Combe, Oxfordshire
| Combe | |
 St. Laurence' parish church |
|
  Combe Combe shown within Oxfordshire | |
| Population | 759 (2001 census)[1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SP4116 |
| Civil parish | Combe |
| District | West Oxfordshire |
| Shire county | Oxfordshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Witney |
| Postcode district | OX29 |
| Dialling code | 01993 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Witney |
| Website | Combe Parish Council |
| |
Combe is a village and civil parish about 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Witney in Oxfordshire.
Church and chapel
The Church of England parish church of St. Laurence was built in 1395 for Eynsham Abbey.[2] Its interior has several 15th century wall paintings, including a Doom over the chancel arch.[3] St. Laurence's is a Grade I listed building.[2]
St. Laurence's bell tower had a ring of five bells, which ranged in date from 1621 to 1629.[4] It had also an historic clock which may also have been early 17th century.[4] In 1918 a fire damaged the tower, the bells and the clock.[4] The remains of the clock were salvaged, restored and installed in the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford.[4] John Taylor & Co of Loughborough recast the damaged bells as a ring of six in 1924.[4][5] John Smith and Sons of Derby supplied a new clock in 1948.[4]
Combe has also a Methodist chapel.
Economic and social history
Combe House was built in the 16th century and extended in about 1800. It used to be the vicarage.[6]
The Duke of Marlborough's Blenheim estate adjoins the village. The estate's former sawmill, Combe Mill, is now a working museum.[7] It has alternative power sources: a breastshot water wheel that used to be powered by the River Evenlode,[8] and a steam powered rotative beam engine that was added in 1852.[9]
Amenities
Combe has a public house, the Cock Inn, that was built late in the 17th or early in the 18th century.[10] It is controlled by Greene King Brewery.[11] It is beside the village green, which is the setting for four of Combe's seasonal festivals: a children's Maypole dance, a Summer Ball, a fun fair in the autumn and a firework display on Guy Fawkes Night.
Combe has a Church of England primary school.[12]
Combe railway station is on the Cotswold Line. It is actually nearer Long Hanborough than Combe.
Combe has a Women's Institute.[13]
References
- ↑ "Area: Combe CP (Parish): Parish Headcounts". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Church of St Lawrence". National Heritage List for England. English Heritage. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- ↑ Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, pp. 551–552.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Beeson & Simcock 1989, p. 36.
- ↑ Davies, Peter (12 December 2006). "Combe S Laurence". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Central Council of Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
- ↑ Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, pp. 552–553.
- ↑ Combe Mill
- ↑ Combe Mill water wheel
- ↑ Combe Mill beam engine
- ↑ "The Cock Inn, The Green". National Heritage List for England. English Heritage. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- ↑ The Cock Inn
- ↑ Combe Church of England Primary School
- ↑ Oxfordshire Federation of Women's Institutes
Sources and further reading
- Beeson, C.F.C. (1989) [1962]. Simcock, A.V., ed. Clockmaking in Oxfordshire 1400–1850 (3rd ed.). Oxford: Museum of the History of Science. pp. 35–36. ISBN 0-903364-06-9.
- Crossley, Alan; Elrington, C.R. (eds.); Baggs, A.P.; Blair, W.J.; Chance, Eleanor; Colvin, Christina; Cooper, Janet; Day, C.J.; Selwyn, Nesta; Townley, Simon C. (1990). A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 12: Wootton Hundred (South) including Woodstock. Victoria County History. pp. 75–98. ISBN 0-19-722774-0.
- Emden, C.E. (1970). Combe Church and Village.
- Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). Oxfordshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 551–553. ISBN 0-14-071045-0.
