Clattercote
Encyclopedia
Clattercote or Clattercot is a hamlet
in Claydon with Clattercot
civil parish, just over 5.5 miles (8.9 km) north of Banbury
in Oxfordshire.
, Bishop of Lincoln
granted land at Clattercote to the Gilbertine Order
, on which they founded a small priory
dedicated to Saint Leonard
. The priory was dissolved in 1538 in the Dissolution of the Monasteries
. In 1551 King Henry VIII
granted the former priory and its lands to Christ Church, Oxford
. The college was still the freeholder in 1969.
The Priory seems to have had a leper's pool in which leprous
inmates were bathed. Remains of a paved walk around the former pool have been discovered. By the 18th century the leper's pool was known as the "great fish pond".
The priory was extensively rebuilt as a moat
ed farmhouse, Priory Farm. The eastern range of the farmhouse includes parts of the priory dating from late in the 13th or early in the 14th century. By 1614 the remainder of the priory had been demolished and replaced with a large L-shaped house. The central wing of this house survives but by 1717 the west wing had been demolished. The present west wing had been built in its place by 1729.
In 1777 the Oxford Canal
was being extended southwards past Clattercote from Fenny Compton
in Warwickshire
to Cropredy
in Oxfordshire, and the canal company enlarged the great fish pond to form Clattercote Reservoir to feed the canal.In 1787 the company enlarged the reservoir to its present area of 21 acres (8.5 ha). There is a Clattercote Wharf on the canal about 0.5 miles (804.7 m) east of Priory Farm.
In 1852 the Great Western Railway
built its Oxford and Rugby Railway from to past Clattercote, passing just west of Priory Farm. Clattercote's nearest station was 2 miles (3.2 km) to the south at , until British Rail
ways closed it in 1956.
In 1932 Clattercote and the neighbouring village of Claydon
0.5 miles (804.7 m) to the north were incorporated into the new Claydon with Clattercot
civil parish.
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...
in Claydon with Clattercot
Claydon with Clattercot
Claydon with Clattercot is a civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It was formed in 1932 by merger of the parish of Claydon with the extra-parochial area of Clattercote ....
civil parish, just over 5.5 miles (8.9 km) north 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...
in Oxfordshire.
History
In the 12th century Robert de ChesneyRobert de Chesney
Robert de Chesney was a medieval English Bishop of Lincoln. He was the brother of an important royal official, William de Chesney, and the uncle of Gilbert Foliot, later successively Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London...
, 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...
granted land at Clattercote to the Gilbertine Order
Gilbertine Order
The Gilbertine Order of Canons Regular was founded around 1130 by Saint Gilbert in Sempringham, Lincolnshire, where Gilbert was the parish priest...
, on which they founded a small 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...
dedicated to 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...
. The priory was dissolved in 1538 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 1551 King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
granted the former priory and its lands to Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
. The college was still the freeholder in 1969.
The Priory seems to have had a leper's pool in which leprous
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
inmates were bathed. Remains of a paved walk around the former pool have been discovered. By the 18th century the leper's pool was known as the "great fish pond".
The priory was extensively rebuilt as a moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
ed farmhouse, Priory Farm. The eastern range of the farmhouse includes parts of the priory dating from late in the 13th or early in the 14th century. By 1614 the remainder of the priory had been demolished and replaced with a large L-shaped house. The central wing of this house survives but by 1717 the west wing had been demolished. The present west wing had been built in its place by 1729.
In 1777 the Oxford Canal
Oxford Canal
The Oxford Canal is a narrow canal in central England linking Oxford with Coventry via Banbury and Rugby. It connects with the River Thames at Oxford, to the Grand Union Canal at the villages of Braunston and Napton-on-the-Hill, and to the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury Junction in Bedworth just...
was being extended southwards past Clattercote from Fenny Compton
Fenny Compton
Fenny Compton is a village and parish in Warwickshire, England, about eight miles north of Banbury. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 797. Its church of St. Peter and St. Clare was built in the 14th century...
in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
to Cropredy
Cropredy
Cropredy is a village and civil parish on the River Cherwell, north of Banbury in Oxfordshire.-Early history:The village has Anglo-Saxon origins and is recorded in the Domesday Book...
in Oxfordshire, and the canal company enlarged the great fish pond to form Clattercote Reservoir to feed the canal.In 1787 the company enlarged the reservoir to its present area of 21 acres (8.5 ha). There is a Clattercote Wharf on the canal about 0.5 miles (804.7 m) east of Priory Farm.
In 1852 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...
built its Oxford and Rugby Railway from to past Clattercote, passing just west of Priory Farm. Clattercote's nearest station was 2 miles (3.2 km) to the south at , until 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 it in 1956.
In 1932 Clattercote and the neighbouring village of Claydon
Claydon, Oxfordshire
Claydon is a village in Claydon with Clattercot civil parish, about north of Banbury in Oxfordshire. The village is about above sea level on a hill of Early Jurassic Middle Lias clay. Claydon is the northernmost village in Oxfordshire...
0.5 miles (804.7 m) to the north were incorporated into the new Claydon with Clattercot
Claydon with Clattercot
Claydon with Clattercot is a civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It was formed in 1932 by merger of the parish of Claydon with the extra-parochial area of Clattercote ....
civil parish.