Fritwell
Encyclopedia
Fritwell is a village and civil parish about 5.5 miles (9 km) northwest of Bicester
in Oxfordshire
. The parish's southern boundary is a stream that flows eastwards through Fewcott
and past the villages of Fringford
and Godington
before entering Buckinghamshire
where it becomes part of Padbury Brook, a tributary of the Great Ouse
. The northeastern boundary of Fritwell parish is the main road between Bicester and Banbury. On other sides the parish is bounded by field boundaries.
The Portway, a road that predates the Roman conquest of Britain
, runs north — south parallel with the River Cherwell
and passes through the western part of the parish.
The village's toponym
is derived from Fyrht-wielle or Fyrht-welle, which is Old English for a wishing well
.
in 1066 William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford
held a manor
of 10 hides
of land at Fritwell. William's son Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford
inherited his estates when William died in 1071, but in 1075 Roger took part in the Revolt of the Earls
, was defeated by William I
and imprisoned. The Crown
confiscated and redistributed Roger's lands and seems to have given Fritwell to Roger de Chesney. The manor descended in the de Chesney family until 1160 by which time Maud, Daughter of William de Chesney, had become married to Henry II's
chamberlain Henry FitzGerold
. Henry and Maud's son Warin FitzGerold had inherited the manor by 1198 and died in 1216. The manor then passed to Warin's daughter Margaret, who was married to Baldwin de Redvers, son of William de Redvers, 5th Earl of Devon
. The manor remained in the de Redvers family until Isabella de Fortibus, Countess of Devon died in 1293. One of the Countess's heirs was Warin de Lisle, a descendant of Margaret de Chesney. Warin's son Robert was created 1st Baron Lisle of Rougemont
. In 1368 Robert de Lisle, 3rd Baron Lisle surrendered all his lands to Edward III
. From then onwards the tenants of the de Lisle manor were tenants-in-chief
.
The de Lisle manor house
was probably built late in the 16th century and rebuilt in 1619. Robert Barclay Allardice
(1779 – 1854) lived at the house. The architect Thomas Garner
restored the house in 1893 and made it his home until his death in 1906. Sir John Simon
(1873 – 1954) bought the house in 1911, had a west wing added in 1921 and lived there until 1933.
overlord was Odo, Bishop of Bayeux. This manor later became known as Ormondescourt. In 1519 Richard Fermor, a merchant, acquired the Ormond manor. Richard remained at his house in Easton Neston
and put the Ormond manor in the charge of his younger brother William Fermor who already owned the manor of nearby Somerton
. The Ormond manor remained in the Fermor family until the last member of the family, William Fermor of Tusmore Park died in 1828.
The Ormond manor house seems to have been at the southern end of the village. It was still standing when Fritwell was assessed for the hearth tax in 1655 but seems to have been demolished by 1677, when a map of the village was made that showed no trace of it. Dovehouse Farm seems to have been built on its site and incorporating fragments of the old house. A large dovecote
was built for it in 1702 and was still standing in 1897. By 1955 the dovecote had gone and the farm had been renamed Lodge Farm.
of Saint Olave
is from 1103. The building was originally Norman
, and the north and south doorways and original chancel
arch survive from this time. Early in the 13th century the chancel was rebuilt and the bell-tower and south aisle and were added. The chancel retains two Early English Gothic lancet window
s from this rebuilding. The Decorated Gothic north aisle was added later in the 13th or early in the 14th century and the Perpendicular Gothic clerestorey was added to the nave
in the 15th century.
In 1865 the Gothic Revival architect
G.E. Street
restored the church and rebuilt the bell tower. He also built a new, wider chancel arch and relocated the original Norman arch against the north wall. In 1868 the square-headed Perpendicular Gothic east window of the chancel was moved to the north aisle and the present east window inserted in its place.
The bell-tower has a ring
of four bells. St. Olave's is now a member of the Cherwell Valley Benefice along with the parishes of Ardley
, Lower Heyford
, Somerton
, Souldern
and Upper Heyford
.
. Fritwell's Roman Catholic population increased and was served by a priest visiting the village from the Fermor chapel at Tusmore. The Roman Catholic Relief Act
was passed in 1791 and a Roman Catholic school had been opened in Fritwell by 1808. However, after 1817 the Catholic population declined and from 1854 no Catholics were recorded until 1897, when Thomas Garner converted to Catholicism and got permission for Mass
to be said at the manor house.
by 1823, who had their own meeting house by 1829. It is not clear whether this was a private house or a purpose-built chapel, but there was certainly a stone-built chapel by 1853 when the congregation numbered almost 100. The chapel was replaced in 1874 by the present building, which was still in use early in the 20th century but is now a private house.
, was being completed in Fritwell. In 1857 most Methodist Reform congregations merged with the Wesleyan Association
, but the chapel in Fritwell was one of a minority that rejected the merger and together founded the Wesleyan Reform Union
instead.
By 1878 non-conformists were said to be a third of the parish's population. A new Wesleyan Reform chapel was built in 1892 but thereafter both Methodist congregations decreased. The two chapels merged in 1920 and the combined congregation continues today as the Wesleyan Reform Methodist Chapel.
belonging to the parish was recorded in 1235 and again in the 14th century. The parish has no stream large enough to power a mill, so it is likely to have been outside the parish on the River Cherwell. Early in the 19th century the parish had a windmill
north of the village near the road linking Fritwell with Souldern
. Its site is still called Windmill Ground Field.
The village has a substantial number of 17th century buildings built from local Cotswold
rubblestone
.
By 1735 Fritwell had three public house
s. These may have been the King's Head and the Wheatsheaf, both of which are 17th century buildings, plus the George and Dragon which is first mentioned by name in a record from 1784. In 1955 all three pubs were still trading but the original George and Dragon had been replaced with a modern building. The Wheatsheaf has since closed but the King's Head and the George and Dragon are still trading.
In 1892 Temperance Hall was built in opposition to the village's pubs.
An open field system
of farming predominated in the parish until the common land
s were enclosed
in 1808.
Attempts at education in the parish were intermittent until about 1833, by which time a village school was being held for 30 children. By the 1850's it was being held in the vicarage and in 1871 it had 67 children. A purpose-built school building and schoolmistress's house were completed in 1872 and opened as a National School
with two teachers and 64 pupils. Attendance grew to 87 in 1893 and 117 in 1937, and in 1930 an extra classroom was built. In 1948 it was reorganised as a junior school and by 1953 it was a voluntary controlled school
. In 1954 the number of pupils had fallen to 77 but it remains open as Fritwell Church of England Primary School.
by an Act of Parliament
passed in 1791. The section through Fritwell parish between Bicester and Aynho
ceased to be a turnpike in 1877. When Britain's principal roads were classified early in the 1920's, the stretch of the former turnpike between Bicester and Twyford, Oxfordshire was made part of the A41
. In 1990 the section of the M40 motorway
between Wheatley, Oxfordshire
and Hockley Heath
was built and the Bicester — Twyford stretch of the A41 was reclassified as part of the B4100. The M40 runs through the northeastern part of Fritwell parish, passing within 400 yards (365.8 m) of the village.
In 1907 the Great Western Railway
changed the name of the nearest station on the Oxford and Rugby Railway from "Somerton" to "", despite the fact that the station was in Somerton
village about 2 miles (3 km) from Fritwell. The name change was to avoid confusion with another station that the GWR had just opened at Somerton in Somerset.
In 1910 the GWR completed a new main line linking Ashendon Junction
and Aynho Junction to shorten the high-speed route between its termini at and . The line passes through the southwestern part of Fritwell parish and descends into the Cherwell
valley via the 1155 yards (1,056.1 m) long Ardley Tunnel. The tunnel's southeastern portal is in Fritwell parish, close to where the tunnel passes under the Portway. The railway is now part of the Chiltern Main Line
.
Bicester
Bicester is a town and civil parish in the Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in England.This historic market centre is one of the fastest growing towns in Oxfordshire Development has been favoured by its proximity to junction 9 of the M40 motorway linking it to London, Birmingham and...
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's southern boundary is a stream that flows eastwards through Fewcott
Ardley
Ardley is a village in Ardley with Fewcott civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, about northwest of Bicester. The parish includes the village of Fewcott that is now contiguous with Ardley.-History:...
and past the villages of Fringford
Fringford
Fringford is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about northeast of Bicester. The parish is bounded to the east by the Roman road that linked Alchester Roman Town with Roman Towcester, to the south by a brook that joins the River Bure, to the north mostly by a brook that is a tributary of...
and Godington
Godington
Godington is a village and civil parish northeast of Bicester in Oxfordshire. The parish is bounded on all but the west side by a brook called the Birne, which at this point forms also the county boundary with Buckinghamshire.-Manor:...
before entering Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
where it becomes part of Padbury Brook, a tributary of the Great Ouse
River Great Ouse
The Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. At long, it is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The river has been important for navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows. Its course has been modified several times, with the first recorded being in...
. The northeastern boundary of Fritwell parish is the main road between Bicester and Banbury. On other sides the parish is bounded by field boundaries.
The Portway, a road that predates the Roman conquest of Britain
Roman conquest of Britain
The Roman conquest of Britain was a gradual process, beginning effectively in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, whose general Aulus Plautius served as first governor of Britannia. Great Britain had already frequently been the target of invasions, planned and actual, by forces of the Roman Republic and...
, runs north — south parallel with 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...
and passes through the western part of the parish.
The village's 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...
is derived from Fyrht-wielle or Fyrht-welle, which is Old English for a wishing well
Wishing well
A wishing well is a term from European folklore to describe wells where it was thought that any spoken wish would be granted. The idea that a wish would be granted came from the idea that water housed deities or had been placed there as a gift from the gods, since water was a source of life and...
.
De Lisle Manor
After the Norman conquest of EnglandNorman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
in 1066 William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford
William Fitzosbern, 1st Earl of Hereford
William FitzOsbern , Lord of Breteuil, in Normandy, was a relative and close counsellor of William the Conqueror and one of the great magnates of early Norman England...
held a 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 10 hides
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
of land at Fritwell. William's son Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford
Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford
Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford , succeeded to the earldom of Hereford and the English estate of William Fitz-Osbern in 1071.- Disobeying King William :...
inherited his estates when William died in 1071, but in 1075 Roger took part in the Revolt of the Earls
Revolt of the Earls
The Revolt of the Earls in 1075 was a rebellion of three earls against William I of England . It was the last serious act of resistance against William in the Norman Conquest.-Course:...
, was defeated by William I
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
and imprisoned. 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...
confiscated and redistributed Roger's lands and seems to have given Fritwell to Roger de Chesney. The manor descended in the de Chesney family until 1160 by which time Maud, Daughter of William de Chesney, had become married to Henry II's
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...
chamberlain Henry FitzGerold
Henry fitzGerold
Henry fitzGerold was a 12th-century Anglo-Norman nobleman and government official....
. Henry and Maud's son Warin FitzGerold had inherited the manor by 1198 and died in 1216. The manor then passed to Warin's daughter Margaret, who was married to Baldwin de Redvers, son of William de Redvers, 5th Earl of Devon
William de Redvers, 5th Earl of Devon
William de Reviers, 5th Earl of Devon was the son of Baldwin de Redvers, 1st Earl of Devon and Adelise Baluun. William de Redvers is also William de Vernon, because he was brought up at Vernon Castle, in Normandy, the seat of his grandfather.He took part in Richard the Lion-Hearted's second...
. The manor remained in the de Redvers family until Isabella de Fortibus, Countess of Devon died in 1293. One of the Countess's heirs was Warin de Lisle, a descendant of Margaret de Chesney. Warin's son Robert was created 1st Baron Lisle of Rougemont
Rougemont Castle
Rougemont Castle is the historic castle of Exeter.The castle was first built in 1068 to help William the Conqueror maintain control over the city. It is perched on an ancient volcanic plug, overlaying remains of the Roman city of Isca Dumnoniorum...
. In 1368 Robert de Lisle, 3rd Baron Lisle surrendered all his lands to Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
. From then onwards the tenants of the de Lisle manor were tenants-in-chief
Tenant-in-chief
In medieval and early modern European society the term tenant-in-chief, sometimes vassal-in-chief, denoted the nobles who held their lands as tenants directly from king or territorial prince to whom they did homage, as opposed to holding them from another nobleman or senior member of the clergy....
.
The de Lisle manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
was probably built late in the 16th century and rebuilt in 1619. Robert Barclay Allardice
Robert Barclay Allardice
Robert Barclay Allardice , the 6th Laird of Ury, generally known as Captain Barclay, was a notable Scottish walker of the early 19th century, known as the celebrated pedestrian. His most famous feat was the walking of in 1000 hours for 1000 guineas in 1809...
(1779 – 1854) lived at the house. The architect Thomas Garner
Thomas Garner
Thomas Garner was one of the leading English Gothic revival architects of the Victorian era. His name is usually mentioned in relation to his almost 30-year partnership with George Frederick Bodley...
restored the house in 1893 and made it his home until his death in 1906. Sir John Simon
John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon
John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon GCSI GCVO OBE PC was a British politician who held senior Cabinet posts from the beginning of the First World War to the end of the Second. He is one of only three people to have served as Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer,...
(1873 – 1954) bought the house in 1911, had a west wing added in 1921 and lived there until 1933.
Ormond Manor
In 1086 there was a second manor at Fritwell. It had six hides of land and its feudalFeudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
overlord was Odo, Bishop of Bayeux. This manor later became known as Ormondescourt. In 1519 Richard Fermor, a merchant, acquired the Ormond manor. Richard remained at his house in Easton Neston
Easton Neston
Easton Neston is a country house near Towcester, Northamptonshire, England, and is part of the Easton Neston Parish. It was designed in the Baroque style by the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor. Easton Neston is thought to be the only mansion which was solely the work of Hawksmoor...
and put the Ormond manor in the charge of his younger brother William Fermor who already owned the manor of nearby Somerton
Somerton, Oxfordshire
Somerton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, in the Cherwell valley about northwest of Bicester.-Early history:More than a dozen Saxon or early Mediaeval graves have been discovered in the yard of Somerton's former Free School....
. The Ormond manor remained in the Fermor family until the last member of the family, William Fermor of Tusmore Park died in 1828.
The Ormond manor house seems to have been at the southern end of the village. It was still standing when Fritwell was assessed for the hearth tax in 1655 but seems to have been demolished by 1677, when a map of the village was made that showed no trace of it. Dovehouse Farm seems to have been built on its site and incorporating fragments of the old house. A large dovecote
Dovecote
A dovecote or dovecot is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be square or circular free-standing structures or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in...
was built for it in 1702 and was still standing in 1897. By 1955 the dovecote had gone and the farm had been renamed Lodge Farm.
Church of England
The earliest known written record of 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 Olave
Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral...
is from 1103. The building was originally 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 north and south doorways and original 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...
arch survive from this time. Early in the 13th century the chancel was rebuilt and the bell-tower and south aisle and were added. The chancel retains two Early English Gothic 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 from this rebuilding. The Decorated Gothic north aisle was added later in the 13th or early in the 14th century and the Perpendicular Gothic clerestorey was added to 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...
in the 15th century.
In 1865 the Gothic Revival architect
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
G.E. Street
George Edmund Street
George Edmund Street was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex.- Life :Street was the third son of Thomas Street, solicitor, by his second wife, Mary Anne Millington. George went to school at Mitcham in about 1830, and later to the Camberwell collegiate school, which he left in 1839...
restored the church and rebuilt the bell tower. He also built a new, wider chancel arch and relocated the original Norman arch against the north wall. In 1868 the square-headed Perpendicular Gothic east window of the chancel was moved to the north aisle and the present east window inserted in its place.
The bell-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 four bells. St. Olave's is now a member of the Cherwell Valley Benefice along with the parishes of Ardley
Ardley
Ardley is a village in Ardley with Fewcott civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, about northwest of Bicester. The parish includes the village of Fewcott that is now contiguous with Ardley.-History:...
, Lower Heyford
Lower Heyford
Lower Heyford is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, beside the River Cherwell about west of Bicester.-Prehistory:Aves ditch is pre-Anglo-Saxon and may have been dug as a boundary ditch...
, Somerton
Somerton, Oxfordshire
Somerton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, in the Cherwell valley about northwest of Bicester.-Early history:More than a dozen Saxon or early Mediaeval graves have been discovered in the yard of Somerton's former Free School....
, Souldern
Church of the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Souldern
The Parish Church of the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary is the Church of England parish church of Souldern, a village in Oxfordshire about northwest of Bicester and a similar distance southeast of Banbury.-History:...
and Upper Heyford
Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire
Upper Heyford is a village and civil parish about northwest of Bicester in Oxfordshire, England.-Location:Upper Heyford is on the east bank of the River Cherwell. "Upper" distinguishes it from Lower Heyford which is about "lower", downstream along the Cherwell valley...
.
Roman Catholic
The Fermors were Roman Catholics and throughout the 18th century they let the Ormond manor to fellow-recusantsRecusancy
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"...
. Fritwell's Roman Catholic population increased and was served by a priest visiting the village from the Fermor chapel at Tusmore. The Roman Catholic Relief Act
Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791
The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain passed in 1791 relieving Roman Catholics of certain political, educational, and economic disabilities. It admitted Roman Catholics to the practise of law, permitted the exercise of their religion, and the existence of...
was passed in 1791 and a Roman Catholic school had been opened in Fritwell by 1808. However, after 1817 the Catholic population declined and from 1854 no Catholics were recorded until 1897, when Thomas Garner converted to Catholicism and got permission for Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
to be said at the manor house.
Methodist
The parish had a small number of MethodistsMethodism
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...
by 1823, who had their own meeting house by 1829. It is not clear whether this was a private house or a purpose-built chapel, but there was certainly a stone-built chapel by 1853 when the congregation numbered almost 100. The chapel was replaced in 1874 by the present building, which was still in use early in the 20th century but is now a private house.
Wesleyan
By 1853 a stone-built chapel for a different branch of Methodism, the Methodist Reform ChurchMethodist Reform Church
The Methodist Reform Church was a Christian denomination that was formed in 2999 in Clapham, England. Their place of worship was called the Methodist Reform Chapel. It dissolved in 1857 when most of the members amalgamated with the Wesleyan Association to form the United Methodist Free Church,...
, was being completed in Fritwell. In 1857 most Methodist Reform congregations merged with the Wesleyan Association
Wesleyan Association
The Wesleyan Association, or the Wesleyan Methodist Association, was a Christian denomination in the United Kingdom that was formed in 1836, largely by Protestant Methodists. Their place of worship was the Wesleyan Association Chapel. They sent several missionaries to Jamaica and Australia.Robert...
, but the chapel in Fritwell was one of a minority that rejected the merger and together founded the Wesleyan Reform Union
Wesleyan Reform Union
The Wesleyan Reform Union is an Independent Methodist Connexion based in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1859 by the members of the Wesleyan Reform movement who did not join the United Methodist Free Churches-Statement of Faith:...
instead.
By 1878 non-conformists were said to be a third of the parish's population. A new Wesleyan Reform chapel was built in 1892 but thereafter both Methodist congregations decreased. The two chapels merged in 1920 and the combined congregation continues today as the Wesleyan Reform Methodist Chapel.
Economic and social history
A watermillWatermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
belonging to the parish was recorded in 1235 and again in the 14th century. The parish has no stream large enough to power a mill, so it is likely to have been outside the parish on the River Cherwell. Early in the 19th century the parish had a windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
north of the village near the road linking Fritwell with Souldern
Souldern
Souldern is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about northwest of Bicester and a similar distance southeast of Banbury. The parish is bounded to the west by the River Cherwell and to the east by field boundaries. Its northern boundary is Ockley Brook, a tributary of the Cherwell that forms...
. Its site is still called Windmill Ground Field.
The village has a substantial number of 17th century buildings built from local Cotswold
Cotswold stone
Cotswold stone is a yellow oolitic limestone quarried in many places in the Cotswold Hills in the south midlands of England. When weathered, the colour of buildings made or faced with this stone is often described as 'honey' or 'golden'....
rubblestone
Rubble masonry
Rubble masonry is rough, unhewn building stone set in mortar, but not laid in regular courses. It may appear as the outer surface of a wall or may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or cut stone....
.
By 1735 Fritwell had 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. These may have been the King's Head and the Wheatsheaf, both of which are 17th century buildings, plus the George and Dragon which is first mentioned by name in a record from 1784. In 1955 all three pubs were still trading but the original George and Dragon had been replaced with a modern building. The Wheatsheaf has since closed but the King's Head and the George and Dragon are still trading.
In 1892 Temperance Hall was built in opposition to the village's pubs.
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...
of farming predominated in the parish until the common land
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
s were 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 1808.
Attempts at education in the parish were intermittent until about 1833, by which time a village school was being held for 30 children. By the 1850's it was being held in the vicarage and in 1871 it had 67 children. A purpose-built school building and schoolmistress's house were completed in 1872 and opened as 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...
with two teachers and 64 pupils. Attendance grew to 87 in 1893 and 117 in 1937, and in 1930 an extra classroom was built. In 1948 it was reorganised as a junior school and by 1953 it was a voluntary controlled school
Voluntary controlled school
A voluntary controlled school is a state-funded school in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in which a foundation or trust has some formal influence in the running of the school...
. In 1954 the number of pupils had fallen to 77 but it remains open as Fritwell Church of England Primary School.
Transport history
The main road between Bicester and Banbury was made into a turnpikeToll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
by 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....
passed in 1791. The section through Fritwell parish between Bicester and Aynho
Aynho
Aynho is a village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, England, on the edge of the Cherwell valley about southeast of the north Oxfordshire town of Banbury and southwest of Brackley...
ceased to be a turnpike in 1877. When Britain's principal roads were classified early in the 1920's, the stretch of the former turnpike between Bicester and Twyford, Oxfordshire was made part of the A41
A41 road
The A41 is a formerly-major trunk road in England that links London and Birkenhead, although it has now largely been superseded by motorways. It passes through or near various towns and cities including Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Aylesbury, Solihull, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton,...
. In 1990 the section of 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...
between Wheatley, Oxfordshire
Wheatley, Oxfordshire
Wheatley is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about east of Oxford.-Archaeology:There was a Roman villa on Castle Hill, about southeast of the parish church. It was excavated in 1845, when Roman coins dating from AD 260 to 378 and fragments of Roman pottery and Roman tiles were...
and Hockley Heath
Hockley Heath
Hockley Heath is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, West Midlands, England. The parish is to the south of the West Midlands conurbation, from Birmingham from Solihull and from Stratford on Avon...
was built and the Bicester — Twyford stretch of the A41 was reclassified as part of the B4100. The M40 runs through the northeastern part of Fritwell parish, passing within 400 yards (365.8 m) of the village.
In 1907 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...
changed the name of the nearest station on the Oxford and Rugby Railway from "Somerton" to "", despite the fact that the station was in Somerton
Somerton, Oxfordshire
Somerton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, in the Cherwell valley about northwest of Bicester.-Early history:More than a dozen Saxon or early Mediaeval graves have been discovered in the yard of Somerton's former Free School....
village about 2 miles (3 km) from Fritwell. The name change was to avoid confusion with another station that the GWR had just opened at Somerton in Somerset.
In 1910 the GWR completed a new main line linking Ashendon Junction
Ashendon Junction
Ashendon Junction in Buckinghamshire, England, was a major mainline railway junction where, from July 1910, the Great Western Railway's London-Birmingham direct route diverged from the Great Central Railway's main London-Sheffield route....
and Aynho Junction to shorten the high-speed route between its termini at and . The line passes through the southwestern part of Fritwell parish and descends into the 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...
valley via the 1155 yards (1,056.1 m) long Ardley Tunnel. The tunnel's southeastern portal is in Fritwell parish, close to where the tunnel passes under the Portway. The railway is now part of the Chiltern Main Line
Chiltern Main Line
The Chiltern Main Line is an inter-urban, regional and commuter railway, part of the British railway system. It links London and Birmingham on a 112-mile route via the towns of High Wycombe, Banbury, and Leamington Spa...
.