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The earliest named Headington people are probably Tamesubugus, who signed his name on a piece of pottery made at the Roman kiln on the site of the Churchill Hospital, and Hedena (or Headan), after whom Headington was named; they do not have biographies here, however, as nothing else is known about them
Authors and poets
- Brian ALDISS (1925–2017), Author (39 St Andrew's Road)
- Elizabeth BOWEN (1899–1973)† Author (Coach House and White Lodge, Old Headington)
- Rhoda BROUGHTON (1840–1920)† Author (River View, Headington Hill)
- Luis CERNUDA (1902–1963) Poet (1 St Andrew's Lane)
- Elizabeth JENNINGS (1926–2001)† Poet (8 St Andrew's Lane)
- C. S. LEWIS (1898–1963)*† Author (The Kilns, Lewis Close, Risinghurst)
- Adeline KINGSCOTE (“Lucas Cleeve”) (1860–1908)† Author (Bury Knowle House)
- J. R. R. TOLKIEN (1892–1973)† Author (76 Sandfield Road) [inscription on house]
Artists, architects, engravers, and photographers
- Cyril ARAPOFF (1898–1976) Photographer (3 St Andrew's Road and 14 Osler Road)
- Eric HEBBORN (1934–1996) Art forger (whose parents lived at 39 and then 74 Lime Walk)
- Orlando JEWITT (1899–1869)† Wood engraver (14 St Andrew's Road)
- Etheldreda Janet LAING (née Winkfield (1872–1960) Artist and photographer (Bury Knowle House)
- William MATTHISON (1853–1926) Watercolourist (4 Old High Street)
- Thomas RAYSON (1888–1976) Architect (Roundabouts, The Ridings)
Actors and dancers
- William KIMBER (1872–1961)*† Morris dancer (42 St Anne's Road)
- Vashti de Montfort WELLBORNE (1869–1930) Actor (Barton Manor, Barton Road)
Academics
See also C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien above
- Sir Isaiah BERLIN (1909–1997)†, Philosopher (Headington House, Old High Street)
- Hugo DYSON (1896–1975), Fellow of Merton and Inkling (32 Sandfield Road)
- Godfrey ELTON, First Baron Elton of Headington (1892–1973)†, historian (40 Osler Road)
- Alfred EMDEN (1888–1979)†, historian (Dunstan Cottage, Dunstan Road)
- Henry Sanderson FURNISS (1868–1939), Principal of Ruskin (North End, Jack Straw's Lane)
- Gathorne R. GIRDLESTONE (1881–1950)*†, first Nuffield Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery (72 Old Road)
- Salvador de MADARIAGA (1886–1978)†, Professor of Spanish Studies (3 St Andrew's Road)
- Sir William MARKBY (1829–1914)†, Reader in Indian Law (The Pullens, on site of EF Language School)
- Josep TRUETA (1899–1977)†, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery (Overmead, Jack Straw's Lane)
Vicars and Curates
The curate was a religious controversialist who lived in Holywell Street. Both the vicars, who lived in St Andrew's House, left under a cloud:
- C. P. GOLIGHTLY (1807–1885)† Curate of both St Andrew's and Holy Trinity, but lived in Holywell Street
- James PALMER (1772–1808), an outspoken Curate of Headington from 1802 to 1806
- The Revd John Holford SCOTT (SCOTT-TUCKER) (1891–1918), Vicar, and co-founder of Headington United
- Robert Walter TOWNSON, later WILSON (1864–1945) Vicar
Big landowners
- Mrs Maria BALLACHEY (1797–1884) of Bury Knowle House and Park
- The FINCH family (1660–1864) of The Rookery and its lands
- William JACKSON (1724–1795) of Headington House and its lands (‘Heddington Manor’)
- Miss Mary JONES (1741–1815) of Headington House and its lands (‘Heddington Manor’)
- Tyrrell KNAPP (1790–1869) The Rise, Cheney Farm, and South Park
- Edward LATIMER (1775–1845)* and his family of Headington House and its lands (‘Heddington Manor’)
- Sir Joseph LOCK (1760–1844) of: Bury Knowle House and Park
- John MATHER (1676–1748) and his daughter Catherine (1732–1807) of Mather's Farm and its lands
- MORRELL family*† (inc. Tawneys* and Whartons*) of Headington Hill Hall & Park, and South Park
- John W. A. TAYLOR (1818–1886): The Rookery and its lands
Lords of the Manor of Headington
- BASSETT*/de PLESSIS/d’AMORY/WILCOTE*/BROME* families (1179–1613)
- WHORWOOD dynasty, inc. Jane, believed to be Charles I's mistress† (1613–1849)
- PEPPERCORN* and HOOLE families (1849–1917)
Benefactors and charitable workers
- Miss Katharine FEILDEN* (1864–1954) of High Wall, Pullen's Lane: Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre
- Doris FIELD (1904–1988) of Jack Straw's Castle: Doris Field Charitable Trust and Memorial Park
- Rosamond Davenport HILL† (1825–1902)
and her sister Florence Margaret Davenport HILL
(1828/9–1919) of Hillstow (later renamed Dorset House): education and prison reform - Lord NUFFIELD (1877–1963)*†: Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and other medical departments
- Revd John STANSFELD (1855–1939)*: Stansfeld Outdoor Centre in Quarry (given to Birmingham Council)
- Henry STEPHEN (1889–1965) and his wife Dora STEPHEN: C. S. Lewis/Henry Stephen Nature Reserve
- Revd Samuel WARNEFORD (1763–1855)*†: Warneford Hospital
- Charles WINGFIELD (1786/7–1846) and his wife Hannah (1788–1870): Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre
Miscellaneous
- John Henry BROOKES (1891–1976)†, educational administrator (195 The Slade)
- Edward BROOKS (1883–1944), won VC in First World War (New High Street and Windsor Street)
- Joan CLARKE (Mrs MURRAY)† (1917–1996), Cryptanalyst and numismatist (7 Larkfields)
- ETHELRED II (968–1016)*† King of England who built his palace in Old Headington
- Dr Robert HITCHINGS (1863–1943), GP, co-founder of Oxford United (large house replaced by Sainsbury block)
- JOAN of Headington (16th century) Bawdy landlady (White Hart)
- John JOHNSON (1882–1956)† Printer to the University (29 Barton Lane)
- John MATTOCK (1837–1913)* and his family of rose growers (88 Windmill Road)
- Robert MAXWELL (1923–1991)† Publisher and founder of Pergamon Press (Headington House)
- William ORCHARD (d.1504)*† Stonemason (Barton Road)
- Mrs Barbara WOODHOUSE, née Blackburn (1910–1988)* † Dog-trainer (Sandfield Cottage)
- John Wesley WOODWARD (1879–1912), Musician who died on the Titanic (Windmill Road)
Diarists and visitors
- Joe PULLEN (1631–1714)*†, who walked up to Pullen's Lane from Magdalen Hall at least once daily
- “Parson” James WOODFORDE (1740–1803)†, who recorded his visits to Headington in his diaries
= Blue plaque on their house in Headington
* = Has a road in Headington named after him/her.
† = Also has a full entry
in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Other Headington people in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ODNB contains numerous other people who were associated with Headington, who do not have individual biographies on this site. The biographies are available free to many public library users, including those in Oxfordshire: to view the following biographies, go to the ODNB online and enter L followed immediately by your library ticket number in the “Library Card Login” box:
- Evelyn ABBOTT (1843–1901), Classical Scholar
Lived at Pullens Cottage in Pullens Lane from 1890 to 1901 - John Norman Leonard BAKER (1893–1971), Geographer
Lived at Stone Rise, 11/13 New High Street, from 1928 to 1952 - Henry BALFOUR (1863–1939), Museum curator
Lived at Langley Lodge in Pullens Lane from 1909 to 1939 - John Hugh Marshall BEATTIE (1915–1990), Social anthropologist
Lived at The Cottage at the top of Headington Hill from 1956 to 1973 - Stuart Highworth BLANCH (1918–1994), Archbishop of York
Curate of All Saints Church, Lime Walk from 1949 to 1952 - James Leslie BRIERLY (1881–1955), International lawyer
Lived Greensward, Harberton Mead from 1926 to 1947 and at 6 Brookside from 1949 to 1955 - Alice BRUCE (1867–1951), educationist
Lived at White Gables, 14 Sandfield Road by 1935 to 1951 - Sir George Norman CLARK (1890–1979), historian, Provost of Oriel
Lived at 20 Horwood Close from 1967 to 1970, then at 7 Ethelred Court from 1972 to 1979 - George Albert COOKE (1865–1939), Biblical scholar
Curate of St Andrew’s Church, Headington from 1889 - Richard Lynch COTTON (1794–1880), Provost of Worcester
Instrumental in the building of Holy Trinity Church, Headington Quarry - Rosamond DAVENPORT-HILL (1825–1902), Social reformer
Lived at Hillstow (later renamed Dorset House) on the London Road from 1897 to 1902 - William Harbutt DAWSON (1860–1948), Journalist
Lived at 23 Latimer Road in the 1930s - Vigo Auguste DEMANT (1893–1983), Theologian and social commentator
Lived at 31 St Andrew’s Road from 1971 - Sir Henry HARNESS (1804–1883), Army officer
Built Barton End in c.1880 - Francis John HAVERFIELD (1860–1919), Historian and archaeologist
Built Winshields in Pullens Lane and lived there until 1919 - Charles HERFORD (1853–1931), Literary scholar
Lived at 80 Old Road (then numbered 24) until 1931 - Thomas Lionel HODGKIN (1910–1982), Historian
Born in 1910 at Mendip House, Pullens Lane - William HUME-ROTHERY (1899–1968), Chemist and metallurgist
Lived at 54 Sandfield Road in the 1930s - John MASSIE (1842–1925), Biblical scholar and politician
Lived in the Rookery (now Ruskin Hall) from 1910 to 1925 - Hope MIRRLEES (1887–1978), Writer and poet
Lived in The Firs at the top of Headington Hill from 1963 to 1978 - Henry Whitehead MOSS (1841–1917), Headmaster of Shrewsbury School
Lived at Highfield Park (now the Park Hospital) from 1909 - Simon Harcourt NOWELL-SMITH (1909–1996), Book collector
Lived at 7 Beaumont Road, Headington Quarry from 1965 - Alexander Duncan Campbell PETERSON (1908–1988), Educational reformer
Lived at 33 St Andrew’s Road (before it became the vicarage) from 1967 to 1970
- Sir Alan PIM (1871–1958), Administrator in India and colonial adviser
Lived at Ridgeway, 3 Harberton Mead from at least 1935 to 1958 - Henry Habberley PRICE (1899–1984), Philosopher
Lived at Hillside, 69 Jack Straw’s Lane from his birth in 1899 until 1984 - Ian RAMSEY (1917–1972), Bishop of Durham
Curate of Headington Quarry in the 1940s - James Edwin Thorold ROGERS (1823–1890), Political economist and politician
Acted voluntarily as assistant curate at Headington from 1854 to 1858 - (William) Ritchie RUSSELL (1903–1980), Neurologist
Worked at Headington Hill Hall rehabilitation centre and studied brain wounds sustained in World War II - Sir Michael Ernest SADLER (1861–1943), Educationist, his second wife Eva Margaret GILPIN (1868–1940),
Headmistress and educationist, and his son by his first wife Michael Thomas Harvey Sadleir [sic] (1888–1957),
Bibliographer and novelist
Lived at the Rookery (now Ruskin Hall) from 1934 to 1943 - Percy SIMPSON (1865–1962), Literary scholar
Lived at 61 Old Road from 1922 to 1960 - Gabriel TURVILLE-PETRE (1908–1978), Icelandic scholar
Lived at The Court in the Croft from 1948 to 1978 - Sydney VINES (1849–1934), Botanist
Built the Vineyard, later named Pollock House, in Pullens Lane in 1885 and lived there until 1921
Headington people who served as Mayor of Oxford (up to 1962)
- John BOYCE (1722/3, 1727/8, 1739/40)
- William BUTLER (1836)
- Robert Frank KNIGHT (1957/8)
- Sir Joseph LOCK (1813/14, 1829/30): see above for link to full biography
- Malcolm Anthony LOWER (1955/6)
- Robert PAWLING (1679/80)
- Edward TAWNEY (1722/3, 1784/5, 1797/8)
Other famous people of Headington
- Lord McCarthy of Headington (1925–2012): obituary in the Telegraph
- Lady McCarthy of Headington (1932–2018): obituary in the Oxford Mail
