Ickford

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ickford is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is near the border with Oxfordshire, about four miles west of Thame. As a result, many residents subscribe to the Thame Gazette, as well as the village paper: the Ickford Informer.

The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'Icca's ford'. In the Domesday Book of 1086 it was recorded as Iforde.

The parish church dates from the 13th century and is dedicated to Saint Nicholas.

In 2005 Ickford had 536 people on the electoral roll and a total population of some 700, which has been growing since the 1950s. There is a church, village hall, shop and post office as well as a primary school which also serves the nearby villages of Worminghall and Shabbington. Ickford Combined School is a community school, with approximately 115 children between the age of four and the age of eleven. The school was opened in September 1906 and has a well appointed sports hall, which was opened in February 2006. There is a preschool based on the school site and an After School Club until 6pm every day that the school is open. Until about 2000 Ickford was also home to two pubs, however The Royal Oak has been closed for a few years now: The remaining one (The Rising Sun) shut on account of a fire that badly damaged the building in 2006 but has now re-opened after refurbishment. It is non-smoking and four real ales are served.

Agriculture is still practiced, although being close to Oxford and to junction 8A of the M40 Ickford is increasingly a commuter village.

For over 50 years an annual tug of war with neighbouring Tiddington has taken place each summer across the River Thame: it is the duty of the soaked losers to buy the victors beer.