tHE HISTORY OF WESTHILL FARM
Located on the lower slopes of Shotover Hill, Westhill Farm was built in the early 18th century, and remained part of Shotover Estate until the 19th century. During this time, its been used for arable and pasture land, orchards, potato patches and allotments. In 1889, the owner sold 131 acres of the farm to Christ Church College, who then themselves sold 117 acres to the Oxford Preservation Trust in 1936. The Westhill Farm was given as a gift to the City of Oxford in 1952, under a covenant which expressed a need to maintain the Farm as part of the natural space of Shotover and use it for agricultural purposes. Since then, uses have included grazing cattle and the storage of machinery.
The farm and its outbuildings are currently inaccessible to the public after the roof of the Westhill Farm was destroyed in a fire. Once accessible, there is huge potential to rebuild the farm to eco-standards, along with reinvigorate the farmland around it. We are in active conversation with the stakeholders involved with Westhill Farm to work through issues related to access and basic infrastructure in order to make this potential a reality as soon as possible!
The farm and its outbuildings are currently inaccessible to the public after the roof of the Westhill Farm was destroyed in a fire. Once accessible, there is huge potential to rebuild the farm to eco-standards, along with reinvigorate the farmland around it. We are in active conversation with the stakeholders involved with Westhill Farm to work through issues related to access and basic infrastructure in order to make this potential a reality as soon as possible!