Coordinates: 51°43′52″N 1°13′37″W / 51.731°N 1.227°W / 51.731; -1.227

Iffley
240px St. Mary's parish church
Iffley  Iffley shown within Oxfordshire
OS grid reference	SP535037
District	City of 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

Iffley is a village in Oxfordshire, England, within the boundaries of the city of Oxford, between Cowley and the estates of Rose Hill and Donnington, and in proximity to the River Thames (Isis). Its most notable feature is its original and largely unchanged Norman church, St Mary the Virgin,^[1] which has a modern stained glass Nativity window designed by John Piper. The church is listed Grade I.

History[link]

"In the chronicles of Abingdon Abbey (AD 941 – 946) the place is called Gifteleia. The Domesday Book of 1086 it is Givetelei. Merton College records in the 1290s call it Iftele and Yiftele; it is Yeftley to the civil servants^{[clarification needed]} writing up the Domesday of Inclosures, in Latin, in 1517 – 18; Lincoln College accounts, written less formally and in English, have Ifley by 1543, and it is Iffley or Iflie during the Civil War 1642 – 46. Clearly, the sound of the name — at a time when spoken forms were dominant — was fixed by then. Afterwards the Y survived in occasional use, but only lawyers bothered with the T..."^[2]

The ending of the name of this village near Oxford, means "cleared ground": the Old English term for that was "ley" — just up the road from modern Iffley, the town of Cowley also preserves the Old English ending and meaning in its name.

No records of the foundation of Iffley have been found: an estimate of the date is about AD 1000–1050. The reason for the founding is clear from the location: Iffley has a little hill, and so is the first place downriver from Oxford from which traffic on the Thames might be surveyed, and controlled — and where people might be safe from floods:

"It is likely that the hill, running to 295 ft, now known as Rose Hill and Iffley, was a desirable place to live, safe from any floods. Many other villages, above and below, are set back from the river to cater for floods."^[2]

Map of Iffley Village

During the 12th century Oxford townsmen built a watermill at Iffley, which was bought by Lincoln College, Oxford in 1445: the mill burned in 1908, having survived for nearly 800 years. Products ground at the Iffley mill included malt, barley, corn, and other cereals — for a brief time during the 15th century it was a fulling mill. The mill,

"…was notorious for its arguments between bargees and millers, who being in possession of the lock, whether it was a flash or pound lock, could preserve their head of water, and not let it flow down river, by opening the gates, as long as they wished."^[2]

In 1156 Iffley was among the holdings of the Norman family of St. Remy, until about 1200. They established Iffley as a parish, and built the parish church, "in size and decorative splendour out of all proportion to the place".^[2] The manor was owned by many, thereafter. The Archdeacons of Oxford were given the right to appoint the parish priest in 1279: they held this until 1965, when the power was given to the Dean and Chapter of Christ Church, Oxford.

Domesday Book entry[link]

People mentioned: Abbey of St Mary of Winchcombe; Aelfgifu; Alnoth; Alric; Alwine; Azur; Bondi; Brian; Cynewig; Earl Tosti; Earl Aubrey de Coucy of Northumbria; Edwin the sheriff; Henry de Ferrers; Hugh; Hugh d'Ivry; Hugh de Bolbec; Queen Edith; Ralph; Robert; Roger; Rolf; Swein; Turold; Walter; Walter Giffard; William Peverel; William de Warenne; William fitzAnsculf. Date: 1086^[3]

Notable people[link]

• Frank Bickerton (1889–1954) Antarctic explorer and First World War aviator was born in Iffley.^[4]

See also[link]

The village of Iffley has given its name to:

• Iffley College, the original name of Wolfson College
• Iffley Halt, a former station on the Wycombe Railway
• Iffley Lock on the River Isis
• Iffley Mill, locally famous for the spectacular fire that burnt it down in 1908
• Iffley Road in east Oxford

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Lobel, Mary D, ed. (1957). Victoria County History: A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 5: Bullingdon Hundred. pp. 189–206. 
• Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 658–662. ISBN 0-14-071045-0. 

v t e The City of Oxford Oxfordshire • County Council elections • City Council elections • Oxford East Borough Constituency • Oxford West and Abingdon County Constituency Wards, suburbs, neighbourhoods and districts Barton • Binsey • Cowley (Florence Park, Temple Cowley) • Cutteslowe • Donnington • Godstow • Grandpont • Headington (Headington Hill, New Headington, Old Headington) • Holywell • Iffley • Jericho • New Botley • New Hinksey • New Marston • Norham Manor • North Oxford (Central North Oxford, Park Town) • Northway • Osney • Port Meadow • St Clement's • St. Ebbes • St John Street area • St. Thomas' (Oxpens) •Science Area • Summertown • Sunnymead • Walton Manor • Wolvercote • Waterways Civil parishes Blackbird Leys (Greater Leys) • Littlemore (Rose Hill) • Old Marston • Risinghurst and Sandhills (Risinghurst, Sandhills, Barton, Headington Quarry, Wood Farm) Former district and borough County Borough of Oxford • Headington Rural District Former constituencies Oxford Borough Constituency • Oxfordshire County Constituency • Oxford University Constituency List of Parliamentary constituencies in Oxfordshire • List of places in Oxfordshire • List of civil parishes in Oxfordshire

External links[link]

Media related to Iffley at Wikimedia Commons