Lewknor
Encyclopedia
Lewknor is a village and civil parish 5 miles (8 km) south of Thame
in Oxfordshire
. The civil parish includes the village of Postcombe
.
at the foot of the Chiltern Hills
escarpment
and the Ridgeway
along the top. Both have been roads since at least the Iron Age
.
Early in the 1970s archaeological investigations prior to building of the M40 motorway
through the parish found traces of a Romano-British settlement near the village and a Romano-British cemetery near Icknield Way.
spring line settlement
near the foot of the Chilterns chalk
escarpment.
The toponym
derives from the Old English name of its owner Leofeca, recorded in a lawsuit in AD 990. In the 11th century the manor
of Luvechenora belonged to Edith of Wessex
, who in 1045 became queen consort of Edward the Confessor
. The manor then passed to a Danish thegn
of King Edward called Tovi, who bequeathed it to Abingdon Abbey
. For most of the Middle Ages
the abbey leased out Lewknor manor, until the abbey was suppressed in 1538 in the dissolution of the monasteries
. All Souls College, Oxford
had become a major landowner in the parish before the end of the 17th century and has remained so until modern times.
Church Farm has a timber-framed barn that is considered to date from about 1400. There have been suggestions that it is a former Mediaeval hall-house.
Early in the 1970s archaeological investigations prior to building of the M40 motorway
through the parish found traces of a large Mediaeval farmhouse high in the Chilterns in the east of the parish, on the alignment onto which the Christmas Common
road was to be diverted.
and Lewknor Uphill. Lewknor Uphill consisted of three detached parts in the Chiltern Hills: Ackhampstead
, Cadmore End and Studdridge,. Ackhampstead was transferred to Buckinghamshire
by the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844
. Cadmore End became a separate parish in 1852 and Studdridge was transferred to Stokenchurch
, but both places remained in Oxfordshire until they were transferred to Buckinghamshire in 1896.
until the Georgian era
. The first Inclosure
Bill for the parish was moved in Parliament
in 1792 but the Earl of Macclesfield
opposed it and it was defeated. A second Lewknor and Postcombe
Bill was passed as an Inclosure Act
in 1810 and was put into effect in 1815.
was built some time after 1146 and before 1200. It was dedicated to Saint Mary
but at some date was rededicated to Saint Margaret
. It was originally a cruciform building with a chancel
, nave
, north and south chapel
s and a west tower. The chancel arch, north chapel, two lancet window
s in the nave, the font
and some other features survive from this time. Early in the 14th century the building was enlarged in the Decorated Gothic style with a south aisle that absorbed the south chapel, and the chancel was enlarged and received new windows including the present east window. In the chancel is a memorial effigy of a lady that also dates from the 14th century.
In the 15th century a new Perpendicular Gothic west tower was built. In 1553 the tower was recorded as having four bells and a sanctus
bell. These were replaced by a peal
of five bells cast in 1636. The peal was increased to six with the addition of a new treble bell cast in 1950.
In 1845 All Souls College paid for the chancel to be restored. In 1863 the nave was restored, re-roofed and had two more windows inserted under the direction of the Gothic Revival architect
Arthur Blomfield
. Two windows in the chancel have Pre-Raphaelite
stained glass that Pevsner
and Sherwood attribute to William Morris
.
. In 1929 it was reorganised as a junior school, and senior pupils from the village were thereafter schooled at Chinnor
. From 1859 the school was vested in the Vicar and churchwarden
s, and since 1950 it has been a voluntary controlled school
.
was built through the parish. It ran right past the village but the nearest station it provided was 1 miles (1.6 km) away at . The Great Western Railway
took over the line in 1883 and built right next to the village in 1906. British Rail
ways withdrew passenger services and closed the halt in 1957. Aston Rowant remained open for freight only until 1961, when BR withdew this service and removed the track south of Chinnor cement works.
Early in the 1920s the Watlington - Chinnor road through the village was classified B4009. In 1974 the M40 motorway
was built through the parish, passing just east of the village on an embankment. A bridge carries the embankment over the former railway trackbed, which has been reused to divert the B4009 to bypass the village. M40 junction 6 between the motorway and the B road was formed here. South of the village the motorway climbs the Chiltern escarpment in a cutting up to 150 feet (45.7 m) deep with steep chalk faces. The minor road linking Christmas Common
with the A40 road
near Stokenchurch
was diverted slightly eastwards where is now carried across the cutting on a bridge formed of a single concrete arch 180 feet (54.9 m) wide.
Lewknor Turn on the M40 is a stop on the Oxford Tube coach service
, which provides the village with frequent non-stop coach services to Oxford
and London.
. On the escarpment on either side of the motorway is Aston Rowant
National Nature Reserve
, which despite its name the reserve is partly in Lewknor parish. The reserve has beech woodlands, chalk grassland
supporting diverse rare plants and butterflies, and is one of the best places in England to see Red Kite
s.
Thame
Thame is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about southwest of the Buckinghamshire town of Aylesbury. It derives its toponym from the River Thame which flows past the north side of the town....
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 civil parish includes the village of Postcombe
Postcombe
Postcombe is a village in the civil parish of Lewknor, about south of Thame in Oxfordshire. It is on the A40 road with the Chiltern Hills to the east and the M40 motorway just to the south....
.
Iron Age and Roman periods
Two ancient roads pass through the parish: the ancient Icknield WayIcknield Way
The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern England. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills.-Background:...
at the foot of the Chiltern Hills
Chiltern Hills
The Chiltern Hills form a chalk escarpment in South East England. They are known locally as "the Chilterns". A large portion of the hills was designated officially as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1965.-Location:...
escarpment
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...
and the Ridgeway
Ridgeway
A ridgeway is a road or path that follows a ridge, or the highest part of the landscape.-Roads and pathways:*The Ridgeway, an ancient track in southern England, which now forms part of the Ridgeway Path or National Trail...
along the top. Both have been roads since at least the Iron Age
British Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
.
Early in the 1970s archaeological investigations prior to building 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...
through the parish found traces of a Romano-British settlement near the village and a Romano-British cemetery near Icknield Way.
Saxon and medieval times
Lewknor is a SaxonAnglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
spring line settlement
Spring line settlement
Spring line settlements occur where a ridge of permeable rock lies over impermeable rock and there will be a line of springs along the boundary between the two layers....
near the foot of the Chilterns chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
escarpment.
The 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...
derives from the Old English name of its owner Leofeca, recorded in a lawsuit in AD 990. In the 11th century 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 Luvechenora belonged to Edith of Wessex
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...
, who in 1045 became queen consort of 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....
. The manor then passed to a Danish 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 called Tovi, who bequeathed it to Abingdon Abbey
Abingdon Abbey
Abingdon Abbey was a Benedictine monastery also known as St Mary's Abbey located in Abingdon, historically in the county of Berkshire but now in Oxfordshire, England.-History:...
. For most of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
the abbey leased out Lewknor manor, until the abbey was suppressed in 1538 in 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...
. All Souls College, Oxford
All Souls College, Oxford
The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....
had become a major landowner in the parish before the end of the 17th century and has remained so until modern times.
Church Farm has a timber-framed barn that is considered to date from about 1400. There have been suggestions that it is a former Mediaeval hall-house.
Early in the 1970s archaeological investigations prior to building 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...
through the parish found traces of a large Mediaeval farmhouse high in the Chilterns in the east of the parish, on the alignment onto which the Christmas Common
Christmas Common
Christmas Common is a hamlet in Watlington civil parish about south of Thame in Oxfordshire, close to the boundary with Buckinghamshire. The hamlet is above sea level on an escarpment of the Chiltern Hills. Because of its elevation, Christmas Common has two radio masts that are prominent local...
road was to be diverted.
Parish
The parish of Lewknor was a strip parish, which historically included three townships or divisions, Lewknor, PostcombePostcombe
Postcombe is a village in the civil parish of Lewknor, about south of Thame in Oxfordshire. It is on the A40 road with the Chiltern Hills to the east and the M40 motorway just to the south....
and Lewknor Uphill. Lewknor Uphill consisted of three detached parts in the Chiltern Hills: Ackhampstead
Ackhampstead
Ackhampstead or 'The Moor' was an ancient township in the Chiltern Hills, south of Lane End. Until 1844 it was a detached part of Oxfordshire in the parish of Lewknor, part of a division of the parish known as Lewknor Uphill consisting of three detached parts...
, Cadmore End and Studdridge,. Ackhampstead was transferred to 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....
by the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844
Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844
The Counties Act 1844 , which came into effect on 20 October 1844, was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which eliminated many outliers or exclaves of counties in England and Wales for civil purposes....
. Cadmore End became a separate parish in 1852 and Studdridge was transferred to Stokenchurch
Stokenchurch
Stokenchurch is a village and civil parish within Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, about south of Chinnor in Oxfordshire and west of High Wycombe. The village is a popular place to live, due to its rural location and ease of access to London and Birmingham...
, but both places remained in Oxfordshire until they were transferred to Buckinghamshire in 1896.
Inclosure
The parish was farmed on an open field systemOpen 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 the Georgian era
Georgian era
The Georgian era is a period of British history which takes its name from, and is normally defined as spanning the reigns of, the first four Hanoverian kings of Great Britain : George I, George II, George III and George IV...
. The first Inclosure
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...
Bill for the parish was moved in Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
in 1792 but the Earl of Macclesfield
Thomas Parker, 3rd Earl of Macclesfield
Thomas Parker, 3rd Earl of Macclesfield FRS , styled Viscount Parker between 1732 and 1764, was a British peer and politician.-Background:...
opposed it and it was defeated. A second Lewknor and Postcombe
Postcombe
Postcombe is a village in the civil parish of Lewknor, about south of Thame in Oxfordshire. It is on the A40 road with the Chiltern Hills to the east and the M40 motorway just to the south....
Bill was passed as an Inclosure Act
Inclosure Act
The Inclosure or Enclosure Acts were a series of United Kingdom Acts of Parliament which enclosed open fields and common land in the country. They removed previously existing rights of local people to carry out activities in these areas, such as cultivation, cutting hay, grazing animals or using...
in 1810 and was put into effect in 1815.
Parish church
Documentary and architectural evidence indicates 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:...
was built some time after 1146 and before 1200. It was dedicated to Saint Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
but at some date was rededicated to Saint Margaret
Margaret the Virgin
Margaret the Virgin, also known as Margaret of Antioch , virgin and martyr, is celebrated as a saint by the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches on July 20; and on July 17 in the Orthodox Church. Her historical existence has been questioned; she was declared apocryphal by Pope Gelasius I in 494,...
. It was originally a cruciform building with a 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...
, 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...
, north and south 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,...
s and a west tower. The chancel arch, north chapel, two 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 in the nave, 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:...
and some other features survive from this time. Early in the 14th century the building was enlarged in the Decorated Gothic style with a south aisle that absorbed the south chapel, and the chancel was enlarged and received new windows including the present east window. In the chancel is a memorial effigy of a lady that also dates from the 14th century.
In the 15th century a new Perpendicular Gothic west tower was built. In 1553 the tower was recorded as having four bells and a sanctus
Sanctus
The Sanctus is a hymn from Christian liturgy, forming part of the Order of Mass. In Western Christianity, the Sanctus is sung as the final words of the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer, the prayer of consecration of the bread and wine...
bell. These were replaced by a peal
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 five bells cast in 1636. The peal was increased to six with the addition of a new treble bell cast in 1950.
In 1845 All Souls College paid for the chancel to be restored. In 1863 the nave was restored, re-roofed and had two more windows inserted under the direction of the Gothic Revival architect
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
Arthur Blomfield
Arthur Blomfield
Sir Arthur William Blomfield was an English architect.-Background:The fourth son of Charles James Blomfield, an Anglican Bishop of London helpfully began a programme of new church construction in the capital. Born in Fulham Palace, Arthur Blomfield was educated at Rugby and Trinity College,...
. Two windows in the chancel have Pre-Raphaelite
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
stained glass that 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...
and Sherwood attribute to William Morris
William Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
.
Village school
In 1836 All Souls College paid for a village school to be built next to the churchyard. This became a National SchoolNational 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...
. In 1929 it was reorganised as a junior school, and senior pupils from the village were thereafter schooled at Chinnor
Chinnor
Chinnor is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire about southeast of Thame. The village is a Spring line settlement on the Icknield Way below the Chiltern escarpment...
. From 1859 the school was vested in the Vicar and churchwarden
Churchwarden
A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish church or congregation of the Anglican Communion, usually working as a part-time volunteer. Holders of these positions are ex officio members of the parish board, usually called a vestry, parish council, parochial church council, or in the case of a...
s, and since 1950 it has been 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...
.
Railway and roads
In 1869-72 the Watlington and Princes Risborough RailwayWatlington and Princes Risborough Railway
The Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway was a railway branch line between Watlington and Princes Risborough which remained operational for over 88 years between 1872 and 1961....
was built through the parish. It ran right past the village but the nearest station it provided was 1 miles (1.6 km) away at . 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...
took over the line in 1883 and built right next to the village in 1906. 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 withdrew passenger services and closed the halt in 1957. Aston Rowant remained open for freight only until 1961, when BR withdew this service and removed the track south of Chinnor cement works.
Early in the 1920s the Watlington - Chinnor road through the village was classified B4009. In 1974 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...
was built through the parish, passing just east of the village on an embankment. A bridge carries the embankment over the former railway trackbed, which has been reused to divert the B4009 to bypass the village. M40 junction 6 between the motorway and the B road was formed here. South of the village the motorway climbs the Chiltern escarpment in a cutting up to 150 feet (45.7 m) deep with steep chalk faces. The minor road linking Christmas Common
Christmas Common
Christmas Common is a hamlet in Watlington civil parish about south of Thame in Oxfordshire, close to the boundary with Buckinghamshire. The hamlet is above sea level on an escarpment of the Chiltern Hills. Because of its elevation, Christmas Common has two radio masts that are prominent local...
with the A40 road
A40 road
The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Fishguard, Wales and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road in all legal documents and Acts...
near Stokenchurch
Stokenchurch
Stokenchurch is a village and civil parish within Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, about south of Chinnor in Oxfordshire and west of High Wycombe. The village is a popular place to live, due to its rural location and ease of access to London and Birmingham...
was diverted slightly eastwards where is now carried across the cutting on a bridge formed of a single concrete arch 180 feet (54.9 m) wide.
Lewknor Turn on the M40 is a stop on the Oxford Tube coach service
Oxford to London coach route
The Oxford to London coach route is an express coach route between Oxford and London along the M40 motorway. The Oxford Tube, which is operated by Stagecoach runs 5 coaches an hour via Lewknor, Hillingdon in west London, Shepherd's Bush and terminates in Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria...
, which provides the village with frequent non-stop coach services to 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...
and London.
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
In 1965 the Chilterns including the escarpment and hills in the parish were declared an Area of Outstanding Natural BeautyArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...
. On the escarpment on either side of the motorway is Aston Rowant
Aston Rowant NNR
Aston Rowant Nature Reserve is located on the western escarpment of the Chiltern Hills near Stokenchurch on the Oxfordshire - Buckinghamshire border in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty The reserve is in several sections, divided by the M40 motorway in the Aston Rowant Cutting...
National Nature Reserve
National Nature Reserves in England
National Nature Reserves in England are managed by Natural England and are key places for wildlife and natural features in England. They were established to protect the most important areas of habitat and of geological formations...
, which despite its name the reserve is partly in Lewknor parish. The reserve has beech woodlands, chalk grassland
Calcareous grassland
Calcareous grassland is an ecosystem associated with thin basic soil, such as that on chalk and limestone downland. Plants on calcareous grassland are typically short and hardy, and include grasses and herbs such as clover...
supporting diverse rare plants and butterflies, and is one of the best places in England to see Red Kite
Red Kite
The Red Kite is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species is currently endemic to the Western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa, though formerly also occurred just...
s.
Sources
- Gill, Jonathan (2009) Church Farm, Lewknor, Oxfordshire, OX9 5TP. Project Report. Oxford Archaeological Unit Ltd. Baronial Manor at Church Farm Lewknor: Unpublished Report