Grove, Oxfordshire
Encyclopedia
Grove is a village and civil parish on Letcombe Brook
about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Wantage
in the Vale of White Horse
. It was part of Berkshire
until the 1974 boundary changes
transferred it to Oxfordshire
.
Abbey of Bermondsey
in 1142.
Grove is said to have had a chapel of St. John the Baptist
until it was destroyed in 1733. It would have been a chapelry of the ecclesiastical parish of Wantage, of which Grove was a part until the 1830s. A new Church of England parish church
was built in 1832 and Grove was made into a separate ecclesiastical parish in 1835.
The 1832 building was replaced by a new parish church of St. James the Great built in 1900 or 1901. St. James' was a Gothic Revival
building in an Early English Gothic style with six bays
and a south aisle. It was designed by P.A. Robson, son of the architect Edward Robert Robson
. The font
is an 18th century wooden one brought from All Saints' parish church, Pusey
. In the 1960s Sir Nikolaus Pevsner
found St. James' to be derelict.
In the 1960s a new parish church of St. John the Baptist was built to replace St. James'. The foundation stone is dated 1965. It incorporates items from St. James' including the font, a stained glass window depicting St. James and a panel listing successive vicars of the parish.
at Grove.
Grove Farmhouse is dated 1684. It is a chequer brick building of three bays
and its doorway has bolection
moulding.
The common land
s of Wantage and Grove were enclosed by an Act of Parliament passed in 1803. The land awards under the Act seem to have been made in 1806.
In 1770 the turnpike road
was built as a more direct route between Wantage and Oxford
. Between 1796 and 1810 the Wilts & Berks Canal was built. Its main route passed through the village and a branch of the canal was built between Grove and Wantage.
In 1840 the Great Western Railway
opened Wantage Road
railway station
on the northern boundary of Grove. In 1875 the Wantage Tramway was built. This was a single track laid alongside the turnpike road linking Wantage Road Station and Wantage. It was operated by steam tram
locomotives which pulled both a passenger tramcar and a goods wagons.
Competition from the railway and tramway reduced canal traffic, and the Wilts and Berks fell into disuse in 1901. Increasing competition from road transport reduced traffic on the tram, and passenger tram services were ended in 1925.
In 1942 RAF Grove
was opened as a Bomber Command
training base. In 1943 it was transferred to the United States Army Air Forces
and the 45th Air Depot Group established one of the largest and busiest supply airfields in Europe
. In 1946 the USAAF returned the airbase to the RAF, who relegated it for non-flying operations. In 1955 the base was transferred to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
, which used it until the 1960s. The site was then sold off and private housing was built on part of the former airfield.
In 1945 the Wantage Tramway closed to freight traffic. One of its steam tram engines is preserved at Didcot Railway Centre
. In 1965 British Rail
ways closed Wantage Road station. Oxfordshire County Council
has a policy to seek a new station to be built to serve Wantage and Grove.
Parts of the Wilts and Berks Canal around Grove are still visible, providing some local walks. The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust
is working to reopen the entire canal, and several small sections around Grove have already been restored.
Grove has lately been a site of extensive housing development, greatly increasing its size and almost merging with the nearby town of Wantage. Grove is now the largest village in the Vale of White Horse.
Grove has three public house
s:
Grove rugby union
and association football clubs play at the Cane Lane parish recreation ground on the outskirts of the village.
Letcombe Brook
runs through Grove.
The village has been twinned with Mably, France
since 1990.
Letcombe Brook
Letcombe Brook is a stream in the Vale of White Horse in Oxfordshire, England. It rises at the foot of the Berkshire Downs at Letcombe Bassett and flows through Letcombe Regis, Wantage, Grove and East Hanney to join Childrey Brook, which is a tributary of the River Ock, which is a tributary of the...
about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Wantage
Wantage
Wantage is a market town and civil parish in the Vale of the White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. The town is on Letcombe Brook, about south-west of Abingdon and a similar distance west of Didcot....
in the Vale of White Horse
Vale of White Horse
The Vale of White Horse is a local government district of Oxfordshire in England. The main town is Abingdon, other places include Faringdon and Wantage. There are 68 parishes within the district...
. 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 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....
transferred it to Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
.
Parish churches
King Stephen granted land at Grove to the BenedictineOrder of Saint Benedict
The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...
Abbey of Bermondsey
Bermondsey Abbey
Bermondsey Abbey was an English Benedictine monastery. Most widely known as an 11th-century foundation, it had a precursor mentioned in the early 8th century, and was centred on what is now Bermondsey Square, the site of Bermondsey Market, Bermondsey in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast...
in 1142.
Grove is said to have had a chapel of St. John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
until it was destroyed in 1733. It would have been a chapelry of the ecclesiastical parish of Wantage, of which Grove was a part until the 1830s. A new Church of England parish church
Church 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:...
was built in 1832 and Grove was made into a separate ecclesiastical parish in 1835.
The 1832 building was replaced by a new parish church of St. James the Great built in 1900 or 1901. St. James' was a Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
building in an Early English Gothic style with six bays
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:...
and a south aisle. It was designed by P.A. Robson, son of the architect Edward Robert Robson
Edward Robert Robson
Edward Robert Robson FRIBA FSA FSI was an English architect famous for the progressive spirit of his London state-funded school buildings of the 1870s and early 1880s....
. The font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
is an 18th century wooden one brought from All Saints' parish church, Pusey
Pusey, Oxfordshire
Pusey is a hamlet and civil parish east of Faringdon in the Vale of White Horse district. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The village is just south of the A420 and the parish covers about ....
. In the 1960s Sir Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
found St. James' to be derelict.
In the 1960s a new parish church of St. John the Baptist was built to replace St. James'. The foundation stone is dated 1965. It incorporates items from St. James' including the font, a stained glass window depicting St. James and a panel listing successive vicars of the parish.
Secular history
In 1622 Thomas Grove had 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 :...
at Grove.
Grove Farmhouse is dated 1684. It is a chequer brick building of three bays
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:...
and its doorway has bolection
Bolection
A Bolection is a moulding which projects beyond the face of a panel or frame, usually found in panelling, doors and fireplaces, especially when the meeting surfaces are at different levels. See also bilection....
moulding.
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 of Wantage and Grove were enclosed by an Act of Parliament passed in 1803. The land awards under the Act seem to have been made in 1806.
In 1770 the turnpike road
Toll 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...
was built as a more direct route between Wantage and 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...
. Between 1796 and 1810 the Wilts & Berks Canal was built. Its main route passed through the village and a branch of the canal was built between Grove and Wantage.
In 1840 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...
opened Wantage Road
Wantage Road railway station
Wantage Road railway station was on the Great Western Main Line in the Vale of White Horse. The station was actually at the village of Grove, Oxfordshire, more than two miles north of Wantage, and was sometimes referred to as Grove railway station...
railway station
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
on the northern boundary of Grove. In 1875 the Wantage Tramway was built. This was a single track laid alongside the turnpike road linking Wantage Road Station and Wantage. It was operated by steam tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
locomotives which pulled both a passenger tramcar and a goods wagons.
Competition from the railway and tramway reduced canal traffic, and the Wilts and Berks fell into disuse in 1901. Increasing competition from road transport reduced traffic on the tram, and passenger tram services were ended in 1925.
RAF Grove
RAF Station Grove is a former World War II airfield in Oxfordshire, England. The airfield is located approximately northwest of Wantage; about west-northwest of London...
was opened 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...
training base. In 1943 it was transferred to the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
and the 45th Air Depot Group established one of the largest and busiest supply airfields in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. In 1946 the USAAF returned the airbase to the RAF, who relegated it for non-flying operations. In 1955 the base was transferred to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organisation responsible for the development of nuclear fusion power. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and was formerly chaired by Lady Barbara Judge CBE...
, which used it until the 1960s. The site was then sold off and private housing was built on part of the former airfield.
In 1945 the Wantage Tramway closed to freight traffic. One of its steam tram engines is preserved at Didcot Railway Centre
Didcot Railway Centre
Didcot Railway Centre, located in the town of Didcot in the English county of Oxfordshire, is based around the site of a comprehensive "engine shed" which became redundant after the nationalisation of the UK railways, due to the gradual changeover from steam to diesel motive power.-Description:The...
. In 1965 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 Wantage Road station. Oxfordshire County Council
County council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
has a policy to seek a new station to be built to serve Wantage and Grove.
Parts of the Wilts and Berks Canal around Grove are still visible, providing some local walks. The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust
Wilts & Berks Canal Trust
The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust is a registered charity no. 299595, and a waterway society based in Wiltshire, England, concerned with the restoration of the Wilts & Berks Canal....
is working to reopen the entire canal, and several small sections around Grove have already been restored.
Grove has lately been a site of extensive housing development, greatly increasing its size and almost merging with the nearby town of Wantage. Grove is now the largest village in the Vale of White Horse.
Amenities
Grove has two primary schools:- Millbrook Primary School.
- Grove Church of England Primary School.
Grove has 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:
- The Baytree, Denchworth Road
- The Bell, Main Street
- The Volunteer Inn, Station Road (Hook Norton BreweryHook Norton BreweryHook 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...
)
Grove rugby union
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
and association football clubs play at the Cane Lane parish recreation ground on the outskirts of the village.
- Grove Rugby Football Club was founded in 1971 and plays in the Southern League North division, making it one of the four highest-rated sides in Oxfordshire. The Club fields four senior sides, including Veterans. Grove RFC has a large Youth section, across twelve Mini (mixed, Under-7 to Under-12) and Junior groups (Under-13 to Under-18; including two Girls' -- Under 15 and Under 18), consistently has among the best Colts sides in the area, and has long had a policy of bringing through players from the Colts to the senior sides. The Club welcomes and actively seeks new recruits across its Mini, Junior and Senior sides. It also has a full and varied social calendar. One of its highest achieving alumni is Jon DunbarJon DunbarJon Dunbar is a rugby union footballer for Leeds Tykes . His usual position is at flanker. He started his career playing for Grove RFC in the junior leagues in Oxfordshire. He moved to play professionally for Newcastle Falcons RFC, from where he won two caps for Scotland in the VI Nations, both...
, who captained Grove in the early-2000s before moving to Newcastle FalconsNewcastle FalconsThe Newcastle Falcons is an English rugby union team currently playing in the Aviva Premiership. The club was established in 1877 and played under the name of Gosforth Football Club until 1990. The name was then changed to Newcastle Gosforth and the club began to play at Kingston Park stadium in...
and then Leeds Carnegie on a professional contract. He later represented ScotlandScotland national rugby union teamThe Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
in the 2005 Six Nations ChampionshipSix Nations ChampionshipThe Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
, playing in two games as a substitute. - Grove Challengers FC, the local junior side, was founded in 1971 and has seen many of its alumni enter the professional game. Though few make it further than the youth teams of local clubs, such as Oxford United and Wycombe Wanderers, Challengers most successful alumnus is former England International Martin KeownMartin KeownMartin Raymond Keown is a former English footballer. Widely regarded as one of the best man-markers of his generation, Keown played for six different football clubs during his career but it was with Arsenal that he will be best remembered. Keown made over three hundred appearances for Arsenal...
, who played for the club briefly as a young child.
Letcombe Brook
Letcombe Brook
Letcombe Brook is a stream in the Vale of White Horse in Oxfordshire, England. It rises at the foot of the Berkshire Downs at Letcombe Bassett and flows through Letcombe Regis, Wantage, Grove and East Hanney to join Childrey Brook, which is a tributary of the River Ock, which is a tributary of the...
runs through Grove.
The village has been twinned with Mably, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
since 1990.