Clanfield, Oxfordshire
Encyclopedia
Clanfield is a village and civil parish about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Carterton, Oxfordshire
. The parish includes the hamlet
of Little Clanfield 1 miles (1.6 km) west of the village, on Little Clanfield Brook which forms the parish's western boundary. The parish's eastern boundary is Black Bourton
Brook and its southern boundary is Radcot Cut, an artificial watercourse on the River Thames
floodplain. Much of the parish is low-lying and prone to flooding, for example in July 2007.
gave land at Clanfield to the Order of Knights Hospitaller
, who built a moat
ed preceptory on the site. This gift must have predated D'Oyly's fall from power in 1142 during the Anarchy
. By 1279 the preceptory owned land and property not only at Clanfield but also at Brize Norton
, Grafton
, Westwell
, Oxford
and Woodstock
. The preceptory buildings have gone and their moated site is now occupied by Friars Court, a gabled house built in about 1650. Friars Court is a private house but it is now hired out as an approved venue for weddings and civil partnerships.
In the Church of England parish church
of Saint Stephen
the tympanum
over the south door is Norman
and both the arcade
between the nave
and the north aisle and the respond
s of the chancel
arch are in the Transitional style between Norman and the Early English Gothic style. These features date the church building to about AD 1200. St. Stephen's has four lancet window
s dating from late in the 12th century or early in the 13th century: two in the south wall of the chancel and two in the north wall of a chapel
on the north side of the chancel. In the chancel the east window and the easternmost window in the south wall are in the Decorated Gothic style, which dates them to between 1250 and 1350. The style of the bell tower
suggests it was built either about 1300 or early in the 14th century. In the 15th century a large statue of St. Stephen was added to the outside of the tower, a squint
was inserted in the south side of the chancel and the present font
was made. The nave was rebuilt in 1869 and the chancel enlarged and partly rebuilt in 1870. The tower has a peal
of eight bells.
The parish had two water mills at Little Clanfield on Little Clanfield Brook. One of them, Little Clanfield Mill, is now a private house but its machinery remains operational.
The road between Witney
and Clanfield was a turnpike
from 1771 until 1874.
house built of Cotswold stone
in about 1660 that is now a public house
. From late in the 19th century until the 1950s it was controlled by Garnes Brewery of Burford
. In the 1950s Wadworth Brewery
of Devizes
bought Garnes and thus the Plough. The Masons Arms public house is also a 17th century Cotswold stone
building, recently renamed the Clanfield Tavern.
Clanfield Church of England
Primary School was founded in 1873 and enlarged in 1991. The village has a post office and general store. The village's association football club, Clanfield F.C.
, has its ground in Radcot Road and plays in the Hellenic Football League
. Clanfield has a Women's Institute.
Carterton, Oxfordshire
Carterton is the second largest town in West Oxfordshire and is about south of the A40 and south-west of Witney. The town is on the edge of the Thames Valley and on the edge of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.-History:...
. The parish includes the hamlet
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...
of Little Clanfield 1 miles (1.6 km) west of the village, on Little Clanfield Brook which forms the parish's western boundary. The parish's eastern boundary is Black Bourton
Black Bourton
Black Bourton is a village and civil parish about south of Carterton, Oxfordshire. The village is on Black Bourton Brook, a tributary of the River Thames.-Churches:...
Brook and its southern boundary is Radcot Cut, an artificial watercourse on the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
floodplain. Much of the parish is low-lying and prone to flooding, for example in July 2007.
History
Robert D'OylyRobert D'Oyly (Osney)
Robert D'Oyly was a 12th century English nobleman, son of Nigel D'Oyly, and nephew of Robert D'Oyly, founder of Oxford Castle.Robert married Edith Forne, daughter of Lord Greystock, who had been King Henry I of England's concubine, in 1120...
gave land at Clanfield to the Order of Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
, who built a moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
ed preceptory on the site. This gift must have predated D'Oyly's fall from power in 1142 during the Anarchy
The Anarchy
The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government...
. By 1279 the preceptory owned land and property not only at Clanfield but also at Brize Norton
Brize Norton
Brize Norton is a village and civil parish east of Carterton in West Oxfordshire. The original part of RAF Brize Norton is in the parish.-Toponym:...
, Grafton
Grafton, Oxfordshire
Grafton is a hamlet in the Thames Valley in West Oxfordshire about north of Faringdon. Grafton is one of two hamlets in Grafton and Radcot civil parish....
, Westwell
Westwell, Oxfordshire
Westwell is a village and civil parish about southwest of Burford in Oxfordshire.-History:The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary is Norman. The chancel arch may have originally been Norman, but if so it was later altered in the Transitional style fron Norman to Early English Gothic...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
and Woodstock
Woodstock, Oxfordshire
Woodstock is a small town northwest of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. It is the location of Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Winston Churchill was born in Blenheim Palace in 1874 and is buried in the nearby village of Bladon....
. The preceptory buildings have gone and their moated site is now occupied by Friars Court, a gabled house built in about 1650. Friars Court is a private house but it is now hired out as an approved venue for weddings and civil partnerships.
In 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 Saint Stephen
Saint Stephen
Saint Stephen The Protomartyr , the protomartyr of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Churches....
the tympanum
Tympanum (architecture)
In architecture, a tympanum is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, bounded by a lintel and arch. It often contains sculpture or other imagery or ornaments. Most architectural styles include this element....
over the south door is Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
and both the arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
between the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and the north aisle and the respond
Respond
A respond is a half-pier or half-pillar which is bonded into a wall and designed to carry the springer at one end of an arch....
s of the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
arch are in the Transitional style between Norman and the Early English Gothic style. These features date the church building to about AD 1200. St. Stephen's has four lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
s dating from late in the 12th century or early in the 13th century: two in the south wall of the chancel and two in the north wall of a chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
on the north side of the chancel. In the chancel the east window and the easternmost window in the south wall are in the Decorated Gothic style, which dates them to between 1250 and 1350. The style of the bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
suggests it was built either about 1300 or early in the 14th century. In the 15th century a large statue of St. Stephen was added to the outside of the tower, a squint
Hagioscope
A hagioscope or squint, in architecture, is an opening through the wall of a church in an oblique direction, to enable the worshippers in the transepts or other parts of the church, from which the altar was not visible, to see the elevation of the host.Hagioscopes were also sometimes known as...
was inserted in the south side of the chancel and the present font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
was made. The nave was rebuilt in 1869 and the chancel enlarged and partly rebuilt in 1870. The tower has a peal
Change ringing
Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a series of mathematical patterns called "changes". It differs from many other forms of campanology in that no attempt is made to produce a conventional melody....
of eight bells.
The parish had two water mills at Little Clanfield on Little Clanfield Brook. One of them, Little Clanfield Mill, is now a private house but its machinery remains operational.
The road between Witney
Witney
Witney is a town on the River Windrush, west of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England.The place-name 'Witney' is first attested in a Saxon charter of 969 as 'Wyttannige'; it appears as 'Witenie' in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name means 'Witta's island'....
and Clanfield was a turnpike
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
from 1771 until 1874.
Amenities
The Plough Hotel is a three-bayBay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
house built of Cotswold stone
Cotswold stone
Cotswold stone is a yellow oolitic limestone quarried in many places in the Cotswold Hills in the south midlands of England. When weathered, the colour of buildings made or faced with this stone is often described as 'honey' or 'golden'....
in about 1660 that is now 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...
. From late in the 19th century until the 1950s it was controlled by Garnes Brewery of Burford
Burford
Burford is a small town on the River Windrush in the Cotswold hills in west Oxfordshire, England, about west of Oxford, southeast of Cheltenham and only from the Gloucestershire boundary...
. In the 1950s Wadworth Brewery
Wadworth Brewery
Wadworth is a regional brewery founded in 1875 in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. They are particularly famous for their 6X beer, but also are a major brewery in the South of England.-History:...
of Devizes
Devizes
Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The town is about southeast of Chippenham and about east of Trowbridge.Devizes serves as a centre for banks, solicitors and shops, with a large open market place where a market is held once a week...
bought Garnes and thus the Plough. The Masons Arms public house is also a 17th century Cotswold stone
Cotswold stone
Cotswold stone is a yellow oolitic limestone quarried in many places in the Cotswold Hills in the south midlands of England. When weathered, the colour of buildings made or faced with this stone is often described as 'honey' or 'golden'....
building, recently renamed the Clanfield Tavern.
Clanfield Church of England
Voluntary controlled school
A voluntary controlled school is a state-funded school in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in which a foundation or trust has some formal influence in the running of the school...
Primary School was founded in 1873 and enlarged in 1991. The village has a post office and general store. The village's association football club, Clanfield F.C.
Clanfield F.C.
Clanfield F.C. is an association football club in Clanfield, near Carterton, England. It was founded in 1985. For the 2011-12 they are in Hellenic Football League Division One West....
, has its ground in Radcot Road and plays in the Hellenic Football League
Hellenic Football League
The Hellenic Football League is an English football league covering an area including the English counties of Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, southern Buckinghamshire, southern Herefordshire, western Greater London, and northern Wiltshire. There is also one team from Hampshire.The league...
. Clanfield has a Women's Institute.