Watlington, Oxfordshire
Encyclopedia
Watlington is a market town
and civil parish about 7 miles (11.3 km) 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 2.5 miles (4 km) from Watlington.
. The toponym
means "settlement of Waecel's people" and indicates occupation from around the 6th century. A 9th-century charter by Æthelred of Mercia mentions eight 'manses' or major dwellings in Watlington. The Domesday Book
of 1086 identified the area as an agricultural community valued at £610. Medieval documents indicate that the modern street plan was in existence in the 14th century, if not earlier. Cochynes-lane (Couching Street), and Brook Street are recorded and the High Street must have had houses.
There are records of inns in Watlington since the 15th century. In 1722 the town's market was listed as being held on a Saturday. By the end of the 18th century the town had six inns, all of which were bought up in the next few years by a local brewing family, the Haywards. The number of licenced premises increased until late in the 19th century when George Wilkinson, a Methodist
bought six of them and closed them down. Today Watlington has three public house
s: the Carriers Arms, the Chequers and the Fox and Hounds.
Parliamentarian
troops were billeted at Watlington during the English Civil War
. It is thought that John Hampden
stayed in the town the night before the Battle of Chalgrove Field
.
In 1664-65 the Town Hall was built at the expense of Thomas Stonor. Its upper room was endowed by Stonor as a grammar school for boys, and in 1731 Dame Alice Tipping of Ewelme
gave a further endowment to increase the number of pupils. In 1842 the town Vestry established a National School
, which shared the same rooms in the Town Hall. In 1843 a National School for girls was built next to St. Leonard's church. In 1872 the boys' and girls' schools were absorbed into a new Board school
, which like its predecessors was affiliated to the National Society for Promoting Religious Education
. In 1927 the school was divided into separate junior and senior schools. In 1956 a new secondary school - the Icknield School - opened for senior pupils and the primary school took over the old premises. The Icknield School is now Icknield Community College
.
The Watlington White Mark was designed by local squire Edward Horne, who felt that the parish church of St. Leonard, when viewed from his home, would be more impressive if it appeared to have a spire. He had this unusual folly cut into the chalk escarpment
of Watlington Hill in 1764. It is 36 feet (11 m) wide at its base and 270 feet (82.3 m) long.
In 1872 the Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway
was opened. Its Watlington terminus is in fact in Pyrton
parish, 0.5 miles (804.7 m) from Watlington. In 1883 the Great Western Railway
took over control of the line. In 1957 British Rail
ways closed Watlington station
and withdrew all passenger services between Watlington and , which was still being used by the local Chinnor Cement Works. In 1961 all services were withdrawn from the line, the track was lifted and the line left abandoned. The Watlington railway station site remains, as does the station building, the corriagted iron carriage shed, and the brickwork of the goods shed. The line served the people of Watlington and the surrounding villages for 89 years.
By 1895 the Town Hall, no longer used as a school, was in disrepair. In 1907 it was restored by public subscription. It forms a landmark at the meeting point of three roads in the centre of the town.
First World War
Royal Naval
veteran Bill Stone lived in Watlington until he was 106. The athlete Peter Gabbett
was born in Watlington in 1941.
of Saint Leonard
contains remnants of a Norman
church, including a diapered
tympanum
that was over the north door until this was dismantled for the building of the north aisle. The church was extensively rebuilt in the 14th century, and the arcade
of the south aisle survives from this period. The south chapel
is 15th century, built for Maud Warner as a memorial for her husband Richard, a woolman. The tower is also Mediaeval. A few Decorated style and Perpendicular style windows survive, but in the 1870s some were moved to different positions within the church.
In 1763 Edward Horne, a local landowner, obtained permission to build a burial vault east of the Warner chapel and south of the chancel
. In 1874-76 the architects H.J. Tollit and Edwin Dolby
restored the church. The bell-tower's oldest bell was cast in 1587. The tower had six bells until 1909, when two recently-cast ones were hung and increased its peal
to eight. St. Leonard's parish is now part of the Benefice of Icknield.
During the English Reformation
Oxfordshire had numerous recusant
Roman Catholics
. In 1549 William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton
was sent to Oxfordshire with 1,500 troops to enforce the Reformation. Baron Grey ordered William Boolar, a Catholic of Watlington, to be hanged
as an example. Despite persecution, a number of local landowning families including the Stonors remained Catholic, and they and their chaplains supported small numbers of other Catholics in the area. In 1930 Fr. William Brown, the chaplain at Stonor Park, brought about the building of the Roman Catholic church of the Sacred Heart
in Watlington. The present Roman Catholic church in Watlington is dedicated to Saint Edmund Campion
, a Jesuit
priest who was executed at Tyburn
on 1581.
During the 17th and 18th centuries several nonconformist
denominations existed in Watlington, with Quakers, Baptists and Seventh Day Baptist
s dominant in different periods. Methodist
preachers visited Watlington by invitation from 1764, with John Wesley
himself preaching in the town in 1766, 1774 and 1775. The Wesleyan
chapel was built in 1796. It is now part of Thame and Watlington Methodist Circuit.
The Ridgeway
National Trail walking route, which forms part of the longer Icknield Way
, passes southeast of the town along the top of the Chiltern Hills. Red kites
, a formerly endangered species, were reintroduced to the Chilterns in 1989 and can be seen in the area.
Watlington has a Women's Institute.
Watlington Cricket Club first eleven plays in Oxfordshire Cricket Association league division two.
In 1990, Watlington signed a Twinning
Charter with a small town in France - Mansle
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
and civil parish about 7 miles (11.3 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....
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
. The parish includes the hamlets
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
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...
and Greenfield, both of which are 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 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 2.5 miles (4 km) from Watlington.
History
The Watlington area is likely to have been settled at an early date, encouraged by the proximity of the 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:...
. 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...
means "settlement of Waecel's people" and indicates occupation from around the 6th century. A 9th-century charter by Æthelred of Mercia mentions eight 'manses' or major dwellings in Watlington. 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 identified the area as an agricultural community valued at £610. Medieval documents indicate that the modern street plan was in existence in the 14th century, if not earlier. Cochynes-lane (Couching Street), and Brook Street are recorded and the High Street must have had houses.
There are records of inns in Watlington since the 15th century. In 1722 the town's market was listed as being held on a Saturday. By the end of the 18th century the town had six inns, all of which were bought up in the next few years by a local brewing family, the Haywards. The number of licenced premises increased until late in the 19th century when George Wilkinson, a Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
bought six of them and closed them down. Today Watlington has three 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 Carriers Arms, the Chequers and the Fox and Hounds.
Parliamentarian
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
troops were billeted at Watlington during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. It is thought that 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)...
stayed in the town the night before the Battle of Chalgrove Field
Battle of Chalgrove Field
The Battle of Chalgrove was a small battle during the English Civil War in the county of Oxfordshire. It took place around 09:00 hours on the morning of 18 June 1643 in Chalgrove Field, northeast of Chalgrove in Oxfordshire...
.
In 1664-65 the Town Hall was built at the expense of Thomas Stonor. Its upper room was endowed by Stonor as a grammar school for boys, and in 1731 Dame Alice Tipping of Ewelme
Ewelme
Ewelme is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire, northeast of the market town of Wallingford.To the east of the village is Cow Common and to the west, Benson Airfield, the north-eastern corner of which is within the parish boundary.The solid geology is chalk...
gave a further endowment to increase the number of pupils. In 1842 the town Vestry established 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...
, which shared the same rooms in the Town Hall. In 1843 a National School for girls was built next to St. Leonard's church. In 1872 the boys' and girls' schools were absorbed into a new Board school
School board (England & Wales)
School boards were public bodies in England and Wales between 1870 and 1902, which established and administered elementary schools.School boards were created in boroughs and parishes under the Elementary Education Act 1870 following campaigning by George Dixon, Joseph Chamberlain and the National...
, which like its predecessors was affiliated to the National Society for Promoting Religious Education
National Society for Promoting Religious Education
The National Society for Promoting Religious Education, often just referred to as the National Society, is a Church of England body in England and Wales for the promotion of church schools and Christian education....
. In 1927 the school was divided into separate junior and senior schools. In 1956 a new secondary school - the Icknield School - opened for senior pupils and the primary school took over the old premises. The Icknield School is now Icknield Community College
Icknield Community College
Icknield Community College is a comprehensive school in Watlington, Oxfordshire, England. It has Humanities specialist status and is situated next to Watlington Primary School.At its Ofsted inspection in June 2008 it was rated "Grade 2, Good".- Subjects :...
.
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...
of Watlington Hill in 1764. It is 36 feet (11 m) wide at its base and 270 feet (82.3 m) long.
In 1872 the Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway
Watlington 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 opened. Its Watlington terminus is in fact in Pyrton
Pyrton
Pyrton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about north of the small town of Watlington and south of Thame.The toponym is from Old English meaning "pear-tree farm".-Archaeology:...
parish, 0.5 miles (804.7 m) from Watlington. In 1883 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 control of the line. In 1957 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 passenger services between Watlington and , which was still being used by the local Chinnor Cement Works. In 1961 all services were withdrawn from the line, the track was lifted and the line left abandoned. The Watlington railway station site remains, as does the station building, the corriagted iron carriage shed, and the brickwork of the goods shed. The line served the people of Watlington and the surrounding villages for 89 years.
By 1895 the Town Hall, no longer used as a school, was in disrepair. In 1907 it was restored by public subscription. It forms a landmark at the meeting point of three roads in the centre of the town.
First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Royal Naval
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
veteran Bill Stone lived in Watlington until he was 106. The athlete Peter Gabbett
Peter Gabbett
Peter John Gabbett is a former holder of the British record for the decathlon. He is widely regarded as the first British decathlete to achieve world class performances in this event. He won the AAA Championships on three occasions, finished second in the 1970 Commonwealth Games, was sixth in the...
was born in Watlington in 1941.
Churches
The Church of England parish churchChurch of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
of Saint Leonard
Leonard of Noblac
Leonard of Noblac or of Limoges or de Noblet , is a Frankish saint closely associated with the town and abbey of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, in Haute-Vienne, in the Limousin of France.-Traditional biography:According to the romance that...
contains remnants of a 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, including a diapered
Diapering
Diaper is any of a wide range of decorative patterns used in a variety of works of art, such as stained glass, heraldic shields, architecture, silverwork etc. Its chief use is in the enlivening of plain surfaces.-Etymology:...
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....
that was over the north door until this was dismantled for the building of the north aisle. The church was extensively rebuilt in the 14th century, and the arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
of the south aisle survives from this period. The south 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,...
is 15th century, built for Maud Warner as a memorial for her husband Richard, a woolman. The tower is also Mediaeval. A few Decorated style and Perpendicular style windows survive, but in the 1870s some were moved to different positions within the church.
In 1763 Edward Horne, a local landowner, obtained permission to build a burial vault east of the Warner chapel and south 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...
. In 1874-76 the architects H.J. Tollit and Edwin Dolby
Edwin Dolby
Edwin Dolby was a Victorian architect who practised in Abingdon, England.-Career:Dolby's works span the period 1863–1888. He altered, rebuilt or restored a number of Church of England parish churches, most of them in the Vale of White Horse and Oxfordshire. In 1869–70, he built Abingdon Grammar...
restored the church. The bell-tower's oldest bell was cast in 1587. The tower had six bells until 1909, when two recently-cast ones were hung and increased its peal
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....
to eight. St. Leonard's parish is now part of the Benefice of Icknield.
During the English Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
Oxfordshire had numerous recusant
Recusancy
In the history of England and Wales, the recusancy was the state of those who refused to attend Anglican services. The individuals were known as "recusants"...
Roman Catholics
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. In 1549 William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton
William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton
William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton KG, was an English baron and military commander serving in France in the 1540s and 1550s, and in the Scottish wars of the 1540s.He was the thirteenth Baron Grey de Wilton....
was sent to Oxfordshire with 1,500 troops to enforce the Reformation. Baron Grey ordered William Boolar, a Catholic of Watlington, to be hanged
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
as an example. Despite persecution, a number of local landowning families including the Stonors remained Catholic, and they and their chaplains supported small numbers of other Catholics in the area. In 1930 Fr. William Brown, the chaplain at Stonor Park, brought about the building of the Roman Catholic church of the Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart
The Sacred Heart is one of the most famous religious devotions to Jesus' physical heart as the representation of His divine love for Humanity....
in Watlington. The present Roman Catholic church in Watlington is dedicated to Saint Edmund Campion
Edmund Campion
Saint Edmund Campion, S.J. was an English Roman Catholic martyr and Jesuit priest. While conducting an underground ministry in officially Protestant England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason by a kangaroo court, he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn...
, a Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
priest who was executed at Tyburn
Tyburn
Tyburn is a former village just outside the then boundaries of London that was best known as a place of public execution.Tyburn may also refer to:* Tyburn , river and historical water source in London...
on 1581.
During the 17th and 18th centuries several 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:...
denominations existed in Watlington, with Quakers, Baptists and Seventh Day Baptist
Seventh Day Baptist
Seventh Day Baptists are Christian Baptists who observe Sabbath on the seventh-day of the week in accord with their understanding of the Biblical Sabbath for the Judeo-Christian tradition...
s dominant in different periods. Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
preachers visited Watlington by invitation from 1764, with John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
himself preaching in the town in 1766, 1774 and 1775. The 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...
chapel was built in 1796. It is now part of Thame and Watlington Methodist Circuit.
Amenities
The Ridgeway
thumb|right|thumb|The ancient tree-lined path winds over the downs countrysideThe Ridgeway is a ridgeway or ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road...
National Trail walking route, which forms part of the longer Icknield Way
Icknield 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 southeast of the town along the top of the Chiltern Hills. Red kites
Red Kite
The Red Kite is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species is currently endemic to the Western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa, though formerly also occurred just...
, a formerly endangered species, were reintroduced to the Chilterns in 1989 and can be seen in the area.
Watlington has a Women's Institute.
Watlington Cricket Club first eleven plays in Oxfordshire Cricket Association league division two.
In 1990, Watlington signed a Twinning
Town twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
Charter with a small town in France - Mansle
Mansle
Mansle is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. It is about 20 km north of Angoulême on the main N10 road.-Population:...
Bus services
Watlington has a number of bus services, including:- Watlington - OxfordOxfordThe 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...
, Thames TravelThames TravelThames Travel is a bus operator based in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, in England. It is the third largest bus company in the county It operates a fleet of around 34 vehicles, and employs 75 staff. Running services across the Thames region, the company carries approximately 1.25 million passengers a year...
service 101 - Watlington - ThameThameThame 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....
, Red Rose Travel service 124 - Watlington - Wallingford, Thames Travel service 125
- StokenchurchStokenchurchStokenchurch is a village and civil parish within Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, about south of Chinnor in Oxfordshire and west of High Wycombe. The village is a popular place to live, due to its rural location and ease of access to London and Birmingham...
- Watlington - ReadingReading, BerkshireReading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, Motts Travel service M1