Holton, Oxfordshire
Encyclopedia
Holton is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire
about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) east of Oxford
. The parish is bounded to the southeast by the River Thame
, to the east and north by the Thame's tributary Holton Brook, to the south by London Road and to the west by field boundaries with the parishes of Forest Hill with Shotover
and Stanton St John.
is derived from the Old English for "hidden nook". It is a Saxon
village that was probably established in the 10th century.
The Domesday Book
records that in 1086 the Norman
nobleman Roger d'Ivry
was the manor
of Holton's feudal
overlord. In 1112 d'Ivry's last heir died and his estates passed to the Crown
. The Crown granted Holton to the Saint Valery family, whereby it became part of the Honour
of St Valery
and later the Honour of Wallingford.
By 1317 Holton had a manor house
with a dovecote
. During the English Civil War
the Whorwood family that owned the manor and lived in the house were Royalists
but in 1643 it was held by a Parliamentarian
garrison that controlled Wheatley
Bridge across the River Thame. In January 1647 a Parliamentarian commander, Henry Ireton
, and Bridget, a daughter of Oliver Cromwell
, were married at the manor house. A new dovecote was built for the manor house in the 17th century and new stables were added in the 18th century. By 1801 the house was a mostly 17th century building with traces of 15th century work. It was dilapidated and in 1805 it was demolished, but the stables, dovecote and moat of the old house all survive.
A new Georgian
neo-Gothic
house, Holton Park, was built in the deer park of the demolished manor house between 1808 and 1815. In 1948 the Oxfordshire Education Committee bought Holton Park house and turned it into a girls' grammar school. It is now Wheatley Park School
.
of Saint Bartholomew was built in about 1200. It is cruciform and is in the transitional style between Norman architecture
and Early English Gothic. Early in the 14th century its chancel
was rebuilt and given a Decorated Gothic east window. The Gothic Revival architect
E.G. Bruton
built the rectory in 1882. St. Bartholomew's parish is now part of a single Church of England benefice with St. Mary's parish, Wheatley and the benefice is part of a local ecumenical partnership
with Wheatley's Roman Catholic
, United Reformed
and free church
es.
Lyehill Quarry in the west of the parish belonged to Holton Manor. It was in use by the early part of the 15th century, when it supplied limestone for the building of Thomas Wolsey's Cardinal's College in Oxford.
In 1684 Rev. Edward Rogers, Rector
of Holton, died leaving £200 to be invested to provide an income to educate poor children of Holton. In 1787 classes were held in the Kings' Arms public house
in Wheatley but by 1790 Holton had a purpose-built schoolhouse. It was run by the same schoolmaster, John Sawyer, from then until 1821, by which time he was so incompetent, old and deaf that he had lost all his pupils. The school was empty from then until it reopened with a new master in 1824. In 1833 it was only a boys' school but in 1835 a girls' and infants' school was opened. The two schools were merged by 1854 and the old building was demolished and replaced in 1861. Early in the 20th century pupil numbers declined and in 1915 the Oxfordshire Education Committee closed the school.
During the Second World War
a United States military
hospital was built in Holton Park.
The Lady Spencer-Churchill
College of Education was built at Holton in 1966 and merged with Oxford Polytechnic in 1974. In 1992 the polytechnic became Oxford Brookes University
. The former Lady Spencer-Churchill College is the university's Wheatley Campus.
South Oxfordshire
South Oxfordshire is a local government district in Oxfordshire, England. Its council is based in Crowmarsh Gifford, just outside Wallingford....
about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) east of 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...
. The parish is bounded to the southeast by the River Thame
River Thame
The River Thame is a river in Southern England. It is a tributary of the larger and better-known River Thames.The general course of the River Thame is north-east to south-west and the distance from its source to the River Thames is about 40 miles...
, to the east and north by the Thame's tributary Holton Brook, to the south by London Road and to the west by field boundaries with the parishes of Forest Hill with Shotover
Forest Hill with Shotover
Forest Hill with Shotover is a civil parish in South Oxfordshire. It includes the village of Forest Hill , hamlets of Shotover Cleve and Shotover Edge and country estate of Shotover House...
and Stanton St John.
Manor
Holton'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...
is derived from the Old English for "hidden nook". It is a Saxon
History of Anglo-Saxon England
Anglo-Saxon England refers to the period of the history of that part of Britain, that became known as England, lasting from the end of Roman occupation and establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the 5th century until the Norman conquest of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror...
village that was probably established in the 10th century.
The Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
records that in 1086 the Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
nobleman Roger d'Ivry
Roger d'Ivry
Roger d'Ivry or d'Ivri was an 11th century nobleman from Ivry-la-Bataille in Normandy. He took part in William of Normandy's conquest of England in 1066 and founded the Abbey of Notre-Dame-d'Ivry in 1071...
was 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 Holton's feudal
Feudalism
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. In 1112 d'Ivry's last heir died and his estates 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...
. The Crown granted Holton to the Saint Valery family, whereby it became part of the Honour
Honour (land)
In medieval England, an honour could consist of a great lordship, comprising dozens or hundreds of manors. Holders of honours often attempted to preserve the integrity of an honour over time, administering its properties as a unit, maintaining inheritances together, etc.The typical honour had...
of St Valery
Saint-Valery-en-Caux
Saint-Valery-en-Caux is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A small fishing port and light industrial town situated in the Pays de Caux, some west of Dieppe at the junction of the D53, D20, D79 and the D925 roads...
and later the Honour of Wallingford.
By 1317 Holton had a 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...
with a 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...
. During the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
the Whorwood family that owned the manor and lived in the house were Royalists
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
but in 1643 it was held by a Parliamentarian
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
garrison that controlled Wheatley
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...
Bridge across the River Thame. In January 1647 a Parliamentarian commander, Henry Ireton
Henry Ireton
Henry Ireton was an English general in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War. He was the son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell.-Early life:...
, and Bridget, a daughter of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
, were married at the manor house. A new dovecote was built for the manor house in the 17th century and new stables were added in the 18th century. By 1801 the house was a mostly 17th century building with traces of 15th century work. It was dilapidated and in 1805 it was demolished, but the stables, dovecote and moat of the old house all survive.
A new Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
neo-Gothic
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
house, Holton Park, was built in the deer park of the demolished manor house between 1808 and 1815. In 1948 the Oxfordshire Education Committee bought Holton Park house and turned it into a girls' grammar school. It is now Wheatley Park School
Wheatley Park School
Wheatley Park School is a secondary school of around 1150 pupils situated in Holton, about southeast of Oxford. Its current headteacher is Kate Curtis who was promoted to the position in 2005 to replace Nicholas Young.-History:...
.
Parish church
Holton's 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 Bartholomew was built in about 1200. It is cruciform and is in the transitional style between Norman architecture
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 Early English Gothic. Early in the 14th century its 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...
was rebuilt and given a Decorated Gothic east window. The Gothic Revival architect
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
E.G. Bruton
Edward George Bruton
Edward George Bruton was a British Gothic Revival architect who practiced in Oxford. He was made an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1855 and a Fellow of the RIBA in 1861.-Work:...
built the rectory in 1882. St. Bartholomew's parish is now part of a single Church of England benefice with St. Mary's parish, Wheatley and the benefice is part of a local ecumenical partnership
Local ecumenical partnership
In England and Wales, a local ecumenical partnership is a partnership between churches of different denominations. First piloted in 1964, over 850 now exist to promote unity between different Christian denominations....
with Wheatley's Roman Catholic
Roman 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...
, United Reformed
United Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church is a Christian church in the United Kingdom. It has approximately 68,000 members in 1,500 congregations with some 700 ministers.-Origins and history:...
and free church
Free church
The term "free church" refers to a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separated from government . A free church does not define government policy, nor have governments define church policy or theology, nor seeks or receives government endorsement or funding for its general mission...
es.
Economic & social history
The Domesday Book records that by 1086 Holton had a water mill. This may have been on the River Thame. The present mill is 17th century and is on the Thame 550 yards (502.9 m) upstream of Wheatley Bridge.Lyehill Quarry in the west of the parish belonged to Holton Manor. It was in use by the early part of the 15th century, when it supplied limestone for the building of Thomas Wolsey's Cardinal's College in Oxford.
In 1684 Rev. Edward Rogers, Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of Holton, died leaving £200 to be invested to provide an income to educate poor children of Holton. In 1787 classes were held in the Kings' Arms 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...
in Wheatley but by 1790 Holton had a purpose-built schoolhouse. It was run by the same schoolmaster, John Sawyer, from then until 1821, by which time he was so incompetent, old and deaf that he had lost all his pupils. The school was empty from then until it reopened with a new master in 1824. In 1833 it was only a boys' school but in 1835 a girls' and infants' school was opened. The two schools were merged by 1854 and the old building was demolished and replaced in 1861. Early in the 20th century pupil numbers declined and in 1915 the Oxfordshire Education Committee closed the school.
During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
a United States military
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
hospital was built in Holton Park.
The Lady Spencer-Churchill
Clementine Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill
Clementine Ogilvy Spencer-Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill, GBE, CStJ was the wife of Sir Winston Churchill and a life peeress in her own right.-Early life:...
College of Education was built at Holton in 1966 and merged with Oxford Polytechnic in 1974. In 1992 the polytechnic became Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University is a new university in Oxford, England. It was named to honour the school's founding principal, John Brookes. It has been ranked as the best new university by the Sunday Times University Guide 10 years in a row...
. The former Lady Spencer-Churchill College is the university's Wheatley Campus.