Idbury
| Idbury | |
 St. Nicholas' parish church |
|
  Idbury Idbury shown within Oxfordshire | |
| Population | 112 (parish, including Bould and Foscot) (2001 census)[1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SP2319 |
| Civil parish | Idbury |
| District | West Oxfordshire |
| Shire county | Oxfordshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | OX7 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Witney |
| Website | Idbury |
| |
Idbury is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in Oxfordshire, about 4.5 miles (7 km) southeast of Stow-on-the-Wold in neighbouring Gloucestershire.
History
The Church of England parish church of Saint Nicholas was originally Norman, but little survives from this period except the ornate north doorway.[2] Early in the 14th century the bell-turret, north aisle, south porch and south doorway were added, new windows were inserted in the chancel and the chancel arch was altered.[2] The east window is Decorated Gothic.[2] The bell tower was added shortly afterwards.[2] Later a clerestory was added to the nave and other windows were added to the nave and north aisle, all in the Perpendicular Gothic style.[2]
The tower has three bells, two of which are medieval. The second and tenor bells were cast in about 1420 by an unknown bellfounder, and the treble was cast in 1749 by Abel Rudhall of Gloucester.[3] There is also a Sanctus bell that was cast in about 1320[3] and hangs in a bellcote on the gable end of the nave above the chancel arch.
The tower has also an early turret clock of a type that is unusual for this part of England.[4] It has a wooden frame more characteristic of the Midlands.[5] Early in the 18th century the clock was modified with the addition of a new escapement of unusual design,[5] but the clock itself is considerably older.
Idbury had a Church of England school from 1845 until 1966. The building is now a private house.[6]
The engineer Sir Benjamin Baker, noted for his work on the Forth Bridge, London Victoria station and the first Aswan Dam, is buried in the churchyard.[7]
The Countryman
J. W. Robertson Scott[8] moved to Idbury Manor in 1922 and founded The Countryman[9] magazine there in 1927.[10] In 1924 the novelist Sylvia Townsend Warner rented a cottage in Idbury from Robertson Scott.[11] In 1934 the Canadian poet Frank Prewett moved to Idbury where he briefly worked as assistant editor of The Countryman.[12] In 1949 Robertson Scott retired and the magazine moved to Burford, Oxfordshire. Apart from a short period in a London office remained at Burford until 2003,[13] when publication moved to Broughton Hall, North Yorkshire.
References
- ↑ "Area selected: West Oxfordshire (Non-Metropolitan District)". Neighbourhood Statistics: Full Dataset View. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, p. 657.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Davies, Peter (22 December 2011). "Idbury S Nicholas". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Central Council of Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- ↑ Beeson, Northcote & Simcock 1989, p. 166.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Beeson, Northcote & Simcock 1989, p. 170.
- ↑ Idbury website: Idbury school
- ↑ Kerrigan 1998, p. 123.
- ↑ John William Robertson Scott (1866–1962); author of England's Green & Pleasant Land and other works
- ↑ The Countryman Magazine
- ↑ Idbury website: J. W. Robertson Scott and the Countryman Magazine
- ↑ Idbury website: Sylvia Townsend Warner in Idbury
- ↑ Idbury website: Frank Prewett in Idbury and Fifield
- ↑ "Countryman profile publisher=Countryman Publications Ltd". Retrieved 2011-07-05.
Sources
- Beeson, C.F.C.; Northcote, L.S.; Simcock, A.V. (1989) [1962]. Clockmaking in Oxfordshire 1400–1850 (3rd ed.). Oxford: Museum of the History of Science. pp. 44, 166–170. ISBN 0-903364-06-9.
- Kerrigan, Michael (1998). Who Lies Where - A guide to famous graves. London: Fourth Estate. p. 123. ISBN 1-85702-258-0.
- Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). Oxfordshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 657–658. ISBN 0-14-071045-0.
External links
Media related to Idbury at Wikimedia Commons
