Kirtlington
Encyclopedia
Kirtlington is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire
about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) west of Bicester
.
on high ground about 1 miles (1.6 km) east of the river. It bisects Kirtlington parish and passes through the village. A short stretch of it is now part of the A4095 road through the village. Longer stretches form minor roads to Bletchington and Upper Heyford
.
Akeman Street
Roman road
bisects the parish east–west passing just north of Kirtlington village. A 4 miles (6.4 km) minor road linking Kirtlington with Chesterton
uses its course. Aves ditch
is pre-Saxon
. One end of the ditch is in Kirtlington parish about 1 miles (1.6 km) north of the village.
held a witenagemot
at Kirtlington attended by Dunstan
, Archbishop of Canterbury
. In the 11th century Kirtlington was a royal manor
of Edward the Confessor
. The Domesday Book
records that in 1086 Cherielintone was now a royal manor of the conquering Norman
monarchy. It remained a royal manor until 1604 when the Crown
sold it to two wealthy London
ers.
The manor house
is recorded to have had a date-stone of 1563, but this has now been lost. The house is L-shaped, has a polygonal stair-turret on the south side and a corbelled chimney-stack in the west side.
at Kirtington is in the Domesday Book of 1086. The oldest visible parts of the present Church of England parish church
of St. Mary the Virgin
include the early 12th-century Norman
arches supporting the central bell tower
, and a tympanum
of the same date that is now over the vestry
door. Beneath the floor of the chancel
are the foundations of a former apse
that also was built early in the 12th century. About 1250 the nave
was rebuilt and north and south aisles were added, each linked with the nave by arcades
of three bays
. The transept
al chapel of Our Lady
on the south side of the tower may be of the same date, and the apse was replaced with a rectangular chancel
late in the 13th century.
The west window of the nave dates from the 14th century, as do two windows flanking a blocked 13th-century doorway in the north aisle. The east window of the chancel, west doorway of the nave and south doorway of the south aisle are also 14th century. In the 15th century a clerestorey was added to the nave and a porch was added to the south door. The Lady Chapel was also rebuilt in the 15th century, and other late mediaeval additions include the Perpendicular Gothic windows of the south aisle and another Perpendicular Gothic window in the north aisle.
By 1716 the Lady chapel was ruinous and Sir Robert Dashwood, 1st Baronet had it converted into a family chapel and burial vault. In 1770 the tower was unsafe and was demolished, leaving its arches between the nave and chancel. In about 1853 Sir Henry William Dashwood, 5th Baronet had the bell tower
rebuilt by the Gothic Revival architect
Benjamin Ferrey
in a Norman Revival style. In 1877 Sir Henry and Lady Dashwood had the chancel restored
by Sir George Gilbert Scott
. At the same time the organ was installed in the Dashwood Chapel, obscuring a 1724 memorial to the first three Dashwood Baronets
and other members of the family. The rebuilt bell tower has a ring
of eight bells.
St. Mary the Virgin is now part of the Church of England Benefice of Akeman, which includes the parishes of Bletchingdon
, Chesterton
, Hampton Gay
, Middleton Stoney
, Wendlebury
and Weston-on-the-Green
.
Kirtlington's first nonconformist
meeting house was licenced in 1821 and was a member of the Oxford Methodist Circuit
by 1824. A Wesleyan
chapel was built in 1830 and replaced by a stone-built chapel in 1854. In 1867 it belonged to the United Methodist Free Churches
, which in 1907 became part of the United Methodist Church
. By 1954 the chapel had only about six members. It has since closed and is now a private house.
in the village.
There were small enclosure
s of farmland in the parish in the 13th century and 99 acres (40.1 ha) had been enclosed by 1476, but at that stage most of the parish was still farmed under an open field system
. By 1750 the enclosed land totalled about of which 900 acres (364.2 ha), and the remaining common land
s were enclosed in 1815.
In 1583 a draper
called John Phillips bequeathed the rental income from a house in Woodstock
to employ a schoolmaster in Kidlington. His bequest did not provide for a schoolhouse, so a tenement called Church House was used. In 1759 the school had to close because the house in Woodstock had decayed to the point that it was unfit to be let. In 1766 the house was let on a repairing lease to George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough
and between 1774 and 1778 the school reopened. The vicar and Sir James Dashwood, 2nd Baronet were the governors, and it seems that subsequently the Dashwoods as well as the Phillips endowment supported the school.
By 1808 two other schools had been founded in Kirtlington, and by 1814 one of them was a National School
. In 1833 the three schools were effectively merged and in 1834 a purpose-built schoolhouse was opened. In 1947 it was reorganised as a junior and infants' school and in 1951 it became a voluntary aided school
. It is now Kirtlington Church of England School.
and last for two days. That year Thomas Blount
and Josiah Beckwith wrote:
It is considered that the reference to Kidlington was a mistake, and that Kirtlington was the correct location. Later the festival extended to a whole week and in 1849 three special constables were sworn in "for the better preservation of peace and order at the ensuing Lamb Ale Feast". The custom died out early in the 1860s.
In 1979 Kirtlington Morris was formed and revived the tradition in a modified form. Every year since the Ale has been held at the end of May or in early June. Typically about 20 morris sides attend the festival.
country house
, is about 0.5 miles (804.7 m) east of the village. It is set in 3000 acres (1,214.1 ha) of parkland, landscaped by "Capability" Brown, with views over the gardens to the Chiltern Hills
. The venue is licensed to hold civil weddings
. Kirtlington Park Farm, within the park, is the home of a polo
club and polo school.
, the Oxford Arms, and a Grade II listed hotel
, the Dashwood Hotel and Restaurant. The village has a sub-post office
and village store.
Kirtlington has a Women's Institute. Kirtlington Golf Club is about 0.6 mile (0.965604 km) southwest of the village. Kirtlington Park Polo School was opened in 1994.
The nearest railway station is on the Cherwell Valley Line
, 1 miles (1.6 km) from Kirtlington. Heyfordian Travel bus routes 25 and 25A (Oxford–Bicester via Bletchingdon) serve Kirtlington.
The A4095 road passes through the village, as do the Oxfordshire Way
long-distance footpath and the Oxfordshire Cycleway
. Junction 9 of the M40 motorway
is about 3 miles (4.8 km) east of the village.
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) west of Bicester
Bicester
Bicester is a town and civil parish in the Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in England.This historic market centre is one of the fastest growing towns in Oxfordshire Development has been favoured by its proximity to junction 9 of the M40 motorway linking it to London, Birmingham and...
.
Archaeology
The Portway is a pre-Roman road running parallel with the River CherwellRiver Cherwell
The River Cherwell is a river which flows through the Midlands of England. It is a major tributary of the River Thames.The general course of the River Cherwell is north to south and the 'straight-line' distance from its source to the Thames is about...
on high ground about 1 miles (1.6 km) east of the river. It bisects Kirtlington parish and passes through the village. A short stretch of it is now part of the A4095 road through the village. Longer stretches form minor roads to Bletchington and Upper Heyford
Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire
Upper Heyford is a village and civil parish about northwest of Bicester in Oxfordshire, England.-Location:Upper Heyford is on the east bank of the River Cherwell. "Upper" distinguishes it from Lower Heyford which is about "lower", downstream along the Cherwell valley...
.
Akeman Street
Akeman Street
Akeman Street was a major Roman road in England that linked Watling Street with the Fosse Way. Its junction with Watling Steet was just north of Verulamium and that with the Fosse Way was at Corinium Dobunnorum...
Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
bisects the parish east–west passing just north of Kirtlington village. A 4 miles (6.4 km) minor road linking Kirtlington with Chesterton
Chesterton, Oxfordshire
Chesterton is a village and civil parish on Gagle Brook, a tributary of the River Bure in Oxfordshire. The village is about southwest of the market town of Bicester...
uses its course. Aves ditch
Aves ditch
Aves Ditch is a pre-Saxon ditch and bank structure running about on a northeast to southwest alignment in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire....
is pre-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...
. One end of the ditch is in Kirtlington parish about 1 miles (1.6 km) north of the village.
Manor
The earliest known historical record of Kirtlington is from AD 945. In 977 King Edward the MartyrEdward the Martyr
Edward the Martyr was king of the English from 975 until he was murdered in 978. Edward was the eldest son of King Edgar, but not his father's acknowledged heir...
held a witenagemot
Witenagemot
The Witenagemot , also known as the Witan was a political institution in Anglo-Saxon England which operated from before the 7th century until the 11th century.The Witenagemot was an assembly of the ruling class whose primary function was to advise the king and whose membership was...
at Kirtlington attended by Dunstan
Dunstan
Dunstan was an Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, a Bishop of Worcester, a Bishop of London, and an Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restored monastic life in England and reformed the English Church...
, 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 the 11th century Kirtlington was a royal 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 Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
. 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...
records that in 1086 Cherielintone was now a royal manor of the conquering Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
monarchy. It remained a royal manor until 1604 when the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
sold it to two wealthy London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
ers.
The 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...
is recorded to have had a date-stone of 1563, but this has now been lost. The house is L-shaped, has a polygonal stair-turret on the south side and a corbelled chimney-stack in the west side.
Churches
The earliest known record of a parish churchParish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
at Kirtington is in the Domesday Book of 1086. The oldest visible parts of the present 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 St. Mary the Virgin
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
include the early 12th-century 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...
arches supporting the central 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...
, and a 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....
of the same date that is now over the vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
door. Beneath the floor 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...
are the foundations of a former apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
that also was built early in the 12th century. About 1250 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...
was rebuilt and north and south aisles were added, each linked with the nave by arcades
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....
of three bays
Bay (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:...
. The transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
al chapel of Our Lady
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
on the south side of the tower may be of the same date, and the apse was replaced with a rectangular 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...
late in the 13th century.
The west window of the nave dates from the 14th century, as do two windows flanking a blocked 13th-century doorway in the north aisle. The east window of the chancel, west doorway of the nave and south doorway of the south aisle are also 14th century. In the 15th century a clerestorey was added to the nave and a porch was added to the south door. The Lady Chapel was also rebuilt in the 15th century, and other late mediaeval additions include the Perpendicular Gothic windows of the south aisle and another Perpendicular Gothic window in the north aisle.
By 1716 the Lady chapel was ruinous and Sir Robert Dashwood, 1st Baronet had it converted into a family chapel and burial vault. In 1770 the tower was unsafe and was demolished, leaving its arches between the nave and chancel. In about 1853 Sir Henry William Dashwood, 5th Baronet had 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...
rebuilt 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....
in a Norman Revival style. In 1877 Sir Henry and Lady Dashwood had the chancel restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
by Sir George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
. At the same time the organ was installed in the Dashwood Chapel, obscuring a 1724 memorial to the first three Dashwood Baronets
Dashwood Baronets
There have been two Baronetcies created for members of the Dashwood family, one in the Baronetage of England and one in the Baronetage of Great Britain...
and other members of the family. The rebuilt bell 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.
St. Mary the Virgin is now part of the Church of England Benefice of Akeman, which includes the parishes of Bletchingdon
Bletchingdon
Bletchingdon is a village and civil parish north of Kidlington and southwest of Bicester in Oxfordshire, England.-Manor and estates:...
, Chesterton
Chesterton, Oxfordshire
Chesterton is a village and civil parish on Gagle Brook, a tributary of the River Bure in Oxfordshire. The village is about southwest of the market town of Bicester...
, Hampton Gay
Hampton Gay
Hampton Gay is a village in the Cherwell valley about north of Kidlington, Oxfordshire.-Manor:After the Norman Conquest of England Robert D'Oyly gave an estate of three hides at Hampton Gay to his brother in arms Roger d'Ivry, while a second estate of two hides at Hampton Gay belonged to the...
, Middleton Stoney
Middleton Stoney
Middleton Stoney is a village and civil parish about west of Bicester, Oxfordshire.-History:Aves ditch is pre-Saxon and may have been dug as a boundary ditch...
, Wendlebury
Wendlebury
Wendlebury is a village and civil parish about southwest of Bicester and about from Junction 9 of the M40. The village is on a steam that flows through the centre of the village parallel with the main street....
and Weston-on-the-Green
Weston-on-the-Green
Weston-on-the-Green is a village and civil parish about southwest of Bicester.-Manor:Wigod of Wallingford held the manor of Weston at the time of the Norman conquest of England. Wigod died shortly after the conquest, leaving his estates including Weston to his son-in-law, the Norman baron Robert...
.
Kirtlington's first nonconformist
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
meeting house was licenced in 1821 and was a member of the Oxford Methodist Circuit
Methodist Circuit
The Methodist Circuit is part of the organisational structure of British Methodism,or at least those branches derived from the work of John Wesley. It is a group of individual Societies or local Churches under the care of one or more Methodist Ministers. In the scale of organisation, the Circuit...
by 1824. A Wesleyan
Wesleyanism
Wesleyanism or Wesleyan theology refers, respectively, to either the eponymous movement of Protestant Christians who have historically sought to follow the methods or theology of the eighteenth-century evangelical reformers, John Wesley and his brother Charles Wesley, or to the likewise eponymous...
chapel was built in 1830 and replaced by a stone-built chapel in 1854. In 1867 it belonged to the United Methodist Free Churches
United Methodist Free Churches
United Methodist Free Churches was an English nonconformist community which merged into the United Methodist Church in 1907. The organisation was itself formed in 1857 by the amalgamation of the Wesleyan Association and the Wesleyan Reformers United Methodist Free Churches was an English...
, which in 1907 became part of the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church (Great Britain)
There are other bodies that have been called the United Methodist Church----The United Methodist Church in Great Britain was a Protestant denomination that existed in the early twentieth century...
. By 1954 the chapel had only about six members. It has since closed and is now a private house.
Economic and social history
Kirtlington had two water mills on the River Cherwell. They are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, and in subsequent documents in about 1240, 1538 and 1689. All documents thereafter refer to only one mill in the parish. There was once a horse millHorse mill
A horse mill is a mill that uses a horse as the power source. Any milling process can be powered in this way, but the most frequent use of animal power in horse mills was for grinding grain and pumping water. Other animals used for powering mills include dogs, donkeys and oxen. Engines powered by...
in the village.
There were small enclosure
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...
s of farmland in the parish in the 13th century and 99 acres (40.1 ha) had been enclosed by 1476, but at that stage most of the parish was still farmed under an open field system
Open field system
The open field system was the prevalent agricultural system in much of Europe from the Middle Ages to as recently as the 20th century in some places, particularly Russia and Iran. Under this system, each manor or village had several very large fields, farmed in strips by individual families...
. By 1750 the enclosed land totalled about of which 900 acres (364.2 ha), and the remaining 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 enclosed in 1815.
In 1583 a draper
Drapery
Drapery is a general word referring to cloths or textiles . It may refer to cloth used for decorative purposes – such as around windows – or to the trade of retailing cloth, originally mostly for clothing, formerly conducted by drapers.In art history, drapery refers to any cloth or...
called John Phillips bequeathed the rental income from a house in 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....
to employ a schoolmaster in Kidlington. His bequest did not provide for a schoolhouse, so a tenement called Church House was used. In 1759 the school had to close because the house in Woodstock had decayed to the point that it was unfit to be let. In 1766 the house was let on a repairing lease to George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough
George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough
George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough KG, PC, FRS , styled Marquess of Blandford until 1758, was a British courtier and politician...
and between 1774 and 1778 the school reopened. The vicar and Sir James Dashwood, 2nd Baronet were the governors, and it seems that subsequently the Dashwoods as well as the Phillips endowment supported the school.
By 1808 two other schools had been founded in Kirtlington, and by 1814 one of them was a National School
National school (England and Wales)
A national school was a school founded in 19th century England and Wales by the National Society for Promoting Religious Education.These schools provided elementary education, in accordance with the teaching of the Church of England, to the children of the poor.Together with the less numerous...
. In 1833 the three schools were effectively merged and in 1834 a purpose-built schoolhouse was opened. In 1947 it was reorganised as a junior and infants' school and in 1951 it became a voluntary aided school
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...
. It is now Kirtlington Church of England School.
Lamb Ale
The annual village festival is called the Lamb Ale. By 1679 it was an established tradition that would start the day after Trinity SundayTrinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity...
and last for two days. That year Thomas Blount
Thomas Blount (lexicographer)
Thomas Blount was an English antiquarian and lexicographer.-Background:He was the son of Myles Blount of Orleton in Herefordshire and was born at Bordesley, Tardebigge, Worcestershire...
and Josiah Beckwith wrote:
At Kidlington in Oxford-shire the Custom is, That on Monday after Whitson week, there is a fat live Lamb provided, and the Maids of the Town, having their Thumbs ty'd behind them run after it, and she that with her mouth takes and holds the Lamb, is declared Lady of the Lamb, which being dress'd with the skin hanging on, is carried on a long Pole before the Lady and her Companions to the Green, attended with Musick and a Morisco DanceMorris danceMorris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, handkerchiefs and bells may also be wielded by the dancers...
of Men, and another of Women, where the rest of the day is spent in dancing, mirth and merry glee. The next day the Lamb is part bak'd, boyld and rost, for the Ladies feast, where she sits majestically at the upper end of the Table and her Companions with her, with musick and other attendants, which ends the solemnity.
It is considered that the reference to Kidlington was a mistake, and that Kirtlington was the correct location. Later the festival extended to a whole week and in 1849 three special constables were sworn in "for the better preservation of peace and order at the ensuing Lamb Ale Feast". The custom died out early in the 1860s.
In 1979 Kirtlington Morris was formed and revived the tradition in a modified form. Every year since the Ale has been held at the end of May or in early June. Typically about 20 morris sides attend the festival.
Kirtlington Park
Kirtlington Park, a Grade I listed 18th-century PalladianPalladian 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...
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...
, is about 0.5 miles (804.7 m) east of the village. It is set in 3000 acres (1,214.1 ha) of parkland, landscaped by "Capability" Brown, with views over the gardens to 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:...
. The venue is licensed to hold civil weddings
Civil ceremony
A civil registrar ceremony is a non-religious legal marriage ceremony performed by a government official or functionary. In the UK, this person is normally called a registrar...
. Kirtlington Park Farm, within the park, is the home of a polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
club and polo school.
Amenities
Kirtlington has a 19th-century public housePublic 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...
, the Oxford Arms, and a Grade II listed hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
, the Dashwood Hotel and Restaurant. The village has a sub-post office
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
and village store.
Kirtlington has a Women's Institute. Kirtlington Golf Club is about 0.6 mile (0.965604 km) southwest of the village. Kirtlington Park Polo School was opened in 1994.
The nearest railway station is on the Cherwell Valley Line
Cherwell Valley Line
The Cherwell Valley Line is the railway line between Didcot and Banbury via Oxford. It links the Great Western Main Line and the south to the Chiltern Main Line and the Midlands...
, 1 miles (1.6 km) from Kirtlington. Heyfordian Travel bus routes 25 and 25A (Oxford–Bicester via Bletchingdon) serve Kirtlington.
The A4095 road passes through the village, as do 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 and the Oxfordshire Cycleway
Segregated cycle facilities
Segregated cycle facilities are marked lanes, tracks, shoulders and paths designated for use by cyclists from which motorised traffic is generally excluded...
. Junction 9 of the M40 motorway
M40 motorway
The M40 motorway is a motorway in the British transport network that forms a major part of the connection between London and Birmingham. Part of this road forms a section of the unsigned European route E05...
is about 3 miles (4.8 km) east of the village.
Notable people
- Josh McEachranJosh McEachranJoshua Mark "Josh" McEachran is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea...
, footballer for Chelsea F.C.Chelsea F.C.Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, lived in Kirtlington as a boy.