic discipline[2]. There he took up orders with the Roman Catholic Church (a sensation at the time), and was accepted into the faith by Father Dominic Barberi, a prominent Passionist active in England at the time. The Birmingham Oratory bought the property in 1951[2], and members of an International Religious Order are residents and custodians of "The College."
The trade unionist Henry Broadhurst (1840–1911) was born in the village, the son of a local stonemason[2].
The local historian Edmund Arnold Greening Lamborn lived at 34 Oxford Road, Littlemore from 1911 to 1950.[7]
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Littlemore Littlemore] at Wikimedia Commons
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