Chipping Warden
Encyclopedia
Chipping Warden is a village in Northamptonshire
, England about 6 miles (10 km) northeast of the Oxfordshire
town of Banbury
. The parish is bounded to the east and south by the River Cherwell
, to the west by the boundary with Oxfordshire and to the north by field boundaries.
The 2001 Census
recorded a parish population of 529 in 234 households.
hill fort. It is about 200 yard in diameter and has been heavily damaged by centuries of ploughing.
At Blackgrounds about 3/4 mi east of the village are the remains of a Roman villa
beside the River Cherwell. An investigation in 1849 found a Roman bathhouse
36 feet (11 m) long by 18 feet (5.5 m) wide, and four human burials have been found that may be related to the settlement. Roman coins
found at the site indicate that it was inhabited in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. English Heritage
has placed the villa on its Heritage at Risk
Register, citing threats from ploughing and a risk of collapse.
records that in 1086 the manor
of Chipping Warden was the caput
of the estates of Guy de Raimbeaucourt (or Reimbercourt, Reinbuedcurth or Reinbuedcurt), a baron from Raimbeaucourt
in northern France. There was also a Hundred of Chipping Warden that administered the southern part of Northamptonshire.
Guy was succeeded by his son Richard de Raimbeaucourt (circa 1093–1120). Richard left no male heir so the barony of Chipping Warden passed via his daughter Margaret (born 1121) to his son-in-law Robert Foliot (circa 1118–1172), to whom Henry II
conceded the barony of Chipping Warden in the middle of the 12th century. As Robert had a wife and son, presumably he is not the Robert Foliot
who was Archdeacon of Oxford and later Bishop of Hereford
.
The toponym
"Chipping" is derived from the Old English cēping meaning "market". In 1238 Robert Grosseteste
, Bishop of Lincoln
obtained royal letters from Henry III
revoking Chipping Warden's right to hold a market. This was because the Bishops of Lincoln controlled the market at Banbury and earned tolls from it, and Grosseteste feared that Chipping Warden was drawing trade away from Banbury.
of St. Peter and St. Paul
the north wall of the chancel
contains two blocked-up Norman
arches that suggest the building may date from about 1200. The chancel contains a window that pre-dates 1300, but is probably not in its original position. Other features from the Decorated Gothic period include the windows of the south aisle and the east window of a room to the north of the chancel. The east window of the chancel and the four-bay
arcades
between the nave
and the north and south aisles are from the early part of the Perpendicular Gothic period. The bell tower is also Perpendicular Gothic. The parish is now part of the Church of England benefice of Culworth
with Sulgrave
and Thorpe Mandeville
and Chipping Warden with Edgcote
and Moreton Pinkney
.
of farming prevailed in the parish until an Act of Parliament
was passed in May 1733 enabling Chipping Warden's common lands to be enclosed
.
In May 1744 a bill was moved in the House of Lords
to dissolve the marriage between Henry Scudamore, 3rd Duke of Beaufort
and Frances Scudamore. Among witnesses who testified under oath before their Lordships was John Pargiter, a farmer of Chipping Warden, who stated:
Witnesses William Douglas and Thomas Bonham corroborated Pargiter's evidence. The Journal of the House of Lords delicately omits the details of the "adulterous Familiarities" but records that subsequent witnesses testified "as to the sending for a Midwise to the Dutchess; her being delivered or brought to Bed of a Daughter". After hearing this and evidence of the Duchess's further adultery with Lord Talbot, their Lordships passed the Bill for the Duke and Duchess to be divorced.
RAF Chipping Warden, just northwest of the village, was built during the Second World War and commissioned in either 1941 or 1943 as a Bomber Command
Operational Training Unit
. It was decommissioned in 1946. Its buildings are now an industrial estate.
s: The Rose and Crown (Hook Norton Brewery
) and The Griffin. The village has a primary school.
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,...
, England about 6 miles (10 km) northeast of the Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
town 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...
. The parish is bounded to the east and south by the River Cherwell
River Cherwell
The River Cherwell is a river which flows through the Midlands of England. It is a major tributary of the River Thames.The general course of the River Cherwell is north to south and the 'straight-line' distance from its source to the Thames is about...
, to the west by the boundary with Oxfordshire and to the north by field boundaries.
The 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
recorded a parish population of 529 in 234 households.
Archaeology
Just south of Chipping Warden village is Arbury Banks, the remains of an Iron AgeBritish Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
hill fort. It is about 200 yard in diameter and has been heavily damaged by centuries of ploughing.
At Blackgrounds about 3/4 mi east of the village are the remains of a Roman villa
Roman villa
A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...
beside the River Cherwell. An investigation in 1849 found a Roman bathhouse
Thermae
In ancient Rome, thermae and balnea were facilities for bathing...
36 feet (11 m) long by 18 feet (5.5 m) wide, and four human burials have been found that may be related to the settlement. Roman coins
Roman currency
The Roman currency during most of the Roman Republic and the western half of the Roman Empire consisted of coins including the aureus , the denarius , the sestertius , the dupondius , and the as...
found at the site indicate that it was inhabited in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
has placed the villa on its Heritage at Risk
Heritage at Risk
Heritage at Risk is a collective term applied to 'designated' heritage assets that are at risk as a result of neglect, decay or inappropriate development, or are vulnerable to becoming so.In England, an annual Heritage at Risk Register is published by English Heritage...
Register, citing threats from ploughing and a risk of collapse.
Geology
2 miles (3 km) east of the village is the confluence of the river Cherwell and Eydon Brook which is designated as a SSSI due to its importance in the development of the theory of underfit streams.Manor
The Domesday BookDomesday 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
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 Chipping Warden was the caput
Caput
The Latin word caput, meaning literally "head" and by metonymy "top", has been borrowed in a variety of English words, including capital, captain, and decapitate...
of the estates of Guy de Raimbeaucourt (or Reimbercourt, Reinbuedcurth or Reinbuedcurt), a baron from Raimbeaucourt
Raimbeaucourt
-References:*...
in northern France. There was also a Hundred of Chipping Warden that administered the southern part of Northamptonshire.
Guy was succeeded by his son Richard de Raimbeaucourt (circa 1093–1120). Richard left no male heir so the barony of Chipping Warden passed via his daughter Margaret (born 1121) to his son-in-law Robert Foliot (circa 1118–1172), to whom 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...
conceded the barony of Chipping Warden in the middle of the 12th century. As Robert had a wife and son, presumably he is not the Robert Foliot
Robert Foliot
Robert Foliot was a medieval Bishop of Hereford in England. He was a relative of a number of English ecclesiastics, including Gilbert Foliot, one of his predecessors at Hereford. After serving Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln as a clerk, he became a clerk of Henry of Blois, the Bishop of Winchester...
who was Archdeacon of Oxford and later Bishop of Hereford
Bishop of Hereford
The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.The see is in the City of Hereford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Ethelbert which was founded as a cathedral in 676.The Bishop's residence is...
.
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...
"Chipping" is derived from the Old English cēping meaning "market". In 1238 Robert Grosseteste
Robert Grosseteste
Robert Grosseteste or Grossetete was an English statesman, scholastic philosopher, theologian and Bishop of Lincoln. He was born of humble parents at Stradbroke in Suffolk. A.C...
, Bishop of Lincoln
Bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral...
obtained royal letters from Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
revoking Chipping Warden's right to hold a market. This was because the Bishops of Lincoln controlled the market at Banbury and earned tolls from it, and Grosseteste feared that Chipping Warden was drawing trade away from Banbury.
Parish church
In 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...
the north wall 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...
contains two blocked-up 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...
arches that suggest the building may date from about 1200. The chancel contains a window that pre-dates 1300, but is probably not in its original position. Other features from the Decorated Gothic period include the windows of the south aisle and the east window of a room to the north of the chancel. The east window of the chancel and the four-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
arcades
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....
between 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...
and the north and south aisles are from the early part of the Perpendicular Gothic period. The bell tower is also Perpendicular Gothic. The parish is now part of the Church of England benefice of Culworth
Culworth
Culworth is a village and civil parish about north of Brackley in South Northamptonshire, England. Culworth is also about northeast of the north Oxfordshire town of Banbury....
with Sulgrave
Sulgrave
Sulgrave is a village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, England, about north of Brackley.-Parish church:The Church of England parish Church of St James the Less is part of the benefice of Culworth with Sulgrave and Thorpe Mandeville and Chipping Warden with Edgcote and Moreton Pinkney.By...
and Thorpe Mandeville
Thorpe Mandeville
Thorpe Mandeville is a village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, England about northeast of Banbury in neighbouring Oxfordshire. The hamlet of Lower Thorpe lies just north of the village....
and Chipping Warden with Edgcote
Edgcote
Edgcote is a village and civil parish on the River Cherwell in south-west Northamptonshire. The parish is bounded by the river to the north and by one of its tributaries to the east...
and Moreton Pinkney
Moreton Pinkney
Moreton Pinkney is a village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, about north of Brackley.-Parish church:The earliest evidence of Christianity in the parish is a fragment of an Anglo-Saxon stone cross in the churchyard of the Church of England parish church of St Mary the Virgin...
.
Social and economic history
An open field systemOpen 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...
of farming prevailed in the parish until an 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....
was passed in May 1733 enabling Chipping Warden's common lands to be enclosed
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...
.
In May 1744 a bill was moved in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
to dissolve the marriage between Henry Scudamore, 3rd Duke of Beaufort
Henry Scudamore, 3rd Duke of Beaufort
Henry Somerset-Scudamore, 3rd Duke of Beaufort was born Henry Somerset, the elder son of Henry Somerset, 2nd Duke of Beaufort and his second wife, Rachel Noel. As his father's eldest son and heir to his father's title he was known as Marquess of Worcester, a courtesy title...
and Frances Scudamore. Among witnesses who testified under oath before their Lordships was John Pargiter, a farmer of Chipping Warden, who stated:
"That, in the Beginning of June, 1741, he observed a Man (whom he described), and afterwards found it was Lord TalbotWilliam Talbot, 1st Earl TalbotWilliam Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot PC , known as the Lord Talbot from 1737 to 1761, was a British politician....
, to meet the Dutchess as she was walking alone in the Fields near that Place; and thereupon mentioned adulterous Familiarities which passed between them."
Witnesses William Douglas and Thomas Bonham corroborated Pargiter's evidence. The Journal of the House of Lords delicately omits the details of the "adulterous Familiarities" but records that subsequent witnesses testified "as to the sending for a Midwise to the Dutchess; her being delivered or brought to Bed of a Daughter". After hearing this and evidence of the Duchess's further adultery with Lord Talbot, their Lordships passed the Bill for the Duke and Duchess to be divorced.
RAF Chipping Warden, just northwest of the village, was built during the Second World War and commissioned in either 1941 or 1943 as a Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
Operational Training Unit
Operational Conversion Unit
An Operational Conversion Unit is a unit within an air force whose role is to support preparation for the operational missions of a specific aircraft type by providing trained personnel. OCUs teach pilots how to fly an aircraft and which tactics best exploit the performance of their aircraft and...
. It was decommissioned in 1946. Its buildings are now an industrial estate.
Amenities
Chipping Warden has two public housePublic 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 Rose and Crown (Hook Norton Brewery
Hook Norton Brewery
Hook Norton Brewery is a regional brewery in Hook Norton, Oxfordshire, England, founded in 1849. The brewing plant is a traditional Victorian "tower" brewery in which all the stages of the brewing process flow logically from floor to floor; mashing at the top, boiling in the middle, fermentation...
) and The Griffin. The village has a primary school.