Horton-cum-Studley

Studley Priory was a small house of Benedictine nuns, ruled by a prioress. It was founded some time before 1176 in the hamlet of Studley in what is now the village of Horton-cum-Studley, 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England, at 1 Horton Hill Road. In 1176, the priory received a grant from Bernard of St. Walery. The nuns were unhappy to be served poor beef and new beer on Thursday and Sunday nights, and no mutton. The priory was declared closed by 1536, but appears to have experienced a brief revival before its suppression in 1539. The priory lands were sold to the Croke family. The family built the house now known as Studley Priory, which still stands in its 10 acres (4.0 ha) of grounds, in 1587; a member of the Croke family was a judge in the 1649 trial of Charles I. The house and its estate (which comprised most of the village of Horton-cum-Studley) was owned by the Croke family until around 1870 when it was sold to the Henderson family, who occupied it until World War II. During the war, it was a sanatorium for Royal Air Force officers. In 1947 the priory was leased by Raymond and Tessa Bawtree, who (with their partner, Wilma Hessey) ran it as a country-house hotel for the next 14 years. During that time, many eminent guests stayed there (including Adrian Boult, Gilbert Murray, Beverley Nichols and Sandy Wilson; it was a favourite hostelry of C.S. Lewis, who came regularly for a Sunday-morning beer after church and in later years stayed there with his wife Joy. The Bawtrees did not renew their lease in 1961; that year the Hendersons auctioned off their estate, including the priory. The priory was bought by the Parke family, who continued to run it as a hotel until 2004 when the business was placed in receivership due to mounting financial losses. The business failed to find a buyer and the Priory was sold for reconversion to a private house.The monastery is mentioned in the historical novel Blanket In The Dark by John Buchan who lived at nearby Elsfield. It was used as a filming location for the exterior of Sir Thomas More's Chelsea home in the 1966 version of Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons (interior shots were done in a studio, not at Studley Priory).

Bernwood Meadows is a 7.5-hectare (19-acre) nature reserve near Oakley in Buckinghamshire. It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.This traditional hay meadow has over 100 plant species, including lady's bedstraw, green winged orchids and cuckooflowers. It also has many species of butterfly, such as orange tip and rare black and brown hairstreaks. other wildlife includes brown hares, kestrels and moths.There is access from the road between Stanton St. John and Oakley.

Bernwood Forest is a forest in England. Historically it was one of several forests of the ancient Kingdom of England and was a Royal hunting forest. It is thought to have been set aside as Royal hunting land when the Anglo-Saxon kings had a palace at Brill and church in Oakley, in the 10th century and was a particularly favoured place of Edward the Confessor, who was born in nearby Islip. From about 1217 through to the 17th century the forest went through a gradual period of deforestation. King Henry II (reigned 1154–1189) prepared a map of the forest at the time which is an invaluable tool in helping define its ancient boundaries; however, his purpose for drawing up the map was to divide the forest amongst his nobles. By the 16th century, another map of the forest had been drawn up by which time it had been reduced greatly in size. Again, the map was drawn up under the aegis of the Crown as an audit to what revenue could be made from selling off the forest. By the reign of King James I (reigned 1603–1625), the forest had lost its Royal status and had completely disappeared. Today the name refers to the area of Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire where the forest was at the time of King Henry II, covering 400 km². The approximate boundaries of the designated area today fall within the River Great Ouse, the Padbury Brook, the Claydon Brook and the River Thame. The small modern Bernwood Forest in Buckinghamshire is approximately 1 km² and is contiguous with Hell Coppice, York's Wood, Oakley Wood and Shabbington Wood. A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) called Shabbington Woods Complex, it supports a wide variety of wildlife and is one of the most important butterfly sites in the United Kingdom. Its manager, Forestry England, originally had a more commercial approach. Aerial spraying of pesticides occurring up until the late 1960s:firstly DDT to control Hylobius abietis then 2,4,5-T to clear broad-leafed plants (including oak saplings) before planting commercial pine stands. Holly Wood, Holton Wood, Stanton Great Wood and Waterperry Wood, all in Oxfordshire, and Ham Home-cum-Hamgreen Woods in Buckinghamshire, are also remnants of Bernwood Forest which are SSSIs. Another fragment in Buckinghamshire is Rushbeds Wood, an SSSI which is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.

Whitecross Green and Oriel Woods is a 63-hectare (160-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Oxford and Bicester in Oxfordshire. It is owned and managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust under the name Whitecross Green Wood.These ancient woods are part of two former royal forests, Shotover and Bernwood. They are crossed by herb-rich and grassy rides, some of which are bordered by ditches, and there is also a pond and a marsh. Twenty-four species of butterfly have been recorded including the nationally rare black hairstreak.

Shabbington Woods Complex is a 305.6-hectare (755-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest ((SSSI) between Horton-cum-Studley and Worminghall in Buckinghamshire. It comprises Shabbington Wood, Bernwood Forest, Hell Coppice, Oakley Wood and York's Wood. Shabbington Wood is owned by the Forestry Commission, and a small area of 7.5 hectares called Bernwood Meadows is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.The site is the largest remnant of the former Royal Forest of Bernwood. Other remnants are SSSIs in Oxfordshire. In this site only a small area of ancient woodland survives, and the main interest is the rich insect fauna. There are also two unimproved meadows, bounded by mature hedges, and several ponds. Over forty species of butterfly have been recorded, including the rare Duke of Burgundy.

Holly Wood is a 25.6-hectare (63-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Oxford in Oxfordshire.This ancient wood is a small remnant of the medieval Royal Forest of Shotover. It is coppice with standards on Oxford Clay with a varied invertebrate fauna. There are several uncommon butterfiles such as the black hairstreak and purple emperor.

Waterperry Wood is a 137-hectare (340-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) east of Oxford in Oxfordshire. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and is owned and managed by the Forestry Commission.This wood has been designated an SSSI because it contains a diverse and important insect fauna, with many nationally uncommon and rare species. There are nineteen species of nationally uncommon hoverflies, including five which are listed in the British Red Data Book of Insects, many nationally uncommon beetles, thirty butterfly species and several rare moths.

Beckley and Stowood is a civil parish in the South Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. According to the United Kingdom Census 2011 it had a population of 608 (an increase of 55 in 10 years) across its area of 9.17 km2. It is centred 3 miles (4.8 km) north-east of Oxford and just over 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the M40 motorway. The parish settlements are Beckley and Stowood which is covered in the Beckley article, long being closely associated.

Looping Star is a steel roller coaster located at Clacton Pier in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex manufactured by Pinfari. It was formerly located at Codonas Amusement Park in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was the park's only ride with an inversion, built on top of the mini-golf and restaurant. It replaced the Galaxi roller coaster, which was moved to Loudoun Castle amusement park (now defunct). The ride used to have three trains, but after 2010 the ride operated 2 trains, then some point in 2017 The coaster operated just 1 train (the other two are sitting on the transfer track). They use the newer Pinfari trains, which can be seen on rides built from the mid 1990s onwards. The Looping Star has now been moved to Clacton Pier, where it was intended to be assembled and open for the 2020 summer season, however, as a result of damage from Storm Ciara, it was opened on the 23rd October 2021 instead.

Stanton Great Wood is a 58.2-hectare (144-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Oxford in Oxfordshire.This coppice with standards wood is traditionally managed. The dominant trees are pedunculate oak, ash and hazel, and there is a rich flora and diverse insects. Moths include the buff footman, poplar lutestring, blotched emerald, maiden's blush and the nationally uncommon small black arches.The site is private land with no public access.

Beckley Park is an English country house located near the village of Beckley, in Oxfordshire, England. It was built in 1540 by Lord Williams of Thame, who also built a great house at Rycote, a few miles away. It was originally built as a lodge for use when the lord and a party hunted the great park. Today it is the home of Amanda Feilding and the main headquarters of her Beckley Foundation which is doing research on the benefits of certain types of drugs, including cannabis and LSD. Feilding is married to James Charteris, 13th Earl of Wemyss, who is the owner of Stanway House in Gloucestershire and Gosford House in Scotland. The Tudor brick edifice of the house is encircled by three moats which attest to the place's importance in former days. Beckley Park remained with the descendants of Lord Williams, the Earls of Abingdon, until 1920 when it was bought by Clotilde Kate Feilding, grandmother of Amanda Feilding, Lady Neidpath. It is situated between Beckley and Otmoor just outside Oxford. The house is closed to the public, although it is regularly used for photo shoots and as a film location.

Honeyburge is a hamlet in the civil parish of Boarstall in Buckinghamshire, England. The hamlet is on Dane's Brook next to Boarstall Wood. Honeyburge is less than 0.5 miles (800 m) south of Boarstall village and about 8 miles (13 km) by road south of the market town of Bicester in neighbouring Oxfordshire. It has nine 9 houses, soon to be 12 (depending on planning permission).