In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Minster Lovell like this:
MINSTER-LOVELL, a village and a parish in Witney district, Oxford. The village stands on the river. Windrush, between two hills, in a sort of oasis amid a desolate tract of country, near Wychwood forest, 1 ½ mile SE of Akeman-street, and 2½ NW by W of Witney r. station; was called only Minster till the time of Henry II.; took then the additional name of Lovell, from the owners of the manor; and has a post office under Witney. ...
The parish contains also one of F. O'Connor's landscheme villages, of 82 cottages; and comprises 1,938 acres. Real property, £3,054. Pop. in 1851,450; in 1861,586. Houses, 138. The property is much subdivided. The manor belongs to Lady Taunton. A Benedictine priory, a cell to Ivry abbey in Normandy, was founded here in the time of King, John; went, at the suppression of alien monasteries, to Eton college; and is now represented by ruins of a hall, with a groined and deep-moulded porch and some other interesting details, in later English architecture. This place is said to be the scene of Clara Reeve's story of the "Old English Baron. ''The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Oxford. Value, not reported. Patron, Eton College. The church is Norman and later English,-cruciform, with a central tower; possesses many beautiful features, but was recently in bad condition; contains a fine effigies of Francis Lord Lovel, who figured conspicuously in the time of Richard III., and a splendid monument, encircled with military trophies, to the memory of Henry Heylyn, Esq.; and stands adjacent to the ruins of the priory, in a grove.
Minster Lovell through time
Minster Lovell is now part of West Oxfordshire district. Click here for graphs and data of how West Oxfordshire has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Minster Lovell itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Minster Lovell in West Oxfordshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/9972
Date accessed: 19th April 2024
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