BRENDA Horwood has lived in the same house in Marlborough Road for 86 years so she knows a bit about South Oxford’s history.

In all that time, she says the biggest change has been the creation of Hinksey Park. That is why Ms Horwood, 92, was chosen to help unveil two new displays in Hinksey Park that reveal the hidden history of the area.

The boards, created by historian Liz Woolley, show visitors how South Oxford Community Centre used to house Oxford’s waterworks, and reveal that the railway into the city used to run through Hinksey Park to Oxford’s first station in Marlborough Road.

Ms Horwood said the signs were “absolutely wonderful”.

She added: “The signs are a very, very good idea and it was a really happy day.”

Ms Horwood moved to the house, originally owned by her great-grandfather John Giddings, with her parents Emily May and Sidney Horwood in 1928, when she was six years old.

Hinksey Park did not yet exist, and the site where it now stands was part of Oxford Waterworks. The open air swimming pool was created out of the old water filter beds.

There was no bridge at the bottom of the road so residents had to go to Abingdon Road to get across the river, making Grandpont somewhat “exclusive”, she said.

Throughout her life, her work never took her far from her beloved South Oxford. She worked first at Will R Rose photography in High Street, then AC Nielsen marketing in St Aldate’s. She said: “I love it so much here, out the back of the house I have got a lovely big field, no buildings in sight.”

Ms Woolley, who also lives in Marlborough Road, said: “This area is very interesting historically. It’s just not as well-known as Jericho or East Oxford.”

One sign at the Lake Street entrance tells the story of Oxford Waterworks, opened in 1856, which gave residents running water in their homes for the first time.

A second, at the northern entrance, traces the former route of the railway through the park. The line took passengers to Oxford’s first railway station at the corner of Marlborough Road and Western Road – named after the Great Western Railway.

The signs also have QR codes which people can scan with a smartphone, taking them to a history page on South Oxford Community Association’s website.

As well as a grant from Oxford City Council, the project has also been funded by Abingdon Road’s Four Pillars Hotel, Brasenose College, which owns land in South Oxford, and the Greening Lamborn Trust for history.

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