Appleford-on-Thames
Encyclopedia
Appleford-on-Thames is a village and civil parish on the south bank of the River Thames
about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Didcot
, Oxfordshire
. It was part of Berkshire
until the 1974 local government boundary changes
.
pewter
ware and ironomongery was found. The hoard is now in the Ashmolean Museum
, Oxford
.
Appleford was in existence by the last quarter of the 9th century when King Alfred the Great
of Wessex
granted land there to one of his subjects. The Domesday Book
records that in 1086 the manor of Apleford belonged to Abingdon Abbey
. It remained so until the dissolution of the monasteries
when the abbey surrendered properties including the manor of Apulford to the Crown
in 1538. Farming under an open field system
prevailed in the parish until 1838 when an enclosure
award was made.
of St. Peter and St. Paul
was originally a chapelry of Sutton Courtenay
. The nave
is 12th century Norman
and the chancel
was rebuilt early in the 13th century. The building was over-restored
in the 19th century but on the south side a Norman
door to the nave and an Early English Gothic door to the chancel survive. The east and north walls of the chancel have original Early English lancet window
s and the south wall has a Perpendicular Gothic window that was added in the 16th century.
In the 19th century the architect Ewan Christian
remodelled and extended the nave and in 1885-1886 the architect Willian Gilbee Scott rebuilt the tower
and added the spire.
The tower has a ring
of six bells, but currently they are unringable. Two of the bells were cast in the 14th century. Samuel Green
built the organ
in 1777 for Abbey House of Sutton Courtenay
. It was transferred to Appleford parish church at a later date.
In 1844 the Great Western Railway
opened an extension from Didcot
to Oxford, passing through Appleford parish and crossing the River Thames just north of the village. The new line included a station at Appleford, but the station was closed after just five years. In 1933 the GWR opened a new halt on the site, which continues in service today as Appleford railway station
.
Appleford has a minimal bus service. Grayline Coaches route 46 runs once in each direction on a Monday morning between Clifton Hampden
Post Office and the Abingdon
War Memorial, and once in each direction on a Friday morning between Drayton St Leonard & Abingdon
.
, a Women's Institute and a public house
, the Carpenter's Arms
.
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Didcot
Didcot
Didcot is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire about south of Oxford. Until 1974 it was in Berkshire, but was transferred to Oxfordshire in that year, and from Wallingford Rural District to the district of South Oxfordshire...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
. It was part of Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
until the 1974 local government boundary changes
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
.
Archaeology
Evidence of Romano-British settlement has been found in a field south of the parish church plus ceramics and human burials of the same period at Manor Farm. In 1968 the Appleford Hoard of 4th century Roman pewterAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
pewter
Pewter
Pewter is a malleable metal alloy, traditionally 85–99% tin, with the remainder consisting of copper, antimony, bismuth and lead. Copper and antimony act as hardeners while lead is common in the lower grades of pewter, which have a bluish tint. It has a low melting point, around 170–230 °C ,...
ware and ironomongery was found. The hoard is now in the Ashmolean Museum
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum...
, 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...
.
Manor
Anglo-SaxonHistory 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...
Appleford was in existence by the last quarter of the 9th century when King Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
of Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
granted land there to one of his subjects. 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 the manor of Apleford belonged to Abingdon Abbey
Abingdon Abbey
Abingdon Abbey was a Benedictine monastery also known as St Mary's Abbey located in Abingdon, historically in the county of Berkshire but now in Oxfordshire, England.-History:...
. It remained so until 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...
when the abbey surrendered properties including the manor of Apulford 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...
in 1538. Farming 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...
prevailed in the parish until 1838 when an 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...
award was made.
Parish church
The Church of England parish churchChurch of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
of St. Peter and St. Paul
Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, or the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, is a liturgical feast in honour of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June...
was originally a chapelry of Sutton Courtenay
Sutton Courtenay
Sutton Courtenay is a village and civil parish on the River Thames south of Abingdon and northwest of Didcot. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.-Today:...
. 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...
is 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...
and 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...
was rebuilt early in the 13th century. The building was over-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...
in the 19th century but on the south side 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...
door to the nave and an Early English Gothic door to the chancel survive. The east and north walls of the chancel have original Early English lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
s and the south wall has a Perpendicular Gothic window that was added in the 16th century.
In the 19th century the architect Ewan Christian
Ewan Christian
Ewan Christian was a British architect. He is most notable for the restoration of Carlisle Cathedral, the alterations to Christ Church, Spitalfields in 1866, and the extension to the National Gallery that created the National Portrait Gallery. He was architect to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners...
remodelled and extended the nave and in 1885-1886 the architect Willian Gilbee Scott rebuilt the 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 added the spire.
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 six bells, but currently they are unringable. Two of the bells were cast in the 14th century. Samuel Green
Samuel Green (organ builder)
Samuel Green , was an organ-builder.Green learnt his art under the elder Byfield, Bridge, and Jordan, and afterwards entered into several years' partnership with the younger Byfield. Green built a large number of organs for the cathedrals, and for churches in London and the country, instruments...
built the organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
in 1777 for Abbey House of Sutton Courtenay
Sutton Courtenay
Sutton Courtenay is a village and civil parish on the River Thames south of Abingdon and northwest of Didcot. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.-Today:...
. It was transferred to Appleford parish church at a later date.
Transport
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...
opened an extension from Didcot
Didcot Parkway railway station
Didcot Parkway is a railway station serving the town of Didcot in Oxfordshire in England. The station was opened as Didcot on 12 June 1844, and renamed Didcot Parkway on 29 July 1985 to reflect its role as a park and ride railhead....
to Oxford, passing through Appleford parish and crossing the River Thames just north of the village. The new line included a station at Appleford, but the station was closed after just five years. In 1933 the GWR opened a new halt on the site, which continues in service today as Appleford railway station
Appleford railway station
Appleford railway station serves the village of Appleford-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, England. It is operated by First Great Western and is south of Oxford on the Cherwell Valley Line.-Layout:...
.
Appleford has a minimal bus service. Grayline Coaches route 46 runs once in each direction on a Monday morning between Clifton Hampden
Clifton Hampden
Clifton Hampden is a village and civil parish on the north bank of the River Thames, just over east of Abingdon in Oxfordshire. Since 1932 the civil parish has included the village of Burcot, east of Clifton Hampden.-Manor:...
Post Office and the Abingdon
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...
War Memorial, and once in each direction on a Friday morning between Drayton St Leonard & Abingdon
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...
.
Amenities
Appleford has a village hallVillage hall
In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
, a Women's Institute and a 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...
, the Carpenter's Arms
Carpenter Arms
Carpenters Arms is a common British pub name.The Carpenters Arms are today an unrelated series of public houses informally referred to as "Pubs" within the United Kingdom. Historically the first such named "Carpenter Arms" was based on a forfeit Carpenter Coat of Arms patent and supported by the...
.