| Bletchingdon | |
| Bletch | |
St. Giles' parish church |
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Bletchingdon
Bletchingdon shown within Oxfordshire |
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| Population | 872 (2001 Census)[1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SP5017 |
| Parish | Bletchingdon |
| District | Cherwell |
| Shire county | Oxfordshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Kidlington |
| Postcode district | OX5 |
| Dialling code | 01869 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Banbury |
| Website | Bletchingdon Parish |
| List of places: UK • England • Oxfordshire | |
Bletchingdon (also known as Bletchington) is a village and civil parish 2 miles (3 km) north of Kidlington and 6 miles (10 km) southwest of Bicester in Oxfordshire, England.
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The Domesday Book records that in 1086 Robert D'Oyly held a manor of eight hides at Bletchingdon and his tenant was one Gilbert.[2] Gilbert was an ancestor of Roger d'Amory, who was Lord of the Manor of Bletchington until he died in prison in 1322.[2]
In about 1139 Robert d'Amory gave 50 acres (20 ha) at Bletchingdon to Godstow Abbey, and Walter Pery gave the abbey one yardland and 10 acres (4 ha) at Bletchingdon.[2] Godstow retained this estate until it surrendered all its property to the Crown in the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539.[2]
Before 1151 Ralph Fitzniel and his mother Agnes gave half a hide at Bletchingdon to the Knights Templar preceptory at Cowley.[2] The preceptory later moved to Sandford-on-Thames.[2] In the reign of Edward II the Templars were suppressed and in 1513 the Knights Hospitaller held the same half hide at Bletchingdon.[2]
By 1187 Ralph d'Amory had granted two virgates at Bletchingdon to Osney Abbey.[2] In the 13th century other benefactors gave lands at Bletchingdon to the abbey, and in 1291 they were assessed as part of its Hampton Gay estate.[2]
Bletchingdon Park is a Palladian country house next to the parish church that was rebuilt in 1782 for the Earl of Anglesey.[3]
The Church of England parish church of Saint Giles includes traces of Norman architecture. Its Early English Gothic chancel is slightly later, built in the 13th century. Charles Buckeridge designed the north aisle, which was added probably in 1869.[4] The church was heavily restored to Buckeridge's designs in 1878.[4]
The bell tower has a ring of six bells. Robert and William Cor of Aldbourne,[5] Wiltshire cast the tenor bell in 1710.[6] Edward Hemins of Bicester[5] cast the second bell in 1738.[6] Matthew III Bagley of Chacombe,[5] Northamptonshire cast the fifth bell in 1774.[6] James Barwell of Birmingham cast the third and fourth bells in 1877.[6] The Whitechapel Bell Foundry cast the treble bell in 1998.[6] The church has a Sanctus bell, also cast by James Barwell in 1877.[6]
St. Giles' is now part of the Benefice of Akeman, which includes the parishes of Chesterton, Hampton Gay, Kirtlington, Middleton Stoney, Wendlebury and Weston-on-the-Green.[7]
The earliest known record of a public house in Bletchingdon dates from 1616.[2] By the 1670s there was one called the Angel and Crown.[2] In 1703 Bletchingdon had three pubs: the Green Man, the Red Lion and the Swan.[2] The Red Lion survived until 1951, when it lost its licence.[2]
Bletchingdon parish includes the hamlet of Enslow just over 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the village. In 1788 the Oxford Canal reached Enslow, bringing much cheaper coal from the English Midlands to the area. From 1845 the Oxford and Rugby Railway was built through Enslow, where Bletchington railway station was built. British Railways closed the station in 1964.
Bletchingdon has one public house, The Blacks Head Inn,[8] which was built late in the 18th century.
The parish has a Church of England Primary School.[9]
The village has a silver band,[10] which in 2005 qualified for the National Brass Band Championships in Harrogate.