In 1857 by an Act of Parliament the extra-parochial area of Shotover was divided into two civil parishes called Shotover and Shotover Hill Place, which were henceforth listed as coming under the Headington Union. Shotover Hill Place was close up against Headington Quarry on both the east and south sides, and covered a large but narrow area from the present Thornhill Park on the London Road to the part of Old Road to the east of Quarry Road, just as it starts to go uphill to Shotover.

On 6 February 1869 John Hudson, described in his probate record as being “of Shotover Place”, died in Oxford at the age of 67. Jackson's Oxford Journal of 20 March 1869 advertised a sale of live and dead farming stock, building materials, and household furniture upon Hudson's premises, Shotover Hill Place, by direction of his administrators. Then on 5 March 1870 the following advertisement appeared, implying that the house itself was called Shotover Place:

SHOTOVER HILL
TO BE LET, unfurnished,—A RESIDENCE HOUSE, with Stabling and Garden Ground, called “Shotover Hill Place,” situate near the Turnpike Road, at a distance of three miles from Oxford. The House, which is admirably built, has two good rooms on the ground floor, kitchen, pantry, and other conveniences; five bed rooms on the second floor, and four rooms above; stabling for two horses, coach-house, and two rooms adjoining.

The next mention in that newspaper of Shotover Hill Place, this time clearly as an area, was on 18 March 1876, when an inquest was held into the death of Alice Trafford (61), the widow of Thomas Trafford of Shotover Hill Place was reported.

There were still only nineteen houses in Shotover Hill Place by the time of the 1881 census:

The Secretary of the Headington Union inserted a notice in Jackson's Oxford Journal of 18 June 1881. It begins:

WHEREAS the Parishes of Shotover and Shotover Hill Place, in the Headington Union, and in the County of Oxford, were, or were reputed to be, extra-parochial places at the time of the passing of the Act of the Twentieth year of her present Majesty [1857], Chapter Nineteen, intituled “An Act to provide for the Relief of the Poor in extra-parochial places”

and goes on to suggest that the relief of the poor there “could be better administered if the same or any part or parts thereof were amalgamated with the adjoining Parish of Forest Hill, or other parishes”. In that year the new civil parish of “Forest Hill with Shotover” was formed with the merger of three smaller civil parishes (Forest Hill, Shotover, and Shotover Hill Place).

Later in 1881 the parishes of Shotover and Shotover Hill Place were was joined to the parish of Forest Hill to form the civil parish of Forest Hill with Shotover, but the latter remained very much part of Headington Quarry, and Kelly's Directory of 1899 states, “Shotover Hill Place, formerly ex-parochial, is now included with Forest Hill, and is part of Headington Quarry district”. Between 1866 and 1911 at least 45 babies born in this thinly populated area were baptised at Holy Trinity Church, and they would have attended Headington Quarry National School, which opened in 1864. Fifteen people who lived in Shotover Place were buried in Holy Trinity churchyard between 1883 and 1908.

The first mention of Shotover Hill Place in the Headington Quarry section of directories was in 1883, and its population was then given as 111. Directories at this time concentrated on significant people, and so only George Coppock of the Six Bells in Quarry who was also a brick, tile, & pipe maker at Shotover Hill Place and John Coppock, farmer are listed in that district in the decade from 1883 to 1893.

On, 20 January 1883 Jackson's Oxford Journal reported that Richard Parsons of Shotover Hill Place was summoned for neglecting to send his children to school.

The Times of 17 December 1884 reported that the proposed Parliamentary division of Woodstock would consist of “the petty sessional divisions of Ploughley, South Wootton, Bampton East and Bampton West, the Parliamentary borough of Oxford, the parishes of Beckley, Cutslow, Elsfield, Forest-hill, with Shotover-hill-place, Hampton Gay, Hampton Poyle, Horton-cum Studley Noke, Stanton St. John, Stowwood, Studley, Woodeaton, Woolvercott (part of), and such parts of Headington Marston [sic] as were not included in the Parliamentary borough of Oxford”, making it the largest division in the county with a population of 49,500.

The 1891 census duly listed Shotover Hill Place immediately following on from Forest Hill Shotover, and not as a separate parish any more, so the first schedule number this time is 55, rather than 1:

The description of the 1891 census refers to “Elkerton Cottage near public pound”, and Pound House Quarry is understood to have been at Shotover Hill Place.

The population of Shotover Hill Place went up to 121 in 1893 and 231 in 1894. It remained (suspiciously) at that same number for ten years up to and including 1903, but was revised to 112 in 1904. The figure of 112 continued to be given until Kelly's Directory of 1910, after which it no longer mentions Shotover Hill Place.

When Headington was taken into the city of Oxford in 1929, Shotover Hill Place was not included because it was outside the Headington boundary. Most of it today still remains in the parish of Forest Hill with Shotover and comes under South Oxfordshire District Council, except for the part near the London Road (primarily Shotover Lodge), which was taken into Oxford in 1991.

Shotover Lodge (later renamed Forest Lodge)

Shotover Lodge was the grandest house in Shotover Hill Place, and was a considerable distance both from the rest of that area and from Headington Quarry. It stood in isolation on the south side of the London Road between Forest Hill and Headington (see its position on map), and later its remaining 22½ acre grounds were occupied by Nielsen's (now the flats of Thornhill Park).

The former Shotover Lodge/Forest Lodge in December 2020, with its windows boarded up
See earlier photograph taken by Malcolm Graham on 31 July 2004

Joseph J. HENLEY, J.P., D.L, a Government Poor Law Inspector who was the eldest son of Joseph Warner Henley, M.P., was living at Shirburn Lodge in Shirburn, Oxfordshire at the time of the 1871 census but on 15 September that year when his daughter Georgiana Henley was married at Waterperry to Philip Digby Wykeham, Esq of Swalcliffe Park and Chinnor, his address was given as Shotover Lodge.

On 8 July 1876 the following auction was advertised in Jackson's Oxford Journal:

Shotover Lodge, near Oxford.

A particularly attractive & very valuable FREEHOLD and TITHE-FREE (with a small part COPYHOLD) RESIDENTIAL ESTATE, known as “SHOTOVER LODGE,” with 51A, 3R. 4P of excellent ARABLE PASTURE, and GARDEN LAND (portions thereof well adapted for Building), situate three miles from Oxford and two from Wheatley,

Lot 1.—A convenient Brick-built and slated RESIDENCE, KNOWN AS “SHOTOVER LODGE,” with Stabling, Coach-house, Out-buildings, small Farmery, Garden, Orchard, and 4 Enclosures of PASTURE LAND, containing in the whole 25A. 2R. 24P., now in the occupation of Jos. J. Henley, Esq., under Lease terminating Sept. 29, 1878, at the annual rent of £126.
The Property is Freehold, excepting 3A. 0R. 37P., which are Copyhold of Inheritance. There is no Land Tax.

On 22 July 1876 Henley's youngest daughter Emily Augusta Henley married Ellis Frederick Dudgeon at Waterperry, and on 9 January 1877 his only son J. Arthur Henley married Kate Isabelle Graves at Cork.

Henley must have renewed his lease of Shotover Lodge after it terminated, as in the 1881 census he was listed there with his wife Kate, two of his children, and his daughter-in-law, grandson, and six servants, and it was still his address in July 1883.

By the December 1883 Thomas Ellames WITHINGTON, M.A., the eldest son of Thomas Ellames Withington senior of Culcheth Hall, Warrington, Lancashire lived here. His marriage to Jane Florentia GOLDING was announced in The Times on 11 October 1884. The house was still occupied by Withington when it was advertised for sale in Jackson's Oxford Journal of 26 May 1888. Included in the sale were Gardens, Pleasure Grounds, Stables, Coachhouse, Farm Buildings, Dairy, Bailiff's House, Cottages, Land, &c. Withington remained in the house until 1890.

On 8 June 1889 the house was advertised to let in Jackson's Oxford Journal:

SHOTOVER LODGE, NEAR OXFORD.
TO be LET (UNFURNISHED) for 3 years, or such other term as may be arranged. —All that excellent Residence,, Garden, Pleasure Grounds, Stables, Bailiff's House, Cottages, &c. , known as SHOTOVER LODGE. The House contains 11 bed rooms, 3 good reception rooms, with servants' hall and the usual domestic offices. There is a three stall table, 2 loose boxes, and 2 coach-houses for four carriages and saddle room, 2 rooms over coachman's cottage, 2 lawn tennis grounds, and about 20 Acres of Pasture.

On 26 April 1890 an advertisement for the forthcoming auction of the house appeared in The Times:

Shotover-lodge, near Oxford, a desirable residence, of modern construction, with carriage-drive approach 200 yards in length, having a south aspect with good views, and containing 11 bed rooms, three reception rooms, and offices; suitable stabling, gardens, and about 31 acres of well-timbered pasture land; also, close to the foregoing, another 21½ acres of land, with farmhouse, buildings, &c., for Sale in two lots.

It was advertised similarly in Jackson's Oxford Journal on 12 August 1890, followed by an advertisement on 13 September 1890 of an auction of T. E. Withington's live and dead farming stock,

Comprising 4 very choice ALDERNEY and SHORTHORN DAIRY COWS in excellent condition, splendid Ripe Maiden HEIFER, 2 prime FAT HOGS, an exceedingly good 4-year-old BROWN FILLY by “John Ridd” (broken to saddle), capital CART with Shambles, Water Cart with Pump and Manure distributor, 2 Chaff Cutters, portable POULTRY HOUSE on iron wheels, Cake Crusher, Root Pulper, Winnowing Machine, 2 Bean and Oat Mills, Hathaway's Churn, and other Dairy Utensils, Lawn Mower complete Set of Tennis, Harness and numerous other Effects.

It appears that it was bought by Colonel James Miller who had purchased the Shotover House estate in 1871.

On 28 March 1891 Shotover Lodge was advertised as being to let again, and from later that year the early 1920s it was occupied by Anthony John [Compton-]Thornhill and his wife, the daughter of Miller. (The surname Thornhill seems to be a strange coincidence, as the Thorn Hill nearby shown on this map probably gave the area its later name.)

By 1924 Shotover Lodge had been renamed Forest Lodge and was occupied by Major-General Sir Robert Fanshawe, K.C.B., D.S.O.

By 1928 Major Aubrey Vere, DSO lived in Forest Lodge, and he was still there in 1936.

In 1938 Forest Lodge was occupied by Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Harrison.

From 1941 to 1956 the house was the Forest Lodge Hotel.

In 1956 A. C. Nielsen Co. Ltd., a market research firm with five offices in central Oxford, took over Forest Lodge and by 1958 had erected new buildings in its grounds, continuing to use the old house as offices. Nielsen's sold Forest Lodge and its grounds to developers and moved to the Oxford Business Park in March 2018. In September 2024 planning permission was granted for a second major development at Thornhill (21/01695/FUL) including the partial demolition and alterations to the Forest Lodge building.