Over Norton Park

Over Norton Park is a farm of 210 acres (85 ha) at Over Norton, lying to the north of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England. It has been in the Dawkins family since the 1720s.[1][2] Originally a larger country estate, it was inherited by John Dawkins (1915-2010), the father of the biologist Richard Dawkins, under whose management it became a single commercial farm which he farmed himself.[2]

The estate at Over Norton was bought in 1726 by James Dawkins (c. 1696–1766), the son of Colonel Richard Dawkins of Jamaica, and a Member of Parliament for New Woodstock. He was the uncle of Henry Dawkins the Younger (1728–1814), who inherited the property on his death.[3] A Bodleian Library page comments on the build-up of Dawkins family holdings in the Chipping Norton area, including the purchase of Salford Manor by Henry Dawkins II.[4]

Down through the generations, Over Norton belonged to Henry Dawkins (1765–1852) (Henry Dawkins III), third son of Henry Dawkins; then Henry Dawkins (1788–1864) (Henry Dawkins IV), both Members of Parliament for Boroughbridge, then to William Gregory Dawkins (1825–1914), passing down to the eldest sons.[5] William Gregory Dawkins replaced the Georgian mansion in 1874. By 1945 a much reduced estate was in the hands of his great-nephew Hereward Dawkins.[6]

The passing of Over Norton to another branch of the Dawkins family went back to the line of another son of Henry Dawkins III, Clinton George Augustus Dawkins (1808–1871). He was the great-grandfather of John Dawkins.[7]

References
  1. Burke's Landed Gentry 17th edition, 1952, ed. L. G. Pine, 'Dawkins of Over Norton' pedigree
  2. Dawkins, Richard (11 December 2010). "Lives Remembered: John Dawkins". The Independent. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  3. "Dawkins, James (?1696–1766), of Over Norton, Oxon., History of Parliament Online". Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  4. "bodley.ox.ac.uk, Papers of the Dawkins family". University of Oxford. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  5. "Dawkins, Henry (1788–1864), of Over Norton, Oxon. and 58 Green Street, Grosvenor Square, Mdx., History of Parliament Online". Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  6. Richard Dawkins (24 April 2014). An Appetite for Wonder: The Making of a Scientist. Transworld Publishers Limited. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-552-77905-0.
  7. Richard Dawkins (2013). An Appetite for Wonder: The Making of a Scientist. Bantam Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-593-07089-5.

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