Radley

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For other uses, see Radley (disambiguation).

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Train at Radley.

Radley is a village and civil parish located on the northern edge of Abingdon in the English county of Oxfordshire (though formerly part of Berkshire). It is about 6 miles (10 km) south of Oxford. The parish includes Lower Radley, a hamlet on the River Thames. It is famous as the location of Radley College

1 Amenities
2 Parish church
3 Controversy
4 External links

[edit] Amenities

Radley is served by Radley railway station on the Oxford-London line. Radley Church of England Primary School is next to the church, not to be confused with Radley College, one of Britain's leading public schools, which was founded in 1847 and educates 630 boys, all of whom board at the college.

[edit] Parish church

The Church of England parish church of Saint James in Radley is missing its northern transept, which was destroyed during the Civil War. Gouging damage to the church door can be seen and is said to have been caused by a similar attack by Oliver Cromwell's troops. There is a fine Renaissance style monument to the lord of the manor, Sir William Stonhouse (d. 1631), sculpted by Nicholas Stone. The canopy over the pulpit originally stood behind the Speaker's chair in the House of Commons at Westminster and was given to the church by local man, Speaker William Lenthall, in 1643. It was the canopy from under which he was dragged by Cromwell's men at the end of the Long Parliament. Although the church as a whole is stone-built, the roof is supported by a line of stout wooden pillars installed by a medieval Abbot of Abingdon who was told in a vision to "seek [them] in the forest". The building houses some superb Royal heraldic stained-glass, probably Tudor in date. In the tower is also a stained-glass portrait believed to represent King Henry VII. The vicarage adjacent to the church dates from the 16th century.

[edit] Controversy

A local controversy at present is the proposal by power generator RWE Npower to fill a local lake with waste ash from Didcot Power Station. The lake is a man made structure that was formerly a gravel pit and has been allowed to flood over a number of years. The proposals have met with local opposition.