Bampton, Oxfordshire
Encyclopedia
Bampton, also called Bampton-in-the-Bush, is a village and civil parish in the Thames Valley
about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) southwest of Witney
in Oxfordshire
. The parish includes the hamlet of Weald
.
Bampton is sometimes described as a town, perhaps because it was a market town until the 19th century. It has both a Town Hall and a Village Hall.
The core of Bampton is sited on gravel terraces composed of Summertown-Radley or Flood Plain Terrace deposits.
and Roman times. The earliest settlement was probably somewhat to the east of the centre of Bampton today, the triangular space known as Market Square.
Bampton was an important place in Saxon and medieval times.
US troops were billeted in Bampton at various times during the Second World War.
Bampton was used for exterior shots of the fictional village of Downton, North Yorkshire
in ITV
's period drama TV series Downton Abbey
.
of Saint Mary the Virgin
dates from the 12th century. It was built on the site of a late Anglo-Saxon Minster
, and the tower of that building survives within the present church. It has a 13th-century spire and carved stone reredos of Christ and the apostles from around 1400.
William the Conqueror gave the original church to Leofric, Bishop of Exeter
. The diocese of Exeter
was involved with St Mary's for many years afterwards. Throughout its history the church has been rebuilt and extended many times, most recently in 1870 when the roof took its present form.
The ancient parish was one of the largest in Oxfordshire and included the townships of Weald, Lew
, Aston
, Cote
, Shifford
, Chimney
and Lower Haddon. In 1857 the parish was split into the three ecclesiastical parishes of Bampton Proper, Bampton Lew and Bampton Aston, all now part of the united benefice of Bampton with Clanfield. In 1866 the parish was split into five civil parishes: Bampton, Lew, Aston and Cote, Shifford and Chimney.
St. Mary's Rectory
has a date-stone indicating that it was built in 1546. It was altered in 1799 by the builder and architect Daniel Harris
.
, two miles to the north.
Bus services are provided by RH Buses on routes 18 (Bampton-Oxford) and 19 (Carterton-Bampton-Witney).
former primary school building in Church View.
ers and BMX
riders.
which performs both in Bampton and elsewhere, including London. In Bampton the venue is the garden of the Deanery, a private house near St Mary's church. A curved yew hedge encloses the opera stage, providing excellent natural acoustics.
but the date has recently changed to the late May Bank Holiday.
is a traditional throwing game, played predominantly in pubs in Oxfordshire. The Bampton & District Aunt Sally Association was formed in 1971. In the Bampton league, games are played on Thursday evenings between teams of 6 players (unlike other leagues in Oxfordshire who field teams of 8).
Thames Valley
The Thames Valley Region is a loose term for the English counties and towns roughly following the course of the River Thames as it flows from Oxfordshire in the west to London in the east. It includes parts of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, North Hampshire, Surrey and west London...
about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) southwest of Witney
Witney
Witney is a town on the River Windrush, west of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England.The place-name 'Witney' is first attested in a Saxon charter of 969 as 'Wyttannige'; it appears as 'Witenie' in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name means 'Witta's island'....
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 hamlet of Weald
Weald, Oxfordshire
Weald is a hamlet in Bampton civil parish about southwest of Bampton.The toponym Weald is from the Old English for "woodland". The place was recorded by name in the late 12th century when Osney Abbey acquired a house there. It was a separate township by the 13th century...
.
Bampton is sometimes described as a town, perhaps because it was a market town until the 19th century. It has both a Town Hall and a Village Hall.
The core of Bampton is sited on gravel terraces composed of Summertown-Radley or Flood Plain Terrace deposits.
History
The origins of Bampton go back to the Iron AgeIron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
and Roman times. The earliest settlement was probably somewhat to the east of the centre of Bampton today, the triangular space known as Market Square.
Bampton was an important place in Saxon and medieval times.
US troops were billeted in Bampton at various times during the Second World War.
Bampton was used for exterior shots of the fictional village of Downton, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
in ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's period drama TV series Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey is a British television period drama series, produced by NBC Universal-owned British media company Carnival Films for the ITV network. The series is set during the late Edwardian era and the First World War on the fictional estate of Downton Abbey in Yorkshire, and features an...
.
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 Saint Mary the Virgin
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
dates from the 12th century. It was built on the site of a late Anglo-Saxon Minster
Minster
Minster could mean:*Minster *Minster Machine CompanyMinster could also refer to:*Minster, part of Forrabury and Minster*Minster, Ohio*Minster, Swale*Minster-in-Thanet...
, and the tower of that building survives within the present church. It has a 13th-century spire and carved stone reredos of Christ and the apostles from around 1400.
William the Conqueror gave the original church to Leofric, Bishop of Exeter
Bishop of Exeter
The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The incumbent usually signs his name as Exon or incorporates this in his signature....
. The diocese of Exeter
Diocese of Exeter
The Diocese of Exeter is a Church of England diocese covering the county of Devon. It is one of the largest dioceses in England. The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter is the seat of the diocesan bishop, the Right Reverend Michael Langrish, Bishop of Exeter. It is part of the Province of...
was involved with St Mary's for many years afterwards. Throughout its history the church has been rebuilt and extended many times, most recently in 1870 when the roof took its present form.
The ancient parish was one of the largest in Oxfordshire and included the townships of Weald, Lew
Lew, Oxfordshire
Lew is a small village and civil parish about southwest of Witney in West Oxfordshire.-History:Evidence of early human habitation in the parish includes a tumulus, probably Anglo-Saxon, on a high hill west of the village. The name of the village, recorded as Hlæwe in 984, means "tumulus" in Old...
, Aston
Aston, Oxfordshire
Aston is a village about south of Witney in West Oxfordshire, England. It is also 3.3 Miles from Ducklington. The village is part of the civil parish of Aston, Cote, Shifford and Chimney. The southern boundary of the parish is the River Thames.-History:Until the 19th century Aston was a township...
, Cote
Cote, Oxfordshire
Cote is a hamlet about south of Witney and north of the River Thames in West Oxfordshire, England. Cote is part of the civil parish of Aston, Cote, Shifford and Chimney...
, Shifford
Shifford
Shifford is a hamlet in the civil parish of Aston, Cote, Shifford and Chimney in Oxfordshire, England. It is on the north bank of the River Thames about south of Witney.-History:...
, Chimney
Chimney, Oxfordshire
Chimney is a hamlet on the River Thames near Shifford Lock, south of Witney in Oxfordshire. It is part of the civil parish of Aston, Cote, Shifford and Chimney....
and Lower Haddon. In 1857 the parish was split into the three ecclesiastical parishes of Bampton Proper, Bampton Lew and Bampton Aston, all now part of the united benefice of Bampton with Clanfield. In 1866 the parish was split into five civil parishes: Bampton, Lew, Aston and Cote, Shifford and Chimney.
St. Mary's Rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
has a date-stone indicating that it was built in 1546. It was altered in 1799 by the builder and architect Daniel Harris
Daniel Harris (Oxford)
Daniel Harris was a builder, prison governor, civil engineer and architect who lived and practised in Oxford.-Family:Harris's birthplace is obscure but he was born about 1761, as the entry in St-Peter-le-Bailey's register for his death in 1840 records his age as 79. He married Elizabeth Tomkins of...
.
Transport
From 1861 until 1961 the village was served by Brize Norton and Bampton railway stationBrize Norton and Bampton railway station
Brize Norton and Bampton railway station was a railway station south of the village of Brize Norton on the East Gloucestershire Railway between and . The station had two stone-built platforms, a station building and a goods shed....
, two miles to the north.
Bus services are provided by RH Buses on routes 18 (Bampton-Oxford) and 19 (Carterton-Bampton-Witney).
Pumpkin club
Three Bampton residents Arnold Woodley, Jack Horn and Reg Absolom formed the Bampton Pumpkin club in March 1969. Every October there is a Pumpkin Club weigh-in, where all contestants' pumpkins are weighed, with the winner being awarded a prize. The first ever winner of the club weigh-in was Joe Buckingham with a gourd weighing 51.5 pounds (23.4 kg). After the weigh-in the pumpkins, along with flowers, fruit and vegetables, are auctioned. The money raised is given to local old age pensioners.Youth Centre
Bampton Youth Centre was founded in 1984 to provide facilities for children and teenagers. It is in the VictorianVictorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
former primary school building in Church View.
Skate Park
Bampton Skatepark was built for the village's skateboardSkateboard
A skateboard is typically a specially designed plywood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability, used primarily for the activity of skateboarding. The first skateboards to reach public notice came out of the surfing craze of the early 1960s,...
ers and BMX
Bicycle motocross
Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
riders.
Gardening Club
Bampton's gardening club holds two flower shows each year. The Summer Show is held at the end of June or early July, and the Autumn Show is held in September. The first ever shows were held in October 1972.Society for the protection of Bampton
The Society for the protection of Bampton (SPB) is a society set up in 1993 to maintain or improve the quality of life for people living in Bampton. The society bought a field in Bampton for use by the village; the field used to be owned by Oxfordshire County Council. The society has around 450 members.Bampton Environmental Watch Group
The Bampton Environmental Watch Group (BEWG) is a group set up in 1989, to look after the Bampton environment; it currently has around 100 members.Bampton Town Football Club
Bampton Town Football Club are affiliated to the Oxfordshire Football Association. Their home ground is located at Buckland Road, Bampton. The club runs 2 senior teams (first and reserve) who play in the North Berks Football League, 1 youth team (under 16 age group) who play in the OFA Youth Football League, 7 junior teams (under 8s to under 14s) who play in the Witney and District Youth League and 1 veteran team (over 35 years old). The club's main kit colours are orange shirts and black shorts.SPAJER
'Society for the Preservation of Ancient Junketing' (SPAJERS) organises a race around the village on the late May Bank Holiday each year, celebrating the 14 pubs that used to be open. Runners, dressed in night-gowns, have to be in pairs, with one pushing another in a trolley, stopping at the houses that used to be pubs (and of course the current open pubs), and drinking a measure of beer before running to the next.The Bampton Beam
The local magazine The Bampton Beam is distributed freely to all residences and businesses in Bampton. It contains information on events in the Bampton area.Bampton Classical Opera
Bampton is the home of Bampton Classical OperaBampton Classical Opera
Bampton Classical Opera is an opera company based in Bampton, Oxfordshire specialising in the production of lesser known opera from the Classical period...
which performs both in Bampton and elsewhere, including London. In Bampton the venue is the garden of the Deanery, a private house near St Mary's church. A curved yew hedge encloses the opera stage, providing excellent natural acoustics.
Bampton Morris
Bampton has a tradition of morris dancing which may be 600 years old. Documentary and circumstantial evidence show that morris dancing in Bampton goes back at least to the 1790s. Morris dancing used to be performed in Bampton on Whit MondayWhit Monday
Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a movable feast in the Christian calendar. It is movable because it is determined by the date of Easter....
but the date has recently changed to the late May Bank Holiday.
Bampton & District Aunt Sally
Aunt SallyAunt Sally
thumb|right|312px|A drawing from the 1911 edition of Whiteley's General Catalogue.Aunt Sally is a traditional throwing game. The term is often used metaphorically to mean something that is a target for criticism...
is a traditional throwing game, played predominantly in pubs in Oxfordshire. The Bampton & District Aunt Sally Association was formed in 1971. In the Bampton league, games are played on Thursday evenings between teams of 6 players (unlike other leagues in Oxfordshire who field teams of 8).