History

North Hinksey is the northernmost parish of the Portsmouth Diocese, whose boundary, like that of most Catholic Dioceses, is the old county boundary. Until a few years ago Berkshire extended to the River Thames, except in Botley, where the boundary became the Seacourt Stream.

It wasn't so long ago that the North Hinskey part of the Diocese was served from East Hendred, home of the old Catholic family of the Eystons. The Parish of North Hinksey has four church buildings, reflecting the geographically fragmented nature of the population. Each of those buildings was meant to be a focus for a local Catholic community made up of people who cared for each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, and whose witness to Christ and care for others spilled out into the wider community.

The design of the Holy Rood Church, which was dedicated in 1961, was inspired by the vision of the Second Vatican Council of the Church as the People of God on their pilgrimage. The tent shape of the Church reflects the tent of the Tabernacle in the Old Testament, which was the dwelling place of the presence of God.