Shotover Country Park, beautiful in May, has been here for more than a thousand years

It was referred to as Scotorne in the Domesday book (1086), meaning ‘steep hill’. It was a Royal Forest, used for hunting by the Saxon and Norman Kings - in fact it retained this status up to the restoration of Charles II in 1660.

At its peak the Royal forest stretched all the way to the River Cherwell - incorporating all of St Clements, Headington, Marston and bordering the parishes of Elsfield, Beckley, Stanton St John, Wheatley and Horspath. In the Saxon and early Norman period the main manor was in Hedenandun (Headington) and this was the royal residence.

The Manor was originally where the seventh century Princess Frideswide lived with her father the Mercian King or Lord Didan. She went on to create a nunnery in the new settlement of Oxnaforda (Oxford) in the swampy valley of the Thames, following a miraculous avoidance of the rapacious King Algar - as he attempted to capture and marry her for her father’s lands. Christchurch College Cathedral and Cloisters is essentially the eleventh century priory which was built on the site of the original St Frideswide nunnery.

If you enjoyed this, look out for further updates on Shotover over the next few days, it has the most fascinating history, so I hope you will find it as intriguing as I do.