Forest Hill

"FOREST HILL, a parish in the hundred of Bullingdon, county Oxford, 4 miles N.E. of Oxford, its post town. This place was anciently a cell to the abbey of Osney. The village is small, but situated in the midst of fine scenery. It is believed to have contributed to the imagery of Milton's minor poems, especially the "L'Allegro" and "Il Penseroso". It was here that his father. in-law, Richard Powell, a justice of the peace, held considerable property, which was afterwards forfeited to the Commonwealth, except such portion as was mortgaged to Milton. There are still some remains of the house in which Mary Powell was horn, and which, after the Restoration, appears to have been recovered by the Powell family. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Oxford, value £85, in the patronage of Lincoln College, Oxford. The church, which stands on a considerable elevation, is dedicated to St. Nicholas. In it Milton was married the first time, and the poet Mickle was buried in the churchyard. The children of this parish share the benefits of the school at Stanton St. John." [The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]