IFFLEY, a village and a parish in Headington district, Oxfordshire. The village stands on a height adjacent to the river Thames, at the boundary with Berks, near the Oxford railway, 1¾ mile SE by S of Oxford; commands pleasant views of Oxford and the river; was anciently called Givetelei, signifying "the gift field;" and has a post office under Oxford. The parish contains also Hockmoor hamlet; includes 1, 090 acres of Littlemore liberty; and comprises altogether 1, 769 acres. Real property, exc. of Littlemore, £4, 285; inc. of all Littlemore, £6, 003. Pop., exc. of L., 770; inc. of the part of L., 1, 004. Houses, 218. The manor belonged to the Black monks of Kenilworth. Limestone, for rough building, is quarried. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Oxford. Value, £300.* Patron, the Archdeacon of Oxford. The church is chiefly Norman, with three magnificent Norman doorways; has an early English chancel, good painted glass windows, and a Norman tower; and contains a large, square, Norman font, in which, according to tradition, Edward the Confessor was baptized. The churchyard contains a venerable yew tree, and a restored cross. An old parsonage, of picturesque appearance, with some fine panelled rooms, is adjacent. There are a national school, and charities £147.

(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))