Cuddesdon
Encyclopedia
Cuddesdon is an east Oxfordshire village (within the administrative district of South Oxfordshire
) about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) east of Oxford
. It is notable as the location of Ripon College Cuddesdon
.
The parish population includes about 430 in Cuddesdon and about 70 in the hamlets of Denton
and Chippinghurst (2001 census
).
is derived from the Old English Cuddes Dune meaning "Cudde's Hill" or the "Hill of Cuthwine". When Oxfordshire was administered in hundreds, Cuddesdon parish was in the hundred of Bullingdon.
Cuddesdon was an Anglo-Saxon
linear village
along what is now High Street, but since the 19th century Church of England
additions on the northern edge of the village and 20th century residential developments (principally Bishop's Wood and Parkside), it has become a nuclear settlement centred on The Green.
Since the 1950s many facilities and businesses in Cuddesdon, as in similar English villages, have closed and mostly been converted into housing for an increasingly commuter population. These include the petrol station, the shop, the school, the mill, the second public house and various farm buildings. Thus the village has turned from a compact community into what is largely a dormitory village.
to the east and southeast, its tributary Cuddesdon Brook to the north, by the road between Wheatley
and Garsington
to the west and by field boundaries to the southwest. The village is on a hill that overlooks south Oxfordshire, northern Berkshire
, the Aylesbury Vale
in central Buckinghamshire
and a small part of west Bedfordshire
. There are views of both the Chiltern Hills
and the North Wessex Downs AONB
stretching from Ivinghoe Beacon
in the east to Didcot Power Station
in the west.
There is a free monthly parish newsletter and a reasonably active social life in the village, with annual Guy Fawkes Night
fireworks, a village fête
and various groups that meet regularly such as the film club. Most social activities are organised or co-ordinated by the Parish Council or its subsidiaries.
The Church of England parish church
of All Saints
, the Bat and Ball inn, the Village Hall
, Ripon College Cuddesdon
and the farms are all still active. There has also been much talk of reopening a village shop, but a solution is as yet unforthcoming.
In November 2007 a public consultation was held on the proposed Parish Plan - a strategic document that promises to chart the hopes of the village for twenty years to come.
Abingdon Abbey
founded the Church of England parish church of All Saints in Cuddesdon in about AD 1180. All Saints' parish belongs to the Aston and Cuddesdon Deanery
of the Diocese of Oxford
.
was completed by 1634 for John Bancroft
, who was Bishop of Oxford
from 1632 until 1641. In 1644 during the English Civil War
Royalist
forces burned the palace to render it unusable by the Parliamentarian
forces besieging Oxford. In 1676 John Fell
was made Bishop of Oxford and in 1679 he commissioned the complete rebuilding of the palace. In 1846 Bishop Samuel Wilberforce
had the chapel of Saints Peter and Paul added to the Palace. It was designed by the Gothic Revival architect
Benjamin Ferrey
.
Successive Bishops of Oxford resided at the palace until Thomas Banks Strong
retired in 1937. For the duration of the Second World War
Queen Anne's Bounty
was evacuated from London and occupied the palace. Thereafter, The Society of the Salutation of Mary the Virgin occupied the palace from 1946 until 1949. In the 1960s the palace was in private use for a few years, but it burnt down before the end of that decade. The bishop's chapel escaped the fire and survives today.
.
Due to the extent of past and present church connections, the village is also known as the "Holy Hill". It has been suggested that in Cuddesdon "the presence of the Church has been more strongly felt than perhaps anywhere else in England".
, former Archbishop of Canterbury
and also a former vicar
of Cuddesdon and college principal, took the title Baron Runcie of Cuddesdon.
South Oxfordshire
South Oxfordshire is a local government district in Oxfordshire, England. Its council is based in Crowmarsh Gifford, just outside Wallingford....
) about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) east of 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...
. It is notable as the location of Ripon College Cuddesdon
Ripon College Cuddesdon
Ripon College Cuddesdon is a Church of England theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England.-History:Ripon College Cuddesdon was formed from an amalgamation in 1975 of Cuddesdon College and Ripon Hall...
.
The parish population includes about 430 in Cuddesdon and about 70 in the hamlets of Denton
Denton, Oxfordshire
Denton is a hamlet in the civil parish of Cuddesdon and Denton in Oxfordshire. Its toponym is derived from the Old English den-tun meaning "valley farmstead"...
and Chippinghurst (2001 census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
).
History
Cuddesdon's 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 derived from the Old English Cuddes Dune meaning "Cudde's Hill" or the "Hill of Cuthwine". When Oxfordshire was administered in hundreds, Cuddesdon parish was in the hundred of Bullingdon.
Cuddesdon was an Anglo-Saxon
History of Anglo-Saxon England
Anglo-Saxon England refers to the period of the history of that part of Britain, that became known as England, lasting from the end of Roman occupation and establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the 5th century until the Norman conquest of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror...
linear village
Linear village
In geography, a linear village, or linear settlement, is a small to medium-sized settlement that is formed around a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Wraysbury, a village in Berkshire, is one of the longest villages in England....
along what is now High Street, but since the 19th century Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
additions on the northern edge of the village and 20th century residential developments (principally Bishop's Wood and Parkside), it has become a nuclear settlement centred on The Green.
Since the 1950s many facilities and businesses in Cuddesdon, as in similar English villages, have closed and mostly been converted into housing for an increasingly commuter population. These include the petrol station, the shop, the school, the mill, the second public house and various farm buildings. Thus the village has turned from a compact community into what is largely a dormitory village.
Site
The parish is bounded by the River ThameRiver Thame
The River Thame is a river in Southern England. It is a tributary of the larger and better-known River Thames.The general course of the River Thame is north-east to south-west and the distance from its source to the River Thames is about 40 miles...
to the east and southeast, its tributary Cuddesdon Brook to the north, by the road between Wheatley
Wheatley, Oxfordshire
Wheatley is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about east of Oxford.-Archaeology:There was a Roman villa on Castle Hill, about southeast of the parish church. It was excavated in 1845, when Roman coins dating from AD 260 to 378 and fragments of Roman pottery and Roman tiles were...
and Garsington
Garsington
Garsington is a village and civil parish about southeast of Oxford in Oxfordshire.-Notable Garsington buildings:The earliest part of the Church of England parish church of Saint Mary is the Norman tower, built towards the end of the 12th century. The Gothic Revival architect Joseph Clarke restored...
to the west and by field boundaries to the southwest. The village is on a hill that overlooks south Oxfordshire, northern Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, the Aylesbury Vale
Aylesbury Vale
The Aylesbury Vale is a large area of flat land mostly in Buckinghamshire, England. Its boundary is marked by Milton Keynes to the north, Leighton Buzzard and the Chiltern Hills to the east and south, Thame to the south and Bicester and Brackley to the west.The vale is named after Aylesbury, the...
in central 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....
and a small part of west Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
. There are views of both 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:...
and the North Wessex Downs AONB
North Wessex Downs AONB
The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire...
stretching from Ivinghoe Beacon
Ivinghoe Beacon
Ivinghoe Beacon is a prominent hill and landmark in the Chiltern Hills, standing 233 m above sea level. It is situated close to the villages of Ivinghoe, Aldbury in Buckinghamshire, the Ashridge Estate, and the village of Little Gaddesden in Hertfordshire, and is managed and owned by the...
in the east to Didcot Power Station
Didcot Power Station
Didcot Power Station refers to a combined coal and oil power plant and a natural-gas power plant that supply the National Grid. They are situated immediately adjoining one another in the civil parish of Sutton Courtenay, next to the town of Didcot in Oxfordshire , in the UK...
in the west.
The village today
Guy Fawkes Night
Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Firework Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in England. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding...
fireworks, a village fête
Fête
Fête is a French word meaning festival, celebration or party, which has passed into English as a label that may be given to certain events.-Description:It is widely used in England and Australia in the context of a village fête,...
and various groups that meet regularly such as the film club. Most social activities are organised or co-ordinated by the Parish Council or its subsidiaries.
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 All Saints
All Saints
All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown...
, the Bat and Ball inn, the Village Hall
Village hall
In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
, Ripon College Cuddesdon
Ripon College Cuddesdon
Ripon College Cuddesdon is a Church of England theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England.-History:Ripon College Cuddesdon was formed from an amalgamation in 1975 of Cuddesdon College and Ripon Hall...
and the farms are all still active. There has also been much talk of reopening a village shop, but a solution is as yet unforthcoming.
In November 2007 a public consultation was held on the proposed Parish Plan - a strategic document that promises to chart the hopes of the village for twenty years to come.
Parish church
Abingdon Abbey
Abingdon Abbey was a Benedictine monastery also known as St Mary's Abbey located in Abingdon, historically in the county of Berkshire but now in Oxfordshire, England.-History:...
founded the Church of England parish church of All Saints in Cuddesdon in about AD 1180. All Saints' parish belongs to the Aston and Cuddesdon Deanery
Deanery
A Deanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of a Dean.- Catholic usage :...
of the Diocese of Oxford
Diocese of Oxford
-History:The Diocese of Oxford was created in 1541 out of part of the Diocese of Lincoln.In 1836 the Archdeaconry of Berkshire was transferred from the Diocese of Salisbury to Oxford...
.
Bishop's Palace
Cuddesdon PalaceCuddesdon Palace
Cuddesdon Palace was the episcopal palace for the Bishop of Oxford, located near the village of Cuddesdon, Oxfordshire, England.The palace was erected by John Bancroft, a 17th century Bishop of Oxford.The original palace was replaced by a second palace....
was completed by 1634 for John Bancroft
John Bancroft (bishop)
John Bancroft was a Bishop of Oxford and a University of Oxford administrator. He was Master of University College, Oxford.John Bancroft was the nephew of Richard Bancroft , Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor of Oxford University. He was a student at Christ Church, Oxford...
, who was Bishop of Oxford
Bishop of Oxford
The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford...
from 1632 until 1641. In 1644 during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
forces burned the palace to render it unusable by the Parliamentarian
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
forces besieging Oxford. In 1676 John Fell
John Fell (clergyman)
John Fell was an English churchman and influential academic. He served as Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and later concomitantly as Bishop of Oxford.-Education:...
was made Bishop of Oxford and in 1679 he commissioned the complete rebuilding of the palace. In 1846 Bishop Samuel Wilberforce
Samuel Wilberforce
Samuel Wilberforce was an English bishop in the Church of England, third son of William Wilberforce. Known as "Soapy Sam", Wilberforce was one of the greatest public speakers of his time and place...
had the chapel of Saints Peter and Paul added to the Palace. It was designed by the Gothic Revival architect
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
Benjamin Ferrey
Benjamin Ferrey
Benjamin Ferrey, F.S.A., F.R.I.B.A. was an English architect who worked mostly in the Gothic Revival.-Family:Benjamin Ferrey was the youngest son of Benjamin Ferrey Snr, a draper who became Mayor of Christchurch. He was educated at Wimborne Grammar School....
.
Successive Bishops of Oxford resided at the palace until Thomas Banks Strong
Thomas Banks Strong
Thomas Banks Strong GBE was an English theologian who was Bishop of Ripon and Oxford. He was also Dean of Christ Church, Oxford and served as Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University during the First World War....
retired in 1937. For the duration of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Queen Anne's Bounty
Queen Anne's Bounty
Queen Anne's Bounty was a fund established in 1704 to augment the incomes of the poorer clergy of the Church of England. The bounty was funded by the tax on the incomes of all Church of England clergy, which was paid to the Pope until the Reformation, and thereafter to the Crown.In 1890, the total...
was evacuated from London and occupied the palace. Thereafter, The Society of the Salutation of Mary the Virgin occupied the palace from 1946 until 1949. In the 1960s the palace was in private use for a few years, but it burnt down before the end of that decade. The bishop's chapel escaped the fire and survives today.
Theological college
In 1854 Bishop Wilberforce founded Cuddesdon College on land opposite the Palace to train men to become Anglican clergy. In 1975 the college merged with Ripon Hall to form Ripon College CuddesdonRipon College Cuddesdon
Ripon College Cuddesdon is a Church of England theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England.-History:Ripon College Cuddesdon was formed from an amalgamation in 1975 of Cuddesdon College and Ripon Hall...
.
Due to the extent of past and present church connections, the village is also known as the "Holy Hill". It has been suggested that in Cuddesdon "the presence of the Church has been more strongly felt than perhaps anywhere else in England".
Baron Cuddesdon
After his retirement in 1991, Robert RuncieRobert Runcie
Robert Alexander Kennedy Runcie, Baron Runcie, PC, MC was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991.-Early life:...
, former Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
and also a former vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
of Cuddesdon and college principal, took the title Baron Runcie of Cuddesdon.