Pyrton
Encyclopedia
Pyrton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire
about 1 miles (1.6 km) north of the small town of Watlington
and 5 miles (8 km) south of Thame
.
The toponym
is from Old English meaning "pear-tree farm".
cremation burial from the first half of the 1st century AD was discovered on Pyrton Heath. The burial pit contained two Belgic
butt beakers
, a bowl and a dish. The smaller of the beakers contained cremated human remains and fragments of a bronze brooch. The finder donated all the items to the Ashmolean Museum
in Oxford.
passes through the parish, where it is crossed by the Mediaeval Knightsbridge Lane that runs the length of the parish.
Pyrton is a strip parish. The ancient parish comprised two detached portions extending about 12 miles (19.3 km) between Standhill Farm near Little Haseley and Stonor
in the Chiltern Hills
. The Stonor portion became a separate parish in 1896, and in 1922 joined Pishill
to form the parish of Pishill with Stonor
. The remaining Pyrton portion extends about 6 miles (9.7 km) between Standhill Farm and a point just north of Christmas Common
. Standhill had been a hamlet with a manor house, but in the 14th century it was depopulated in the Black Death
.
gave land there to Worcester Cathedral
. The Domesday Book
records that after the Norman conquest of England
Pyrton manor passed to Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester
, whose heirs retained it until John de Scotia, 7th Earl of Chester died in 1237. It was then annexed by the Crown
, and in 1360 was recorded as part of the Honour of Wallingford
. In 1480 King Edward IV
gave the manor to the Dean
and Chapter
of St George's Chapel, Windsor, who remained lords of the manor
until about 1870.
The statesman Richard Hampden
leased the manor from 1669 until his death in 1695, after which it remained with his widow until 1707. The Earl of Macclesfield
leased the manor from 1751. A Hugh Hamersley of Old Windsor
leased the manor from 1781. The lease remained with his descendants until 1870 when his grandson, another Hugh Hamersley, seems to have bought the manor from the Dean and Chapter of St. George's Chapel. In 1909 Hugh's younger son Edward Samuel Hamersley died without heir and his widow gave Pyrton to her nephew, Major Hugh C.C. Ducat, who changed his surname to Ducat Hamersley. In 1945 the Major left the estate to his son, Colonel Hugh Ducat Hamersley, who still held the estate in the 1960's.
The estate was not inherited by Hugh's elder son, Alfred St. George Hamersley
, because he lived in New Zealand
. Alfred St. George Hamersley was a nineteenth century barrister, English MP and English rugby union
international who played in the first ever international match, went on to captain his country and pioneered the sport in the south of New Zealand
and in British Columbia
.
since the 10th century. The present Church of England parish church
of Saint Mary
was built in the 12th century but was largely rebuilt in 1856 by the architect J.C. Buckler
.
surrounded by a moat. There was a Hundred of Pyrton, making the manor house the administrative centre of this division of Oxfordshire. The present Elizabethan
manor house was built around the beginning of the 17th century. It is largely of red brick and has a roughly E-shaped plan typical of its period. In 1786 it was in poor condition and received major repairs. Most of the present sash window
s seem to have been added at this time. Also in the 18th century the grounds were landscaped, replacing a dovecote
and small pond with a larger lake.
Pyrton Vicarage is a lath and plaster
house that was built before 1637. The present brick-built south front was added late in the 18th century. By 1635 Pyrton had also a substantial rectory, but by 1777 it was a ruin and towards the end of the 18th century it was demolished and replaced by the present Georgian
rectory was built in its place. From about 1885 this Rectory was used to house successive vicars of the adjacent Shirburn
parish. In 1943 the two benefices were merged, bringing this unusual housing arrangement to an end.
was built in 1869–72. Its Watlington terminus is in fact in Pyrton parish, 0.5 miles (804.7 m) from Watlington
. The Great Western Railway
took over the line in 1833. British Rail
ways closed Watlington station
and withdrew all train services between Watlington and in 1957.
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
about 1 miles (1.6 km) north of the small town of Watlington
Watlington, Oxfordshire
Watlington is a market town and civil parish about south of Thame in Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlets of Christmas Common and Greenfield, both of which are in the Chiltern Hills. The M40 motorway is from Watlington.-History:...
and 5 miles (8 km) south of Thame
Thame
Thame is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about southwest of the Buckinghamshire town of Aylesbury. It derives its toponym from the River Thame which flows past the north side of the town....
.
The 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...
is from Old English meaning "pear-tree farm".
Archaeology
In 1957 a late Iron AgeBritish Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
cremation burial from the first half of the 1st century AD was discovered on Pyrton Heath. The burial pit contained two Belgic
Belgae
The Belgae were a group of tribes living in northern Gaul, on the west bank of the Rhine, in the 3rd century BC, and later also in Britain, and possibly even Ireland...
butt beakers
Beaker (archaeology)
A beaker is a small ceramic or metal drinking vessel shaped to be held in the hands. Archaeologists identify several different types including the butt beaker, the claw beaker and the rough-cast beaker, however when used alone the term usually refers to the pottery cups associated with the European...
, a bowl and a dish. The smaller of the beakers contained cremated human remains and fragments of a bronze brooch. The finder donated all the items to the Ashmolean Museum
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum...
in Oxford.
Strip parish
The ancient Icknield WayIcknield Way
The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern England. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills.-Background:...
passes through the parish, where it is crossed by the Mediaeval Knightsbridge Lane that runs the length of the parish.
Pyrton is a strip parish. The ancient parish comprised two detached portions extending about 12 miles (19.3 km) between Standhill Farm near Little Haseley and Stonor
Stonor
Stonor Park is a private park and historic country house at Stonor, about north of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, England, close to the county boundary with Buckinghamshire.-Setting:...
in 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 Stonor portion became a separate parish in 1896, and in 1922 joined Pishill
Pishill
Pishill is a hamlet in Pishill with Stonor civil parish about north of Henley-on-Thames in South Oxfordshire. It is in the Stonor valley in the Chiltern Hills about above sea level.-History:...
to form the parish of Pishill with Stonor
Pishill with Stonor
Pishill with Stonor is a civil parish in South Oxfordshire. It includes the villages of Pishill and Stonor , and the hamlets of Maidensgrove and Russell's Water. Pishill with Stonor was formed by the merger of the separate civil parishes of Pishill and Stonor in 1922....
. The remaining Pyrton portion extends about 6 miles (9.7 km) between Standhill Farm and a point just north of Christmas Common
Christmas Common
Christmas Common is a hamlet in Watlington civil parish about south of Thame in Oxfordshire, close to the boundary with Buckinghamshire. The hamlet is above sea level on an escarpment of the Chiltern Hills. Because of its elevation, Christmas Common has two radio masts that are prominent local...
. Standhill had been a hamlet with a manor house, but in the 14th century it was depopulated in the Black Death
Black Death in England
The pandemic known to history as the Black Death entered England in 1348, and killed between a third and more than half of the nation's inhabitants. The Black Death was the first and most severe manifestation of the Second Pandemic, probably caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria. Originating in...
.
Manor
Pyrton was a royal estate in 774, when King Offa of MerciaOffa of Mercia
Offa was the King of Mercia from 757 until his death in July 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of Æthelbald after defeating the other claimant Beornred. In the early years of Offa's reign it is likely...
gave land there to Worcester Cathedral
Worcester Cathedral
Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, England; situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin of Worcester...
. 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 after the Norman conquest of England
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
Pyrton manor passed to Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester
Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester
Hugh d'Avranches , also known as le Gros and Lupus was the first Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England.-Early career:...
, whose heirs retained it until John de Scotia, 7th Earl of Chester died in 1237. It was then annexed by 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...
, and in 1360 was recorded as part of the Honour of Wallingford
Honour of Wallingford
The Honour of Wallingford was a medieval English honour located circa 1066 to 1540 in present-day Oxfordshire.The Honour of Wallingford was established after the Norman conquest of England, which began in 1066. The Honour initially encompassed Wallingford and Harpsden and thereafter gained...
. In 1480 King Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
gave the manor to the Dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
and Chapter
Chapter (religion)
Chapter designates certain corporate ecclesiastical bodies in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Nordic Lutheran churches....
of St George's Chapel, Windsor, who remained lords of the manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
until about 1870.
The statesman Richard Hampden
Richard Hampden
Richard Hampden was an English Whig politician and son of John Hampden. He was sworn a Privy Counsellor in 1689 and was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 18 March 1690 until 10 May 1694....
leased the manor from 1669 until his death in 1695, after which it remained with his widow until 1707. The Earl of Macclesfield
George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield
George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, FRS was an English peer and astronomer.Styled Viscount Parker from 1721 to 1732, he was Member of Parliament for Wallingford from 1722 to 1727, but his interests were not in politics...
leased the manor from 1751. A Hugh Hamersley of Old Windsor
Old Windsor
Old Windsor is a large village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire.-Location:...
leased the manor from 1781. The lease remained with his descendants until 1870 when his grandson, another Hugh Hamersley, seems to have bought the manor from the Dean and Chapter of St. George's Chapel. In 1909 Hugh's younger son Edward Samuel Hamersley died without heir and his widow gave Pyrton to her nephew, Major Hugh C.C. Ducat, who changed his surname to Ducat Hamersley. In 1945 the Major left the estate to his son, Colonel Hugh Ducat Hamersley, who still held the estate in the 1960's.
The estate was not inherited by Hugh's elder son, Alfred St. George Hamersley
Alfred St. George Hamersley
Alfred St. George Hamersley was a nineteenth-century solicitor and entrepreneur of great renown, an English MP and perhaps most notably an English rugby union international who played in the first ever international match, went on to captain his country and pioneered the sport in the south of New...
, because he lived in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Alfred St. George Hamersley was a nineteenth century barrister, English MP and English rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
international who played in the first ever international match, went on to captain his country and pioneered the sport in the south of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
Parish church
Pyrton has had 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....
since the 10th century. 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 Saint Mary
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...
was built in the 12th century but was largely rebuilt in 1856 by the architect J.C. Buckler
John Chessell Buckler
John Chessell Buckler was a British architect, the eldest son of the architect John Buckler. J.C. Buckler initially worked with his father before working for himself. His work included restorations of country houses and at the University of Oxford.-Career:Buckler received art lessons from the...
.
Houses
Pyrton had a Mediaeval manor houseManor 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...
surrounded by a moat. There was a Hundred of Pyrton, making the manor house the administrative centre of this division of Oxfordshire. The present Elizabethan
Elizabethan architecture
Elizabethan architecture is the term given to early Renaissance architecture in England, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Historically, the period corresponds to the Cinquecento in Italy, the Early Renaissance in France, and the Plateresque style in Spain...
manor house was built around the beginning of the 17th century. It is largely of red brick and has a roughly E-shaped plan typical of its period. In 1786 it was in poor condition and received major repairs. Most of the present sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s seem to have been added at this time. Also in the 18th century the grounds were landscaped, replacing a 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 small pond with a larger lake.
Pyrton Vicarage is a lath and plaster
Lath and plaster
Lath and plaster is a building process used mainly for interior walls in Canada and the United States until the late 1950s. After the 1950s, drywall began to replace the lath and plaster process in the United States. In the United Kingdom, lath and plaster was used for some interior partition...
house that was built before 1637. The present brick-built south front was added late in the 18th century. By 1635 Pyrton had also a substantial rectory, but by 1777 it was a ruin and towards the end of the 18th century it was demolished and replaced by the present 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...
rectory was built in its place. From about 1885 this Rectory was used to house successive vicars of the adjacent Shirburn
Shirburn
Shirburn is a village and civil parish about south of Thame in Oxfordshire. The eastern part of the parish is in the Chiltern Hills.-Manor:Shirburn is a spring line settlement at the foot of the Chiltern escarpment...
parish. In 1943 the two benefices were merged, bringing this unusual housing arrangement to an end.
Railway
The Watlington and Princes Risborough RailwayWatlington and Princes Risborough Railway
The Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway was a railway branch line between Watlington and Princes Risborough which remained operational for over 88 years between 1872 and 1961....
was built in 1869–72. Its Watlington terminus is in fact in Pyrton parish, 0.5 miles (804.7 m) from Watlington
Watlington, Oxfordshire
Watlington is a market town and civil parish about south of Thame in Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlets of Christmas Common and Greenfield, both of which are in the Chiltern Hills. The M40 motorway is from Watlington.-History:...
. The Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
took over the line in 1833. British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways closed Watlington station
Watlington railway station, Oxfordshire
Watlington railway station in Oxfordshire was the terminus of the Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway and opened in 1872. Watlington station was not in Watlington itself, but in Pyrton about a mile north east from centre of Watlington....
and withdrew all train services between Watlington and in 1957.