South Newington
Encyclopedia
South Newington is a village and civil parish on the south bank of the River Swere in the Cotswold Hills in Oxfordshire
, England, about 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Banbury
.
The present village originated in Anglo-Saxon
times. After the Norman conquest of England
, William the Conqueror
granted the manor to Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, who was both his step-brother and one of his military commanders. It is recorded amongst Odo's estates in the Domesday Book
of 1086.
By 1206 Odo of Bayeux's former manor was let to one William of Paris, after whom the village was sometimes called "Paris Newton". A few years later William granted the estate to Ralph Ivals, after whom the village was called "Newington Jewell". However, by about the same time it was also being called "South Newington" to distinguish it from North Newington
about 4 miles (6.4 km) to the north. From the 13th to the 15th century the manor was held by the Cranford family, after whom the village was sometimes called "Newington Cranford". From the 13th to the 16th century a smaller manor in South Newington was held by the Giffard family.
In the reign of Henry II
(1154–1189) Hugh de Chacombe, lord of the manor
of Chacombe
in Northamptonshire
founded a priory
of Augustinian
canons
in Chacombe and gave it a yardland
in the parish of South Newington. The priory's ownership of the land and a house on it was recorded in 1279. When the priory was suppressed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries
in 1536 its property at South Newington passed to the Crown
. The Crown sold the land to intermediaries or speculators, who sold it on to Magdalen College, Oxford
.
is one of only 15 in England dedicated to St Peter ad Vincula
("St Peter in Chains"), after the basilica
of San Pietro in Vincoli
in Rome. It was originally a small late Norman
church. At the end of the 13th century it was considerably extended and the bell tower
was added. Further additions were made in the second half of the 15th century. The tower has a ring
of five bells, the oldest of which was cast in 1656.
Around 1330-40 several very fine wall paintings
were painted in the north aisle, probably commissioned by Thomas Giffard, lord of the smaller manor in South Newington, and his wife Margaret Mortayne. Over the chancel arch there are fragments of a Doom painting
from the same period, but very little of it has survived. In the 15th or 16th century a Passion Cycle
was painted in the nave above the arches to the north aisle. Its artistry is not of the same standard as the paintings in the north aisle, but it is of interest and some of its pictures show scenes not seen in passion cycles elsewhere.
St. Peter ad Vincula was granted to the Benedictine
abbey at Eynsham
in the 1160s, and remained one of its possessions until the abbey was suppressed in the dissolution of the monasteries
in 1538. In 1565 the advowson
was passed to Exeter College, Oxford
, which retained it until 1979. St. Peter ad Vincula is now part of a single Church of England benefice with the parishes of Bloxham
and Milcombe
.
By 1663 South Newington had a small group of Quakers. In 1692 they built a Friends Meeting House
, in which they continued to meet until 1825. In 1925 the house was sold to the village, which converted it into the village hall.
A Wesleyan
congregation existed in the village by 1834. By 1854 the congregation was leasing the disused Friends' Meeting House for its meetings, and from 1857 it was reported to be Primitive Methodist. In 1875 the congregation opened its own Primitive Methodist Chapel
. The chapel was closed in about 1939 and is now a private house.
disbanded Parliament
and tried to exercise Personal Rule
. Lack of parliamentary support left Charles' treasury short of revenue, so in 1634 Charles revived the feudal
tax of Ship Money
which the Plantaganet
kings had levied in the Middle Ages
without recourse to Parliament. Ship Money was meant to be levied only in wartime and only in coastal counties and maritime towns, but in 1634 England was not at war and in 1635 Charles issued a second writ
extending the tax to all inland counties.
South Newington was assessed to pay £12 Ship Money, but Francis French, one of South Newington's parish constables, objected to the levy and ignored the writ. The Sheriff
of Oxford
issued a warrant requiring that the £12 be paid, but the Calendar of State Papers Domestic records that French and Thomas Roberts, a very vocal opponent of the tax, replied "No money has been or can be gathered in the parish till the sheriff makes known to them a law or statute binding them unto". The sheriff then tried to enforce the tax by seizing £12 worth of livestock from the village. Roberts discouraged any residents of the hundreds of Bloxham
and Banbury
from buying the animals, and thereby still prevented the sheriff from realising the £12.
In October 1636 Charles I issued a third writ for Ship Money, provoking the more famous resistance of John Hampden
, the Member of Parliament for Wendover
in Buckinghamshire
. Meanwhile the South Newington case dragged on, and in May 1638 Roberts and another non-payer, Thomas Hall of Bodicote
, were arrested and brought before the Privy Council
charged with "undutiful speeches against the Board in general and Mr Comptroller in particular". Both men were discharged on condition that they behave themselves as "good subjects and civil men", but Roberts thereafter continued to call the Comptroller an "ugly rogue" with apparent impunity. Charles I's attempt to raise a tax without seeking parliament's approval continued to divide the Kingdom and was one of the factors that led to the outbreak of the English Civil War
in January 1642.
. One ceased to exist in the Middle Ages
but the other, north of the village, remained in use until at least the 19th century. The mill house survives but the leat
has been diverted. In 1675 there was also a windmill
north of the village. It had been removed by 1794, but the field where it stood continues to be called Windmill Furlong
.
Most of South Newington's buildings are built of local limestone
. Several can be dated to the 17th or 18th century. College Farm, a yeoman
's house next to the parish church, is a large, stone-roofed example dated 1659.
In the 18th century the village had four public house
s: the Horse and Jockey, the Pole Axe
, the Wykeham
Arms and the Three Goats. The Three Goats seems to have been relatively short-lived and the Horse and Jockey had also ceased to be a pub by 1832. The Pole Axe was a large inn
with stables and survived until 1887. In 1897 its buildings were given to the village as a reading room and hall. Patronage declined and in 1927 it was sold and most of its buildings demolished. The site was given back to the village in 1934 as a playground, in which use it remains today. The Wykeham Arms survived until the early 21st century, when its historic name was removed and it was turned into a restaurant called the Duck on the Pond.
The main road between Banbury and Chipping Norton crosses the River Swere in South Newington. A stone bridge carrying the road over the river was mentioned as early as 1279. Another main road, from Deddington
, joins the Banbury - Chipping Norton road 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest of the village. Both roads were made into turnpikes
in 1770. South Newington's current bridge over the Swere includes an 18th-century stone three-arched structure that may have been built by the turnpike company. Both roads ceased to be turnpikes in 1871. In 1922 the Banbury - Chipping Norton road was classified as the A361
. The former turnpike from Deddington is now the B4031.
Most of the parish's land was farmed in an open field system
until 1795, when it was inclosed by Act of Parliament
.
In 1796 the village opened a workhouse
but it had ceased to serve as such by 1803. Under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
South Newington became part of the Banbury Poor Law Union
, which sold off the cottages that the village had provided for housing its poor.
A National School
was opened by 1818, and in 1837 it moved to new building purpose-built premises. It was reorganised as a junior and infant school in 1929 and as an infant school in 1956. It was closed in 1965 and is now a private house.
South Newington stands on Banbury ironstone
. An application to quarry
this iron ore southwest of the village was made in 1958, but in order to protect the beauty of the landscape the application was rejected.
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) 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...
.
Manors
Evidence of a Romano-British settlement has been found near the parish boundary on Iron Down, about 1 miles (1.6 km) south of the present village.The present village originated in Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
times. 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...
, 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 Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, who was both his step-brother and one of his military commanders. It is 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...
of 1086.
By 1206 Odo of Bayeux's former manor was let to one William of Paris, after whom the village was sometimes called "Paris Newton". A few years later William granted the estate to Ralph Ivals, after whom the village was called "Newington Jewell". However, by about the same time it was also being called "South Newington" to distinguish it from North Newington
North Newington
North Newington is a village and civil parish in northern Oxfordshire, England, about west of Banbury.North Newington is in the Church of England parish of St Mary the Virgin, Broughton With North Newington...
about 4 miles (6.4 km) to the north. From the 13th to the 15th century the manor was held by the Cranford family, after whom the village was sometimes called "Newington Cranford". From the 13th to the 16th century a smaller manor in South Newington was held by the Giffard family.
In the reign of Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
(1154–1189) Hugh de Chacombe, lord of 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 Chacombe
Chacombe
Chacombe is a village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, about northeast of Banbury in neighbouring Oxfordshire. It has sometimes been spelt Chalcombe...
in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
founded a priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
of Augustinian
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
canons
Canons Regular
Canons Regular are members of certain bodies of Canons living in community under the Augustinian Rule , and sharing their property in common...
in Chacombe and gave it a yardland
Virgate
The virgate or yardland was a unit of land area measurement used in medieval England, typically outside the Danelaw, and was held to be the amount of land that a team of two oxen could plough in a single annual season. It was equivalent to a quarter of a hide, so was nominally thirty acres...
in the parish of South Newington. The priory's ownership of the land and a house on it was recorded in 1279. When the priory 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 1536 its property at South Newington passed to 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...
. The Crown sold the land to intermediaries or speculators, who sold it on to Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
.
Churches
South Newington's 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:...
is one of only 15 in England dedicated to St Peter ad Vincula
Liberation of Saint Peter
The Liberation of Saint Peter is a story told in the Acts of the Apostles in which Saint Peter is rescued from prison by an angel. Although described in a short textual passage, the tale has given rise to theological discussions and has been the subject of a number of artworks.-Biblical...
("St Peter in Chains"), after the basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
of San Pietro in Vincoli
San Pietro in Vincoli
San Pietro in Vincoli is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy, best known for being the home of Michelangelo's statue of Moses, part of the tomb of Pope Julius II.-History:...
in Rome. It was originally a small late 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...
church. At the end of the 13th century it was considerably extended and 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 added. Further additions were made in the second half of the 15th century. 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 five bells, the oldest of which was cast in 1656.
Around 1330-40 several very fine wall paintings
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
were painted in the north aisle, probably commissioned by Thomas Giffard, lord of the smaller manor in South Newington, and his wife Margaret Mortayne. Over the chancel arch there are fragments of a Doom painting
Doom (painting)
A Doom is a traditional English term for a painting or other image of the Last Judgment, an event in Christian eschatology. Christ judges souls, and then sends them to either Heaven or Hell...
from the same period, but very little of it has survived. In the 15th or 16th century a Passion Cycle
Passion (Christianity)
The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
was painted in the nave above the arches to the north aisle. Its artistry is not of the same standard as the paintings in the north aisle, but it is of interest and some of its pictures show scenes not seen in passion cycles elsewhere.
St. Peter ad Vincula 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...
abbey at Eynsham
Eynsham Abbey
Eynsham Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Eynsham, Oxfordshire, in England between 1005 and 1538. King Æthelred allowed Æthelmær the Stout to found the abbey in 1005. There is some evidence that the abbey was built on the site of an earlier minster, probably founded in the 7th or 8th...
in the 1160s, and remained one of its possessions until the 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 1538. In 1565 the advowson
Advowson
Advowson is the right in English law of a patron to present or appoint a nominee to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a process known as presentation. In effect this means the right to nominate a person to hold a church office in a parish...
was passed to Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
, which retained it until 1979. St. Peter ad Vincula is now part of a single Church of England benefice with the parishes of Bloxham
Bloxham
Bloxham is a village and civil parish in northern Oxfordshire on the edge of the Cotswolds, southwest of Banbury.-Early settlement:Under Roman rule between the 1st and 5th centuries there were several farms and a burial site in the Bloxham area....
and Milcombe
Milcombe
Milcombe is a village and civil parish about southwest of Banbury, Oxfordshire.-History:The Church of England parish church of Saint Laurence was built in the 13th century, but little survives from this period except the west tower. The font is 15th century. In the 19th century the building was in...
.
By 1663 South Newington had a small group of Quakers. In 1692 they built a Friends Meeting House
Friends meeting house
A Friends meeting house is a meeting house of the Religious Society of Friends , where meeting for worship may be held.-History:Quakers do not believe that meeting for worship should take place in any special place. They believe that "where two or three meet together in my name, I am there among...
, in which they continued to meet until 1825. In 1925 the house was sold to the village, which converted it into the village hall.
A Wesleyan
Methodist Church of Great Britain
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is the largest Wesleyan Methodist body in the United Kingdom, with congregations across Great Britain . It is the United Kingdom's fourth largest Christian denomination, with around 300,000 members and 6,000 churches...
congregation existed in the village by 1834. By 1854 the congregation was leasing the disused Friends' Meeting House for its meetings, and from 1857 it was reported to be Primitive Methodist. In 1875 the congregation opened its own Primitive Methodist 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,...
. The chapel was closed in about 1939 and is now a private house.
Ship Money
In 1629 King Charles ICharles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
disbanded Parliament
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
and tried to exercise Personal Rule
Personal Rule
The Personal Rule was the period from 1629 to 1640, when King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland ruled without recourse to Parliament...
. Lack of parliamentary support left Charles' treasury short of revenue, so in 1634 Charles revived the feudal
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
tax of Ship Money
Ship money
Ship money refers to a tax that Charles I of England tried to levy without the consent of Parliament. This tax, which was only applied to coastal towns during a time of war, was intended to offset the cost of defending that part of the coast, and could be paid in actual ships or the equivalent value...
which the Plantaganet
House of Plantagenet
The House of Plantagenet , a branch of the Angevins, was a royal house founded by Geoffrey V of Anjou, father of Henry II of England. Plantagenet kings first ruled the Kingdom of England in the 12th century. Their paternal ancestors originated in the French province of Gâtinais and gained the...
kings had levied in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
without recourse to Parliament. Ship Money was meant to be levied only in wartime and only in coastal counties and maritime towns, but in 1634 England was not at war and in 1635 Charles issued a second writ
Prerogative writ
Prerogative writs are a class of writs which originate from English law. Originally they were available only to the Crown, but later they were made available to the monarch's subjects through the courts.The prerogative writs are:*certiorari...
extending the tax to all inland counties.
South Newington was assessed to pay £12 Ship Money, but Francis French, one of South Newington's parish constables, objected to the levy and ignored the writ. The Sheriff
High Sheriff
A high sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.In England and Wales, the office is unpaid and partly ceremonial, appointed by the Crown through a warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall, the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of...
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...
issued a warrant requiring that the £12 be paid, but the Calendar of State Papers Domestic records that French and Thomas Roberts, a very vocal opponent of the tax, replied "No money has been or can be gathered in the parish till the sheriff makes known to them a law or statute binding them unto". The sheriff then tried to enforce the tax by seizing £12 worth of livestock from the village. Roberts discouraged any residents of the hundreds of Bloxham
Bloxham
Bloxham is a village and civil parish in northern Oxfordshire on the edge of the Cotswolds, southwest of Banbury.-Early settlement:Under Roman rule between the 1st and 5th centuries there were several farms and a burial site in the Bloxham area....
and 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...
from buying the animals, and thereby still prevented the sheriff from realising the £12.
In October 1636 Charles I issued a third writ for Ship Money, provoking the more famous resistance of John Hampden
John Hampden
John Hampden was an English politician, the eldest son of William Hampden, of Hampden House, Great Hampden in Buckinghamshire, John Hampden (ca. 15951643) was an English politician, the eldest son of William Hampden, of Hampden House, Great Hampden in Buckinghamshire, John Hampden (ca. 15951643)...
, the Member of Parliament for Wendover
Wendover
Wendover is a market town that sits at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district...
in 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....
. Meanwhile the South Newington case dragged on, and in May 1638 Roberts and another non-payer, Thomas Hall of Bodicote
Bodicote
Bodicote is a village and civil parish south of the centre of Banbury in Oxfordshire.-History:A windmill that stood next to the grove at the top of Bodicote is mentioned in the Domesday Book of AD 1086...
, were arrested and brought before the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
charged with "undutiful speeches against the Board in general and Mr Comptroller in particular". Both men were discharged on condition that they behave themselves as "good subjects and civil men", but Roberts thereafter continued to call the Comptroller an "ugly rogue" with apparent impunity. Charles I's attempt to raise a tax without seeking parliament's approval continued to divide the Kingdom and was one of the factors that led to the outbreak of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
in January 1642.
Social and economic history
The Domesday Book records that in 1086 the village had two water millsWatermill
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 :...
. One ceased to exist in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
but the other, north of the village, remained in use until at least the 19th century. The mill house survives but the leat
Leat
A leat is the name, common in the south and west of England and in Wales, for an artificial watercourse or aqueduct dug into the ground, especially one supplying water to a watermill or its mill pond...
has been diverted. In 1675 there was also a windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
north of the village. It had been removed by 1794, but the field where it stood continues to be called Windmill Furlong
Furlong
A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....
.
Most of South Newington's buildings are built of local limestone
Cotswold stone
Cotswold stone is a yellow oolitic limestone quarried in many places in the Cotswold Hills in the south midlands of England. When weathered, the colour of buildings made or faced with this stone is often described as 'honey' or 'golden'....
. Several can be dated to the 17th or 18th century. College Farm, a yeoman
Yeoman
Yeoman refers chiefly to a free man owning his own farm, especially from the Elizabethan era to the 17th century. Work requiring a great deal of effort or labor, such as would be done by a yeoman farmer, came to be described as "yeoman's work"...
's house next to the parish church, is a large, stone-roofed example dated 1659.
In the 18th century the village had four 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...
s: the Horse and Jockey, the Pole Axe
Pollaxe
The pollaxe is a type of European polearm which was widely used by medieval infantry. It is also known by the names poleaxe, pole-axe, pole axe, polax, and Hache ....
, the Wykeham
William of Wykeham
William of Wykeham was Bishop of Winchester, Chancellor of England, founder of Winchester College, New College, Oxford, New College School, Oxford, and builder of a large part of Windsor Castle.-Life:...
Arms and the Three Goats. The Three Goats seems to have been relatively short-lived and the Horse and Jockey had also ceased to be a pub by 1832. The Pole Axe was a large inn
INN
InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
with stables and survived until 1887. In 1897 its buildings were given to the village as a reading room and hall. Patronage declined and in 1927 it was sold and most of its buildings demolished. The site was given back to the village in 1934 as a playground, in which use it remains today. The Wykeham Arms survived until the early 21st century, when its historic name was removed and it was turned into a restaurant called the Duck on the Pond.
The main road between Banbury and Chipping Norton crosses the River Swere in South Newington. A stone bridge carrying the road over the river was mentioned as early as 1279. Another main road, from Deddington
Deddington
Deddington is a civil parish in Oxfordshire about south of Banbury. In scale Deddington is a village, but it has a town centre with a market place and the local football team is called Deddington Town FC.-History:...
, joins the Banbury - Chipping Norton road 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest of the village. Both roads were made into turnpikes
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
in 1770. South Newington's current bridge over the Swere includes an 18th-century stone three-arched structure that may have been built by the turnpike company. Both roads ceased to be turnpikes in 1871. In 1922 the Banbury - Chipping Norton road was classified as the A361
A361 road
The A361 is a major road in England and at is the longest 3 digit A road in the UK. It runs south from Ilfracombe on the north Devon coast to Barnstaple, turning south-east to Tiverton then, after a break , north east from Taunton in Somerset through Street and Glastonbury, past Frome and then...
. The former turnpike from Deddington is now the B4031.
Most of the parish's land was farmed in 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...
until 1795, when it was inclosed by Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom
An Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom is a type of legislation called primary legislation. These Acts are passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster, or by the Scottish Parliament at Edinburgh....
.
In 1796 the village opened a workhouse
Workhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
but it had ceased to serve as such by 1803. Under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, sometimes abbreviated to PLAA, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Lord Melbourne that reformed the country's poverty relief system . It was an Amendment Act that completely replaced earlier legislation based on the...
South Newington became part of the Banbury Poor Law Union
Poor Law Union
A Poor Law Union was a unit used for local government in the United Kingdom from the 19th century. The administration of the Poor Law was the responsibility of parishes, which varied wildly in their size, populations, financial resources, rateable values and requirements...
, which sold off the cottages that the village had provided for housing its poor.
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...
was opened by 1818, and in 1837 it moved to new building purpose-built premises. It was reorganised as a junior and infant school in 1929 and as an infant school in 1956. It was closed in 1965 and is now a private house.
South Newington stands on Banbury 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...
. An application to 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...
this iron ore southwest of the village was made in 1958, but in order to protect the beauty of the landscape the application was rejected.