Holywell Press

Oxford Archaeology (OA, trading name of Oxford Archaeology Limited) is one of the largest and longest-established independent archaeology and heritage practices in Europe, operating from three permanent offices in Oxford, Lancaster and Cambridge, and working across the UK. OA is a Registered Organisation with the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA), and carries out commercial archaeological fieldwork in advance of development, as well as a range of other heritage related services. Oxford Archaeology primarily operates in the UK, but has also carried out contracts around the world, including Sudan, Qatar, Central Asia, China and the Caribbean. Numbers of employees vary owing to the project-based nature of the work, but in 2023 OA employed over 350 people. The registered head office is in Osney Mead, Oxford, southern England; this address is also the base for OA's Oxford office. Other offices are in Lancaster, northern England, and Cambridge, based at Bar Hill, Cambridgeshire, eastern England. Between 2007 and 2011, OA had offices in Mauguio (OA Méditerranée), southern France and Caen (OA Grand Ouest), northern France.

Oxfordshire in South East England has an area of 2,605 square kilometres and a population of 648,700. In England, the body responsible for designating Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) is Natural England, which is responsible for protecting England's natural environment. Notification as an SSSI gives legal protection to the best sites for wildlife and geology. As of 2020, there are 111 SSSIs in Oxfordshire, 78 of which have been designated for biological interest, 27 for geological interest, and 6 for both biological and geological interest.

Oxfordshire ( OKS-fahd-shər, -⁠sheer; abbreviated Oxon) is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Gloucestershire to the west. The city of Oxford is the largest settlement and county town. The county is largely rural, with an area of 2,605 km2 (1,006 sq mi) and a population of 691,667. After Oxford (162,100), the largest settlements are Banbury (54,355) and Abingdon-on-Thames (37,931). For local government purposes Oxfordshire is a non-metropolitan county with five districts. The part of the county south of the River Thames, largely corresponding to the Vale of White Horse district, was historically part of Berkshire. The lowlands in the centre of the county are crossed by the River Thames and its tributaries, the valleys of which are separated by low hills. The south contains parts of the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills, and the north-west includes part of the Cotswolds; all three regions are Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The county's highest point is White Horse Hill (261-metre (856 ft)), part of the Berkshire Downs.

Local nature reserves (LNRs) in England are designated by local authorities under Section 21 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. LNRs are sites which have a special local interest either biologically or geologically. Local authorities have a duty to care for them, and must control the sites by owning or leasing them, or by having an agreement with the owners. The local authorities can apply local byelaws to manage and protect LNRs.As of February 2020, there are fifteen LNRs in Oxfordshire, a county in South East England with an area of 2,605 square kilometres and a population of 648,700.

Ferry Hinksey Road is a road in west Oxford, England, leading south from the Botley Road. The road leads to the Osney Mead Industrial Estate to the east, started in 1961. To the east is Osney Ditch.

The Osney Ditch is a side channel of the River Thames at Oxford, England. It is one of the principal watercourses in west Oxford.The ditch leaves Bulstake Stream just east of Binsey Lane and then rejoins the main stream of the Thames south of Osney. It flows under Botley Road and forms the western side of Osney Island. The ditch passes just to the west of St Frideswide's Church south of Botley Road and east of Ferry Hinksey Road.

St Frideswide's Church is a Church of England church on the south side of the Botley Road in New Osney, west Oxford, England. The church is in a district originally part of the parish of St Thomas the Martyr.

Bulstake Bridge is a road bridge across the Bulstake Stream, a branch of the River Thames in Oxford, England.The original stone arch bridge was built by John Claymond (1468–1537), the first President of Corpus Christi College (one of the colleges of Oxford University), in around 1530. The bridge was rebuilt with a higher arch in 1721. It was reconstructed again in 1923–4. The bridge is on the Botley Road (designated the A420) in New Botley. To the west is Botley itself and to the east is New Osney. Between Botley and Oxford there are a number of road bridges crossing various branches of the Thames, including Botley Bridge over Seacourt Stream and Osney Bridge over the main branch of the Thames, also on Botley Road, and Hythe Bridge over the Castle Mill Stream, next to the end of the Oxford Canal. There is an Ordnance Survey surveying benchmark on one of the piers of the bridge.

Osney or Osney Island (; an earlier spelling of the name is Oseney) is a riverside community in the west of the city of Oxford, England. In modern times the name is applied to a community also known as Osney Town astride Botley Road, just west of the city's main railway station, on an island surrounded by the River Thames, Osney Ditch and another backwater connecting the Thames to Osney Ditch. Until the early 20th century the name was applied to the larger island of Oxford Castle and New Osney (between Castle Mill Stream and the main stream of the Thames) on which Osney Abbey and Osney Mill were established during the Middle Ages. The place plays a minor but significant role in The Miller's Tale in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.

Osney Lock Hydro is a micro hydroelectric scheme in Oxford, England. It is located on the River Thames, using the head of water provided by the weir at Osney Lock. It can generate 49 kilowatts (66 hp) of electricity with its archimedes screw turbine. Between 2015 and 2020 the scheme generated an average of 188 megawatt-hours (680 GJ) a year of electricity, which is enough to power around 60 homes.The scheme is owned and operated by Osney Lock Hydro, an industrial and provident society for the benefit of the community. The idea for the project was first raised in 2002, with construction work starting in the summer of 2013, and the first electricity was generated in May 2015.

Botley Road is the main road into the centre of Oxford, England from the west. It stretches between Botley, on the Oxford Ring Road (A34) to the west of the city, and Frideswide Square at the junction with Oxford railway station, close to central Oxford.

Osney Mill is a former flour mill on a branch of the River Thames in Oxford, England, located south of the Botley Road, down Mill Street. While the mill was gutted by a fire in 1945 and remained derelict for over 60 years, the exterior walls were incorporated into a modern apartment building during the early-2010s that now occupies the site. Close by the site of the mill is Osney Lock. To the east is Osney Cemetery, to the west is Osney Island, while Oxford railway station lies just to the north.