Hethe
Encyclopedia
Hethe is a village and civil parish about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) north of Bicester
in Oxfordshire
.
comes from the Old English hæp meaning "uncultivated ground".
Before and after the Norman Conquest of England
Wulfward the White, a thegn
of King Edward the Confessor
's Queen Edith
, owned the manor
of Hethe. However, by 1086 William the Conqueror
had granted the manor to Geoffrey de Montbray
, who was both Bishop of Coutances and also one of William's senior military commanders. By the 12th century the manor belonged to the Earls of Gloucester
, with whom it stayed until the 4th Earl of Gloucester
died without a successor in 1314. In 1347 the manor passed to the 1st Earl of Stafford
. It remained with the Staffords (who from 1402 were also Dukes of Buckingham
) until 1521, when Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
was executed for treason and his properties were attainted
to the Crown
.
Somewhen after 1167 St Bartholomew's Hospital
in London
was given a hide
of land at Hethe. In 1537 the hospital was dissolved under the dissolution of the monasteries
and the Crown seized all its lands, but in 1547 the hospital was refounded. The hospital retained its holding at Hethe at least as late as 1682.
Hethe House was built in the 18th century. It used to be a dower house
for Shelswell
.
The parish was farmed under an open field system
until 1772, when an Act of Parliament
enabled its enclosure
.
of Saint Edmund
and Saint George
is known to have existed by 1154, when it was given to the Augustinian
Priory at Kenilworth, later Kenilworth Abbey
. Both the west wall of the nave
and the south wall of the chancel
survive from this time, each retaining a Norman
lancet window
and the latter a priest's doorway from the same period. The east end of the chancel was rebuilt early in the 13th century when a Decorated Gothic east window was inserted. In the 15th century a Perpendicular Gothic clerestory
was added to the nave. When the Abbey was dissolved
in 1538 the advowson
of Hethe passed to the Crown
, which has retained it ever since.
In 1854 Samuel Wilberforce
, Bishop of Oxford
complained that the St. Edmund and St. George was "in most miserable order" and "utterly too small for the population". In 1859 the Gothic Revival architect
G.E. Street
restored the building, widened the chancel arch, and added the bell-turret and the north aisle. Street moved the Decorated Style east window from the chancel to the north aisle, and inserted a new east window in the chancel in its place. In 1924 the living was combined with that of Fringford
. The parish is now part of the benefice of Stratton Audley
with Godington
, Fringford with Hethe and Stoke Lyne
. The benefice is part of the Shelswell
group of parishes.
The Old Rectory was in existence by 1679. In 1928 it was refitted after being burnt out.
were reported in Hethe from the English Reformation
in the 1540's until after the English Civil War
. However, in the first half of the 16th century William Fermor of Somerton bought the manor of Hardwick
1 miles (1.6 km) west of Hethe, in 1606 Sir Richard Fermor bought the manor of Tusmore
, 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Hethe and in 1625 the Fermor family moved to Tusmore from Somerton. The Fermors were a recusant
family who had their own Roman Catholic chapel
, a family priest (usually a Jesuit
), and employed Catholic staff whom they allowed to attend Mass
at their family chapel. The Fermors supported Catholic communities who farmed their lands at Godington
(3 miles (4.8 km) east of Hethe), Hardwick and Somerton
.
At some time the Fermors acquired land at Hethe, and in 1676 ten Catholics working for the Fermors were living there. A Roman Catholic population numbering less than ten survived in Hethe survived throughout the 18th and early part of the 19th centuries, some but not all of them working for the Fermors. They attended Mass at the chapel in Tusmore until the Fermors closed it for refurbishment in 1768. Thereafter they attended Mass at a chapel in Hardwick created in the attic of the manor house, but the Fermors sold the manor in 1828 and the new owner closed the chapel in 1830.
In 1832 the priest from Hardwick had Holy Trinity
church built at Hethe to serve the Roman Catholic population there and in surrounding villages. It is a Gothic Revival
building but the name of its architect is not recorded.
congregation. It built its first chapel in 1854 and replaced this with a second chapel in 1876. The latter was still being used as a chapel in 1955 but is now a private house.
, which until the early part of the 19th century was called the Maltster's Arms. It was then renamed the Whitmore Arms, after Thomas Whitmore who lived at Hethe House 1808-11. It has been a Grade II listed building since 1988.
A National School
was built in 1852 and enlarged in 1874. In 1924 it was reorganised as a junior school and in 1948 it was reorganised again as an infants' school. In 1954 it was still open as a Church of England school
, but it is now closed.
In 1831 land was bought to build a Roman Catholic school. Building was begun then, but not completed until 1870 when it opened as St. Philip's School. By 1920 it was an infants' school and in 1924 it was closed.
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 ....
.
Manor
The village's toponymToponymy
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...
comes from the Old English hæp meaning "uncultivated ground".
Before and after the Norman Conquest of England
Norman 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...
Wulfward the White, a thegn
Thegn
The term thegn , from OE þegn, ðegn "servant, attendant, retainer", is commonly used to describe either an aristocratic retainer of a king or nobleman in Anglo-Saxon England, or as a class term, the majority of the aristocracy below the ranks of ealdormen and high-reeves...
of King Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
's Queen Edith
Edith of Wessex
Edith of Wessex married King Edward the Confessor of England on 23 January 1045. Unlike most wives of kings of England in the tenth and eleventh centuries, she was crowned queen, but the marriage produced no children...
, owned 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 Hethe. However, by 1086 William the Conqueror
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...
had granted the manor to Geoffrey de Montbray
Geoffrey de Montbray
Geoffrey de Montbray , bishop of Coutances , a right-hand man of William the Conqueror, was a type of the great feudal prelate, warrior and administrator at need....
, who was both Bishop of Coutances and also one of William's senior military commanders. By the 12th century the manor belonged to the Earls of Gloucester
Earl of Gloucester
The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play King Lear. See also Duke of Gloucester.-Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation :...
, with whom it stayed until the 4th Earl of Gloucester
Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Hertford
Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, 7th Earl of Gloucester was a powerful English noble. Also known as "Red" Gilbert de Clare, probably because of his hair colour.- Lineage :...
died without a successor in 1314. In 1347 the manor passed to the 1st Earl of Stafford
Ralph Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford
Ralph de Stafford, 2nd Baron Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford, KG was an English nobleman and notable soldier during the Hundred Years War against France.-Early life and family:...
. It remained with the Staffords (who from 1402 were also Dukes of Buckingham
Duke of Buckingham
The titles Marquess and Duke of Buckingham, referring to Buckingham, have been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been Earls of Buckingham.-1444 creation:...
) until 1521, when Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, KG was an English nobleman. He was the son of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and the former Lady Catherine Woodville, daughter of the 1st Earl Rivers and sister-in-law of King Edward IV.-Early life:Stafford was born at Brecknock Castle in Wales...
was executed for treason and his properties were attainted
Attainder
In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura is the metaphorical 'stain' or 'corruption of blood' which arises from being condemned for a serious capital crime . It entails losing not only one's property and hereditary titles, but typically also the right to pass them on to one's heirs...
to 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...
.
Somewhen after 1167 St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital, also known as Barts, is a hospital in Smithfield in the City of London, England.-Early history:It was founded in 1123 by Raherus or Rahere , a favourite courtier of King Henry I...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
was given a hide
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 Hethe. In 1537 the hospital was dissolved under 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...
and the Crown seized all its lands, but in 1547 the hospital was refounded. The hospital retained its holding at Hethe at least as late as 1682.
Hethe House was built in the 18th century. It used to be a dower house
Dower house
On an estate, a dower house is usually a moderately large house available for use by the widow of the estate-owner. The widow, often known as the "dowager" usually moves into the dower house from the larger family house on the death of her husband if the heir is married, and upon his marriage if he...
for Shelswell
Shelswell
Shelswell is a hamlet in Oxfordshire about south of Brackley in neighbouring Northamptonshire.-Manor:Shelswell's toponym comes from Old English and suggest's that the settlement may originally have been the well belonging to Scield, a Saxon settler. The spring that gave rise to this well is no...
.
The parish was farmed under 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...
until 1772, when 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....
enabled its enclosure
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...
.
Church of England
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 Edmund
Edmund the Martyr
St Edmund the Martyr was a king of East Anglia, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.D'Evelyn, Charlotte, and Mill, Anna J., , 1956. Reprinted 1967...
and Saint George
Saint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
is known to have existed by 1154, when it was given to the Augustinian
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
Priory at Kenilworth, later Kenilworth Abbey
St Mary's Abbey, Kenilworth
The remains of St Mary's Abbey, of Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England are situated in the grounds of St Nicholas' Church and in an adjacent area of Abbey Fields. Some of its ruins are above ground and some are below ground.-History:...
. Both the west wall of 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 south 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...
survive from this time, each retaining a 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...
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...
and the latter a priest's doorway from the same period. The east end of the chancel was rebuilt early in the 13th century when a Decorated Gothic east window was inserted. In the 15th century a Perpendicular Gothic clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
was added to the nave. When the Abbey was dissolved
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 1538 the advowson
Advowson
Advowson is the right in English law of a patron to present or appoint a nominee to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a process known as presentation. In effect this means the right to nominate a person to hold a church office in a parish...
of Hethe passed to 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...
, which has retained it ever since.
In 1854 Samuel Wilberforce
Samuel Wilberforce
Samuel Wilberforce was an English bishop in the Church of England, third son of William Wilberforce. Known as "Soapy Sam", Wilberforce was one of the greatest public speakers of his time and place...
, Bishop of Oxford
Bishop of Oxford
The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford...
complained that the St. Edmund and St. George was "in most miserable order" and "utterly too small for the population". In 1859 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 building, widened the chancel arch, and added the bell-turret and the north aisle. Street moved the Decorated Style east window from the chancel to the north aisle, and inserted a new east window in the chancel in its place. In 1924 the living was combined with that 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...
. The parish is now part of the benefice of Stratton Audley
Stratton Audley
Stratton Audley is a village and civil parish northeast of Bicester in Oxfordshire, England.-Manor:The Domesday Book of 1086 records that Robert D'Oyly held five hides of land at Stratton. Like many D'Oyly manors, Stratton later became part of the Honour of Wallingford...
with 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:...
, Fringford with Hethe and Stoke Lyne
Stoke Lyne
Stoke Lyne is a village and civil parish about north of Bicester, Oxfordshire.-Manor:Tostig Godwinson, Earl of Northumbria owned the manor of Stoke Lyne before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066...
. The benefice is part of the Shelswell
Shelswell
Shelswell is a hamlet in Oxfordshire about south of Brackley in neighbouring Northamptonshire.-Manor:Shelswell's toponym comes from Old English and suggest's that the settlement may originally have been the well belonging to Scield, a Saxon settler. The spring that gave rise to this well is no...
group of parishes.
The Old Rectory was in existence by 1679. In 1928 it was refitted after being burnt out.
Roman Catholic
No Roman CatholicsRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
were reported in Hethe from the English Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
in the 1540's until after the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. However, in the first half of the 16th century William Fermor of Somerton bought the manor of Hardwick
Hardwick, Cherwell
Hardwick is a village about north of Bicester in Oxfordshire.-Manor:The village's toponym comes from the Old English for a farm or dwelling place for sheep. After the Norman Conquest of England Walter Giffard held the manor of Hardwick, but the Domesday Book records that by 1086 he had given it to...
1 miles (1.6 km) west of Hethe, in 1606 Sir Richard Fermor bought the manor of Tusmore
Tusmore, Oxfordshire
Tusmore is a settlement about north of Bicester in Oxfordshire. It is the location of the Tusmore Park country house and estate.-Manor:Tusmore was settled in Saxon times...
, 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Hethe and in 1625 the Fermor family moved to Tusmore from Somerton. The Fermors were a recusant
Recusancy
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"...
family who had their own Roman Catholic chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, a family priest (usually a Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
), and employed Catholic staff whom they allowed to attend 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...
at their family chapel. The Fermors supported Catholic communities who farmed their lands at 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:...
(3 miles (4.8 km) east of Hethe), Hardwick and 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....
.
At some time the Fermors acquired land at Hethe, and in 1676 ten Catholics working for the Fermors were living there. A Roman Catholic population numbering less than ten survived in Hethe survived throughout the 18th and early part of the 19th centuries, some but not all of them working for the Fermors. They attended Mass at the chapel in Tusmore until the Fermors closed it for refurbishment in 1768. Thereafter they attended Mass at a chapel in Hardwick created in the attic of the manor house, but the Fermors sold the manor in 1828 and the new owner closed the chapel in 1830.
In 1832 the priest from Hardwick had Holy Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
church built at Hethe to serve the Roman Catholic population there and in surrounding villages. It is a Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
building but the name of its architect is not recorded.
Methodist
By 1794 Hethe had a small MethodistMethodist Church of Great Britain
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is the largest Wesleyan Methodist body in the United Kingdom, with congregations across Great Britain . It is the United Kingdom's fourth largest Christian denomination, with around 300,000 members and 6,000 churches...
congregation. It built its first chapel in 1854 and replaced this with a second chapel in 1876. The latter was still being used as a chapel in 1955 but is now a private house.
Social and economic history
Hethe has a 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...
, which until the early part of the 19th century was called the Maltster's Arms. It was then renamed the Whitmore Arms, after Thomas Whitmore who lived at Hethe House 1808-11. It has been a Grade II listed building since 1988.
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...
was built in 1852 and enlarged in 1874. In 1924 it was reorganised as a junior school and in 1948 it was reorganised again as an infants' school. In 1954 it was still open as a Church of England 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...
, but it is now closed.
In 1831 land was bought to build a Roman Catholic school. Building was begun then, but not completed until 1870 when it opened as St. Philip's School. By 1920 it was an infants' school and in 1924 it was closed.