Christmas Common
Encyclopedia
Christmas Common is a hamlet
in Watlington
civil parish about 7.5 miles (12.1 km) south of Thame
in Oxfordshire
, close to the boundary with Buckinghamshire
. The hamlet is 790 feet (240.8 m) above sea level on an escarpment
of the Chiltern Hills
. Because of its elevation, Christmas Common has two radio masts that are prominent local landmark
s.
is of uncertain origin. It is variously ascribed to a 1643 Christmas Day truce between combatants in the English Civil War
, local holly tree coppices, or the Christmas family, which had local connections.
Watlington Park is a private park and country house
about 0.75 miles (1.2 km) southwest of Christmas Common. In 1675 Thomas Stonor of Stonor Park had a large house built here on an H-shaped plan. The Stonor family were recusants
, and the house included a Roman Catholic
chapel at which local Roman Catholics attended Mass
. Between 1716 and 1756 John Talbot Stonor
, Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District
was a frequent visitor.
In the 1750s the Stonors sold the house to John Tilson, who had a new house built to a compact Palladian
design and re-used at least part of the older house as servants' quarters. Late in the 19th and early in the 20th century, subsequent owners altered and enlarged the Tilson house. Oliver Brett, later Viscount Esher
, bought Watlington Park in 1921 and continued enlarging and modernising it. In 1954 his successor Major Lionel Brett
, an architect, demolished all the extensions and the remains of the 17th century Stonor house and added pedimented pavilions of his own design. In 1967 Lionel Brett, by now 4th Viscount Esher, built the modernist Tower House for himself in a wood away from the hamlet.
Christmas Common has never been populous. The 1811 census named the hamlet as a liberty
and reported that it had only six inhabited houses.
The Church of England parish church
of the Nativity
was designed by the architect Walter Cave. It was built in 1889 as a chapel of ease
to save Anglican residents from travelling 2 miles (3.2 km) downhill to the parish church, St. Leonard's
in Watlington. It was made redundant in the 20th century and is now a private house.
. The scarp slope
of the Chilterns faces northwest from the hamlet steeply downhill towards Watlington.
The ancient Icknield Way
follows the line of the Chilterns and is now a long-distance footpath. The Oxfordshire Way
long-distance footpath passes through Christmas Common on its route between Bourton-on-the-Water
and Henley-on-Thames
, and crosses the Icknield Way 1 miles (1.6 km) downhill from the village. The surrounding beech
woods and local rights of way are popular with walkers, cyclists, horse riders and birdwatchers. The National Trust
provides a car park at Watlington Hill on the edge of Christmas Common.
The area is a good place to see red kites
, which had been extinct in southern England but were successfully reintroduced in 1989.
The hamlet has a public house
and restaurant, the Fox and Hounds, controlled by W.H. Brakspear & Sons
.
and lexicographer
William Craigie
for over twenty years during his retirement until his death in 1957.
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
in Watlington
Watlington, Oxfordshire
Watlington is a market town and civil parish about south of Thame in Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlets of Christmas Common and Greenfield, both of which are in the Chiltern Hills. The M40 motorway is from Watlington.-History:...
civil parish about 7.5 miles (12.1 km) south of Thame
Thame
Thame is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about southwest of the Buckinghamshire town of Aylesbury. It derives its toponym from the River Thame which flows past the north side of the town....
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, close to the boundary with Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. The hamlet is 790 feet (240.8 m) above sea level on an escarpment
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...
of the Chiltern Hills
Chiltern Hills
The Chiltern Hills form a chalk escarpment in South East England. They are known locally as "the Chilterns". A large portion of the hills was designated officially as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1965.-Location:...
. Because of its elevation, Christmas Common has two radio masts that are prominent local landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
s.
History
The hamlet's unusual toponymToponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
is of uncertain origin. It is variously ascribed to a 1643 Christmas Day truce between combatants in the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, local holly tree coppices, or the Christmas family, which had local connections.
Watlington Park is a private park and country house
English country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
about 0.75 miles (1.2 km) southwest of Christmas Common. In 1675 Thomas Stonor of Stonor Park had a large house built here on an H-shaped plan. The Stonor family were recusants
Recusancy
In the history of England and Wales, the recusancy was the state of those who refused to attend Anglican services. The individuals were known as "recusants"...
, and the house included a Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
chapel at which local Roman Catholics attended Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
. Between 1716 and 1756 John Talbot Stonor
John Talbot Stonor
John Talbot Stonor was an English Roman Catholic bishop who served as the Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District from 1715 to 1756....
, Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District
Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District
The Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District was the title given to the Bishop who headed the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England which was known as the Vicariate Apostolic of the Midland District from 1688 and 1840, then the Central District from 1840 to...
was a frequent visitor.
In the 1750s the Stonors sold the house to John Tilson, who had a new house built to a compact Palladian
Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
design and re-used at least part of the older house as servants' quarters. Late in the 19th and early in the 20th century, subsequent owners altered and enlarged the Tilson house. Oliver Brett, later Viscount Esher
Viscount Esher
Viscount Esher, of Esher in the County of Surrey, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1897 for the prominent lawyer and judge William Brett, 1st Baron Esher, upon his retirement as Master of the Rolls. He had already been created Baron Esher, of Esher in the County of...
, bought Watlington Park in 1921 and continued enlarging and modernising it. In 1954 his successor Major Lionel Brett
Lionel Brett, 4th Viscount Esher
Lionel Gordon Baliol Brett, 4th Viscount Esher was a Britih peer, architect and town-planner. He succeeded to his title on the death of his father in 1963....
, an architect, demolished all the extensions and the remains of the 17th century Stonor house and added pedimented pavilions of his own design. In 1967 Lionel Brett, by now 4th Viscount Esher, built the modernist Tower House for himself in a wood away from the hamlet.
Liberty (division)
Originating in the Middle Ages, a liberty was traditionally defined as an area in which regalian rights were revoked and where land was held by a mesne lord...
and reported that it had only six inhabited houses.
The Church of England parish church
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
of the Nativity
Nativity of Jesus
The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
was designed by the architect Walter Cave. It was built in 1889 as a chapel of ease
Chapel of ease
A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....
to save Anglican residents from travelling 2 miles (3.2 km) downhill to the parish church, St. Leonard's
Leonard of Noblac
Leonard of Noblac or of Limoges or de Noblet , is a Frankish saint closely associated with the town and abbey of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, in Haute-Vienne, in the Limousin of France.-Traditional biography:According to the romance that...
in Watlington. It was made redundant in the 20th century and is now a private house.
Amenities
The Chilterns are an Area of Outstanding Natural BeautyArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...
. The scarp slope
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...
of the Chilterns faces northwest from the hamlet steeply downhill towards Watlington.
The ancient Icknield Way
Icknield Way
The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern England. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills.-Background:...
follows the line of the Chilterns and is now a long-distance footpath. The Oxfordshire Way
Oxfordshire Way
The Oxfordshire Way is a long-distance walk in Oxfordshire, England, with 6 miles in Gloucestershire and very short sections in Buckinghamshire. The path links with the Heart of England Way and the Thames Path....
long-distance footpath passes through Christmas Common on its route between Bourton-on-the-Water
Bourton-on-the-Water
Bourton-on-the-Water is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England that lies on a wide flat vale within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
and Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead...
, and crosses the Icknield Way 1 miles (1.6 km) downhill from the village. The surrounding beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
woods and local rights of way are popular with walkers, cyclists, horse riders and birdwatchers. The National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
provides a car park at Watlington Hill on the edge of Christmas Common.
The area is a good place to see red kites
Red Kite
The Red Kite is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species is currently endemic to the Western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa, though formerly also occurred just...
, which had been extinct in southern England but were successfully reintroduced in 1989.
The hamlet has a public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
and restaurant, the Fox and Hounds, controlled by W.H. Brakspear & Sons
Brakspear
WH Brakspear & Sons Ltd is the name of a brand of English beers and pubs, based in Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire. While the beer brewing and pub management sides of the business were originally unified, the brewing has since been sold to Wychwood Brewery owners Refresh UK.-History:The Brakspear...
.
Residents
Christmas Common was the home of philologistPhilology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
and lexicographer
Lexicography
Lexicography is divided into two related disciplines:*Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries....
William Craigie
William Craigie
Sir William Alexander Craigie was a philologist and a lexicographer.A graduate of the University of St Andrews, he was the third editor of the Oxford English Dictionary and co-editor of the 1933 supplement. From 1916 to 1925 he was also Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon in the...
for over twenty years during his retirement until his death in 1957.