Great Tew
Encyclopedia
Great Tew is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in Oxfordshire
, England, about 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Chipping Norton and 8 miles (12.9 km) southwest of Banbury
.
includes a barrow
about 1 miles (1.6 km) south of the village.
Excavations of the site of a Roman villa
1.5 miles (2.4 km) southeast of the village at Beaconsfield Farm revealed a hypocaust
and mosaic
floors, pottery dated to the 3rd and 4th centuries AD and evidence that occupation of the site may have begun early in the 2nd century AD.
. Ælfric of Abingdon held the manor
of Great Tew by 990 and became Archbishop of Canterbury
in 995. Ælfric died in 1005, leaving Great Tew to Saint Alban's Abbey
. In 1049-1052 the abbey
leased Great Tew:
In Old English toponym
Cyrictiwa means "Church Tew", distinguishing the village from neighbouring Little Tew
which lacked its own church, and Nether Worton which seems not to have had its own chapel
until the 12th century.
William the Conqueror
granted the manor to his step-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, and it was recorded amongst Odo's estates in the Domesday Book
in 1086.
Tew Great Park was created before the latter part of the 16th century.
Sir Lawrence Tanfield
, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer
, bought Great Tew estate in 1611 from Edward Rainsford. He deprived the villagers of timber, causing some of the cottages to fall into disrepair. Tanfield enclosed
part of Great Tew's lands in 1622. However, most of the parish's common land
s were not enclosed until Parliament passed an Enclosure Act for Great Tew in 1767.
After Tanfield died in 1626, followed by his wife Elizabeth in 1629, Great Tew passed to his young son-in-law Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland
.
In the 1630s Lucius gathered a circle of writers and scholars at Great Tew including Abraham Cowley
, Ben Jonson
and Edmund Waller
. During the English Civil War
the young Viscount fought on the Royalist
side and was killed in 1643 at the First Battle of Newbury
. Great Tew remained in the Cary family until the death of Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount of Falkland
in 1694.
Viscount Cary lived in a large manor house
which seems to have been built in or before the early part of the 17th century and seems to have been extended in the latter part of the 17th century. It was demolished in about 1800 (see below) but outlying structures from about 1700 including its stables, dovecote
and stone gatepiers survive.
In 1780 and 1793 Great Tew estate was bought by George Stratton, who had made a fortune in the East India Company
. He died in March 1800 and was succeeded by his son George Frederick Stratton. The manor house had evidently fallen into disrepair, as the Strattons lived in a smaller Georgian
dower house
slightly to the south of it and had the manor house demolished in about 1803. In 1808 George Frederick Stratton engaged the Scots botanist and garden designer
John Loudon
, who laid out north and south drives in Great Tew Park and planted ornamental trees in and around the village, which today enhance its picturesque appearance.
In 1815-1816 Matthew Robinson Boulton, the son of the manufacturer
Matthew Boulton
of Soho, Birmingham
, bought Great Tew Estate. In 1825 Boulton added a Gothic Revival
library to the east end of the house, and in the middle of the 19th century the Boulton family added a large Tudor style
section to the west end. Great Tew remained with the Boulton family until M.E. Boulton died without heirs in 1914.
of Saint Michael
and all Angels was originally Norman
, and the south doorway from about 1170 survives from that period. St Michael's was rebuilt in the 13th century, and the arcade
s of stone pillars inside the building and the south porch survive from this period. Early in the 14th century the aisles were enlarged and most of the present windows were installed. The bell tower
was built late in the 14th century and its style is transitional between the Decorated Gothic and Perpendicular Gothic. Next the Perpendicular Gothic clerestory
was added. The architect Thomas Rickman
repaired St Michael's and restored its chancel
in 1826-1827.
The tower has a ring
of eight bells. Six were cast in 1709 by Abraham I Rudhall
of Gloucester
. A seventh was cast in 1785 by Abraham's grandsons Charles and John Rudhall of Gloucester. The youngest bell was cast in 1842 by W & J Taylor, presumably at their then foundry in Oxford
.
The organ was built around 1860 by Henry Williams of Cheltenham, who was foreman of the famous London organbuilders Gray & Davison, responsible for the 1851 Great Exhibition organ for the Crystal Palace. It is a fine, unaltered instrument with two manuals and 14 stops.
The living
of St. Michael's was granted to the Benedictine
Godstow Abbey in 1302 and remained under its control until the abbey
was suppressed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries
in 1539. The villages of Nether Worton and Little Tew were part of the ecclesiastical parish of Great Tew. Nether Worton became a separate parish in the 17th century and Little Tew in the 1850s. Great and Little Tews were reunited as a single Church of England benefice in 1930.
s by the 13th century, and both were still in use when the estate was surveyed in 1778. One mill had ceased working by 1815 and the other was disused by 1837.
Many of the homes in the village seem to have been built in the 17th century, during the Great Rebuilding
of England. Given the Tanfields' behaviour towards the villagers, they are more likely to have been built during the decades when the Cary family had the estate. Every cottage and house is built from the local ironstone
from Great Tew's own quarry
, and most have thatched
roofs.
Matthew Robinson Boulton had most of the village's old cottages and houses rebuilt and embellished from 1819 onwards.
In the 17th century Lettice Cary, wife of the 2nd Viscount Falkland (see above) cared for the poor and sick of Great Tew and founded a village school. The village still had a school in the 18th century, but a schoolroom attached to the church fell was disused by 1738 and later in that century it was demolished. A school had been re-established by 1774 and its building was enlarged in 1815. In 1818 the village had also two dame school
s. In 1852 M.R. Boulton re-housed the primary school in a new building on the village green
. Since 1923 the school has also served Little Tew.
A sawmill powered by a beam engine
was built in the middle of the 19th century. The beam engine is no longer there but the engine house and its tall chimney
survive.
After M.E. Boulton's death in 1914 Great Tew estate was held in public trustee
ship for nearly fifty years, during which time many of its historic cottages and houses were unoccupied and allowed to become derelict. In 1962 Major Eustace Robb inherited the estate and declared he would restore its prosperity and buildings. However, a decade later many cottages were continuing to decay and Jennifer Sherwood and Sir Nikolaus Pevsner
condemned their deterioration as
In 1978 another academic authority described Major Robb's treatment of Great Tew as a "notorious example" that had "demonstrated that a singleminded or neglectful owner can still cause both the community and the village fabric to die". Also in 1978, Great Tew village was declared a conservation area. In 1985 Major Robb died, leaving Great Tew estate to the Johnston family. The Johnstons have worked to restore the village and in 2000 reopened Great Tew's historic quarry to supply ironstone for building.
The Falkland Arms public house
(controlled by Wadworth Brewery
) is a 16th or 17th century building that had acquired its current name by at least 1830. Today it offers accommodation as well as serving food and real ale and is listed in a Michelin Guide.
Great Tew has a village shop which is also a small café. It was formerly the post office
. The Tew Centre, between the village and Little Tew, also has a café and is the home of Great and Little Tew Cricket
Club
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, England, about 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Chipping Norton and 8 miles (12.9 km) southwest of Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
.
Archaeology
Evidence that the area has been inhabited since at least the Bronze AgeBronze Age Britain
Bronze Age Britain refers to the period of British history that spanned from c. 2,500 until c. 800 BC. Lasting for approximately 1700 years, it was preceded by the era of Neolithic Britain and was in turn followed by the era of Iron Age Britain...
includes a barrow
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
about 1 miles (1.6 km) south of the village.
Excavations of the site of a Roman villa
Roman villa
A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...
1.5 miles (2.4 km) southeast of the village at Beaconsfield Farm revealed a hypocaust
Hypocaust
A hypocaust was an ancient Roman system of underfloor heating, used to heat houses with hot air. The word derives from the Ancient Greek hypo meaning "under" and caust-, meaning "burnt"...
and mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
floors, pottery dated to the 3rd and 4th centuries AD and evidence that occupation of the site may have begun early in the 2nd century AD.
Manor
Great Tew was settled in the Anglo-Saxon eraHistory 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...
. Ælfric of Abingdon held the manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Great Tew by 990 and became 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...
in 995. Ælfric died in 1005, leaving Great Tew to Saint Alban's Abbey
St Albans Cathedral
St Albans Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral church at St Albans, England. At , its nave is the longest of any cathedral in England...
. In 1049-1052 the abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
leased Great Tew:
Leofstan, abbotAbbotThe word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
, and St Albans Abbey, to Tova, widow of Wihtric, in return for 3 marksMark (money)Mark was a measure of weight mainly for gold and silver, commonly used throughout western Europe and often equivalent to 8 ounces. Considerable variations, however, occurred throughout the Middle Ages Mark (from a merging of three Teutonic/Germanic languages words, Latinized in 9th century...
of gold and an annual render of honey; lease, for her lifetime and that of her son, Godwine, of land at Cyrictiwa, with reversion to St Albans.
In Old English toponym
Toponymy
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...
Cyrictiwa means "Church Tew", distinguishing the village from neighbouring Little Tew
Little Tew
Little Tew is a village and civil parish about northeast of Chipping Norton and southwest of Banbury in Oxfordshire. The parish is bounded to the northwest by the River Swere and a road between Little Tew and Hook Norton, to the north by a tributary of the River Cherwell and to the south by an...
which lacked its own church, and Nether Worton which seems not to have had its own 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,...
until the 12th century.
William the Conqueror
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
granted the manor to his step-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, and it was recorded amongst Odo's estates in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
in 1086.
Tew Great Park was created before the latter part of the 16th century.
Sir Lawrence Tanfield
Lawrence Tanfield
Sir Lawrence Tanfield was an English lawyer, politician and Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer.He was the eldest son of Robert Tanfield of Burford by his wife Wilgiford Fitzherbert and educated at Eton College and the Inner Temple...
, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer
Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer
The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" of the English Exchequer of pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who presided in the equity court and answered the bar i.e...
, bought Great Tew estate in 1611 from Edward Rainsford. He deprived the villagers of timber, causing some of the cottages to fall into disrepair. Tanfield enclosed
Enclosure
Enclosure or inclosure is the process which ends traditional rights such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on common land. Once enclosed, these uses of the land become restricted to the owner, and it ceases to be common land. In England and Wales the term is also used for the...
part of Great Tew's lands in 1622. However, most of the parish's common land
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
s were not enclosed until Parliament passed an Enclosure Act for Great Tew in 1767.
After Tanfield died in 1626, followed by his wife Elizabeth in 1629, Great Tew passed to his young son-in-law Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland
Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland
Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland was an English author and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1642...
.
In the 1630s Lucius gathered a circle of writers and scholars at Great Tew including Abraham Cowley
Abraham Cowley
Abraham Cowley was an English poet born in the City of London late in 1618. He was one of the leading English poets of the 17th century, with 14 printings of his Works published between 1668 and 1721.-Early life and career:...
, Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
and Edmund Waller
Edmund Waller
Edmund Waller, FRS was an English poet and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1624 and 1679.- Early life :...
. 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...
the young Viscount fought on the 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...
side and was killed in 1643 at the First Battle of Newbury
First Battle of Newbury
The First Battle of Newbury was a battle of the First English Civil War that was fought on 20 September 1643 between a Royalist army, under the personal command of King Charles, and a Parliamentarian force led by the Earl of Essex...
. Great Tew remained in the Cary family until the death of Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount of Falkland
Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount of Falkland
Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount of Falkland PC was a Scottish nobleman and English politician. He was the son of Henry Cary, 4th Viscount Falkland....
in 1694.
Viscount Cary lived in a large manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
which seems to have been built in or before the early part of the 17th century and seems to have been extended in the latter part of the 17th century. It was demolished in about 1800 (see below) but outlying structures from about 1700 including its stables, dovecote
Dovecote
A dovecote or dovecot is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be square or circular free-standing structures or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in...
and stone gatepiers survive.
In 1780 and 1793 Great Tew estate was bought by George Stratton, who had made a fortune in the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
. He died in March 1800 and was succeeded by his son George Frederick Stratton. The manor house had evidently fallen into disrepair, as the Strattons lived in a smaller Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
dower house
Dower house
On an estate, a dower house is usually a moderately large house available for use by the widow of the estate-owner. The widow, often known as the "dowager" usually moves into the dower house from the larger family house on the death of her husband if the heir is married, and upon his marriage if he...
slightly to the south of it and had the manor house demolished in about 1803. In 1808 George Frederick Stratton engaged the Scots botanist and garden designer
Garden designer
The term garden designer can refer either to an amateur or a professional who designs the plan and features of gardens. Amateurs design their gardens for their own properties. Professionals, with experienced skills, design gardens that benefit clients...
John Loudon
John Claudius Loudon
John Claudius Loudon was a Scottish botanist, garden and cemetery designer, author and garden magazine editor.-Background:...
, who laid out north and south drives in Great Tew Park and planted ornamental trees in and around the village, which today enhance its picturesque appearance.
In 1815-1816 Matthew Robinson Boulton, the son of the manufacturer
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
Matthew Boulton
Matthew Boulton
Matthew Boulton, FRS was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines, which were a great advance on the state of the art, making possible the...
of Soho, Birmingham
Soho, Birmingham
Soho is an area in north west Birmingham, approximately 2 miles from the City Centre on the A41, which until 1911 formed part of Handsworth District. Soho is also a ward within the council constituency of Ladywood...
, bought Great Tew Estate. In 1825 Boulton added a Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
library to the east end of the house, and in the middle of the 19th century the Boulton family added a large Tudor style
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
section to the west end. Great Tew remained with the Boulton family until M.E. Boulton died without heirs in 1914.
Parish church
The Church of England parish churchChurch 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 Michael
Michael (archangel)
Michael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...
and all Angels was originally 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 the south doorway from about 1170 survives from that period. St Michael's was rebuilt in the 13th century, and 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....
s of stone pillars inside the building and the south porch survive from this period. Early in the 14th century the aisles were enlarged and most of the present windows were installed. 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...
was built late in the 14th century and its style is transitional between the Decorated Gothic and Perpendicular Gothic. Next the Perpendicular Gothic clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
was added. The architect Thomas Rickman
Thomas Rickman
Thomas Rickman , was an English architect who was a major figure in the Gothic Revival.He was born at Maidenhead, Berkshire, into a large Quaker family, and avoided the medical career envisaged for him by his father, a grocer and druggist; he went into business for himself and married his first...
repaired St Michael's and restored its 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...
in 1826-1827.
The tower has a ring
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. Six were cast in 1709 by Abraham I Rudhall
Rudhall of Gloucester
Rudhall of Gloucester was a family business of bell founders in the city of Gloucester, England, who between 1684 and 1835 produced over 5,000 bells. The business was founded by Abraham Rudhall and the earliest ring of bells he cast was for St Nicholas' Church, Oddington in 1684. He came to be...
of Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
. A seventh was cast in 1785 by Abraham's grandsons Charles and John Rudhall of Gloucester. The youngest bell was cast in 1842 by W & J Taylor, presumably at their then foundry in 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...
.
The organ was built around 1860 by Henry Williams of Cheltenham, who was foreman of the famous London organbuilders Gray & Davison, responsible for the 1851 Great Exhibition organ for the Crystal Palace. It is a fine, unaltered instrument with two manuals and 14 stops.
The living
Benefice
A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...
of St. Michael's was granted to the Benedictine
Order of Saint Benedict
The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...
Godstow Abbey in 1302 and remained under its control until the abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
was suppressed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
in 1539. The villages of Nether Worton and Little Tew were part of the ecclesiastical parish of Great Tew. Nether Worton became a separate parish in the 17th century and Little Tew in the 1850s. Great and Little Tews were reunited as a single Church of England benefice in 1930.
Economic and social history
Great Tew is recorded as having two watermillWatermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
s by the 13th century, and both were still in use when the estate was surveyed in 1778. One mill had ceased working by 1815 and the other was disused by 1837.
Many of the homes in the village seem to have been built in the 17th century, during the Great Rebuilding
Great Rebuilding
A Great Rebuilding is a period in which a heightened level of building work, architectural change, building or rebuilding occurred.More specifically, W. G. Hoskins defined the term "The Great Rebuilding" in England as the period from the mid-16th century until 1640...
of England. Given the Tanfields' behaviour towards the villagers, they are more likely to have been built during the decades when the Cary family had the estate. Every cottage and house is built from the local ironstone
Ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
from Great Tew's own quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
, and most have thatched
Thatching
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge , rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates...
roofs.
Matthew Robinson Boulton had most of the village's old cottages and houses rebuilt and embellished from 1819 onwards.
In the 17th century Lettice Cary, wife of the 2nd Viscount Falkland (see above) cared for the poor and sick of Great Tew and founded a village school. The village still had a school in the 18th century, but a schoolroom attached to the church fell was disused by 1738 and later in that century it was demolished. A school had been re-established by 1774 and its building was enlarged in 1815. In 1818 the village had also two dame school
Dame school
A Dame School was an early form of a private elementary school in English-speaking countries. They were usually taught by women and were often located in the home of the teacher.- Britain :...
s. In 1852 M.R. Boulton re-housed the primary school in a new building on the village green
Village green
A village green is a common open area which is a part of a settlement. Traditionally, such an area was often common grass land at the centre of a small agricultural settlement, used for grazing and sometimes for community events...
. Since 1923 the school has also served Little Tew.
A sawmill powered by a beam engine
Beam engine
A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newcomen around 1705 to remove water from mines in Cornwall...
was built in the middle of the 19th century. The beam engine is no longer there but the engine house and its tall chimney
Chimney
A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
survive.
After M.E. Boulton's death in 1914 Great Tew estate was held in public trustee
Public trustee
The public trustee is an office established pursuant to national statute, to act as a trustee, usually where a sum is required to be deposited as security by legislation, where courts remove another trustee, or for estates where either no executor is named by will or the testator elects to name...
ship for nearly fifty years, during which time many of its historic cottages and houses were unoccupied and allowed to become derelict. In 1962 Major Eustace Robb inherited the estate and declared he would restore its prosperity and buildings. However, a decade later many cottages were continuing to decay and Jennifer Sherwood and Sir Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
condemned their deterioration as
one of the most depressing sights in the whole county. Terraces of cottages lie derelict (1972) and will soon be beyond hope of restoration. A scheme of gradual rehabilitation is said to be in progress, but nothing has been done meanwhile to prevent the decay of unused cottages, some of which are completely ruinous and will need to be entirely rebuilt.
In 1978 another academic authority described Major Robb's treatment of Great Tew as a "notorious example" that had "demonstrated that a singleminded or neglectful owner can still cause both the community and the village fabric to die". Also in 1978, Great Tew village was declared a conservation area. In 1985 Major Robb died, leaving Great Tew estate to the Johnston family. The Johnstons have worked to restore the village and in 2000 reopened Great Tew's historic quarry to supply ironstone for building.
Amenities
The village school is now a county primary school.The Falkland Arms 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...
(controlled by 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:...
) is a 16th or 17th century building that had acquired its current name by at least 1830. Today it offers accommodation as well as serving food and real ale and is listed in a Michelin Guide.
Great Tew has a village shop which is also a small café. It was formerly the post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
. The Tew Centre, between the village and Little Tew, also has a café and is the home of Great and Little Tew Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
Club