Kingston Bagpuize is a village in the civil parish of Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor

Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor

Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor is a civil parish in the English county of Oxfordshire, England. It was formed on 1 April 1971 by merging the two villages of Kingston Bagpuize and Southmoor.In 1974 it was transferred from Berkshire.- External links :...

, about 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...

. 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....

.

Geography

The village is adjacent to the junction of the A420

A420 road

The A420 is a road between Bristol and Oxford in England. Between Swindon and Oxford it is a primary route.-Present route:Since the opening of the M4 motorway, the road is in two sections. The first section begins on Old Market Street near the centre of Bristol, it passes through Kingswood before...

 (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...

 - Swindon

Swindon

Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...

) and A415 (Abingdon

Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...

 - Witney

Witney

Witney is a town on the River Windrush, west of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England.The place-name 'Witney' is first attested in a Saxon charter of 969 as 'Wyttannige'; it appears as 'Witenie' in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name means 'Witta's island'....

) main roads. It is contiguous with Southmoor

Southmoor

Southmoor is a village in the civil parish of Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor, about west of Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Traditionally part of Berkshire, the 1974 boundary changes transferred local government to Oxfordshire....

 village to the west and about 1 miles (1.6 km) southeast of Longworth

Longworth

Longworth is a village and civil parish about west of Abingdon and a similar distance east of Faringdon and south of Witney. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire...

 village.

History

The name Kingston Bagpuize is derived from the village's original name Kingston and the Anglicisation of Ralph-de-Bagpuis, a 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 who aided William of Normandy

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...

 in 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...

 in 1066.

The 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:...

 of Saint 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...

 was built in 1799-1800. The Gothic Revival architect

Gothic Revival architecture

The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...

 Edwin Dolby

Edwin Dolby

Edwin Dolby was a Victorian architect who practised in Abingdon, England.-Career:Dolby's works span the period 1863–1888. He altered, rebuilt or restored a number of Church of England parish churches, most of them in the Vale of White Horse and Oxfordshire. In 1869–70, he built Abingdon Grammar...

 added an apse

Apse

In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...

 and made other alterations to the building in 1882.

Kingston Bagpuize House appears to have been built in about 1720. In the 20th century it was the home of John Buchan, 2nd Baron Tweedsmuir, the son of the novelist John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir was a Scottish novelist, historian and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation....

.

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...

 there was a satellite airfield of RAF Abingdon

RAF Abingdon

RAF Abingdon was a Royal Air Force station near Abingdon, Oxfordshire. It is now known as Dalton Barracks and is used by the Royal Logistic Corps....

 west of the village. Remnants of the control tower are still visible near the cricket club. The lower section of the avenue of trees leading down from Kingston Bagpuize House were cut down during this time for aircraft safety.

Amenities

Kingston Bagpuize Cricket Club plays in The Oxford Times

The Oxford Times

The Oxford Times is a weekly newspaper, published each Thursday in Oxford, England. It is published from a large production facility at Osney Mead, west Oxford, and is owned by Newsquest, the UK subsidiary of US-based Gannett Company....

Cherwell Cricket League. Kingston Bagpuize and Southmoor have a bowls club and a Women's Institute. Kingston Bagpuize has an Amateur theatre

Amateur theatre

Amateur theatre is theatre performed by amateur actors. These actors are not typically members of Actors' Equity groups or Actors' Unions as these organizations exist to protect the professional industry and therefore discourage their members from appearing with companies which are not a signatory...

group. Kingston Bagpuize Drama Group http://www.kbdgshow.biz

External links

• Kingston Bagpuize ...a Village Snapshot