Longworth
Encyclopedia
Longworth is a village and civil parish about 7 miles (11.3 km) 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
. Forthcoming boundary changes will add the hamlet of Newbridge
to the parish of Longworth.
Longworth parish stretches between the River Thames
in the north and the River Ock
in the south. Harrowdown Hill, in the north of the parish near the Thames, is where biological warfare
expert David Kelly died (or committed suicide) during the Second Gulf War WMD scandal.
Sir Henry Marten
, a 17th century Judge of the Admiralty Court, and his son, Henry Marten
, the regicide
, lived at Longworth House.
and 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the old market town of Bampton
. Longworth is just south of the River Thames
crossing at Newbridge
.
Longworth has two bus services. White's Coaches route 63 links Longworth with Oxford on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays via the villages of Southmoor
, Hinton Waldrist
, Appleton
, Eaton
and Cumnor
. Grayline route 43 links Eaton with Abingdon-on-Thames via Longworth on Mondays and Thursdays.
s: the Blue Boar in the village and the Lamb and Flag 2 miles (3.2 km) to the south. Forthcoming boundary changes in 2011 will remove the Lamb and Flag from the parish but add The Maybush Inn at Newbridge
.
The thatched part of the Blue Boar was built 1606 during the Great Rebuilding
of England and the two storey part was added about 50 years later. Its not clear however whether it has always been a pub. As it is on the main route out of the village to the River Thames it was popular in the 19th century as a resting stop for horse, cart and drover. The current owner rescued it from dereliction in the late 1970s and has extended and modernised it while retaining the beams and open fires. It is the only one of five original licenced premises surviving within the village boundary and is now a gastropub
.
On the Blue Boar pub sign, the white boar and the white rose on the pennant represent the symbols of Richard III
. The blue boar was the personal badge of the De Vere family who were the Earls of Oxford. Legend has it that when King Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, any White Boar pubs were quickly repainted as Blue Boars, as an acknowledgement that the white boar was dead and the blue boar prevailed.
The club played its first game of rugby in March 1977, as a result of a challenge by staff of Blackwells Bookshop
in Oxford
. The occasion proved so enjoyable that the following season several more matches were arranged against local sides and the club affiliated to the Oxfordshire Rugby Football Union. In succeeding seasons the number of fixtures and strength of opposition increased, and in May 1981 the club was elected to the Rugby Football Union
.
In September 1980 the club made its first tour of Cornwall
. It made further visits to the Duchy in 1987, 1988 and 1989. It made its first foreign tour in 1981, when a party of 35 players and supporters went to Brittany and enjoyed themselves so much that they returned there a year later. In 1991 the club was the first English RFU club to make an official tour of Hungary, which was hosted by the Hungarian Rugby Union
.
The club reached the final of the Oxfordshire Knockout Cup Plate competition in the 2003-04 and 2008-09 seasons.
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...
and a similar distance east of Faringdon
Faringdon
Faringdon is a market town in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. It is on the edge of the Thames Valley, between the River Thames and the Ridgeway...
and south of 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'....
. 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 ....
. Forthcoming boundary changes will add the hamlet of Newbridge
Newbridge, Oxfordshire
Newbridge is a 13th century bridge carrying the A415 road over the River Thames in Oxfordshire, between Abingdon and Witney, close to the Thames' confluence with the River Windrush...
to the parish of Longworth.
Longworth parish stretches between the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
in the north and the River Ock
River Ock
The River Ock is a small English river which is a tributary of the River Thames. It has as its catchment area the Vale of White Horse, a low-lying and wide valley in South Oxfordshire and flows into the River Thames, at Abingdon on the reach above Culham Lock.-Course:The River Ock rises near the...
in the south. Harrowdown Hill, in the north of the parish near the Thames, is where biological warfare
Biological warfare
Biological warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war...
expert David Kelly died (or committed suicide) during the Second Gulf War WMD scandal.
Sir Henry Marten
Henry Marten (politician)
Sir Henry Marten was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1625 and 1640.-Life:...
, a 17th century Judge of the Admiralty Court, and his son, Henry Marten
Henry Marten (regicide)
Sir Henry Marten was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1640 and 1653...
, the regicide
Regicide
The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a monarch. In a narrower sense, in the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial...
, lived at Longworth House.
Geography and transport
Longworth is 9 miles (14.5 km) southwest of OxfordOxford
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 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the old market town of Bampton
Bampton
- England :* Bampton, Cumbria* Bampton, Devon** Bampton railway station**Bampton * Bampton, Oxfordshire- Other :*Bampton Island, former name of Parama Island, Papua New Guinea*Bampton Reefs, Chesterfield Islands, New Caledonia- People :...
. Longworth is just south of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
crossing at Newbridge
Newbridge, Oxfordshire
Newbridge is a 13th century bridge carrying the A415 road over the River Thames in Oxfordshire, between Abingdon and Witney, close to the Thames' confluence with the River Windrush...
.
Longworth has two bus services. White's Coaches route 63 links Longworth with Oxford on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays via the villages of 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....
, Hinton Waldrist
Hinton Waldrist
Hinton Waldrist is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, England. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The village is between Oxford and Faringdon, southwest of Oxford. The parish includes the hamlet of Duxford.-History:In 1086...
, Appleton
Appleton
-People:* Alistair Appleton, British television presenter* Charles W. Appleton, of GE* Colin Appleton, footballer* Daniel Appleton, American publisher, 1800s founder of D...
, Eaton
Eaton
-Buildings:*Eaton Centre, the name of various shopping malls across Canada*Toronto Eaton Centre, a large retail and office complex in Toronto, Ontario*Eaton's / John Maryon Tower, a cancelled skyscraper in Toronto*Eaton Center , an office tower in Ohio...
and Cumnor
Cumnor
Cumnor is a village and civil parish west of the centre of Oxford, England. The parish of Cumnor includes Cumnor Hill, , Chawley , the Dean Court area on the edge of Botley and the outlying settlements of Chilswell, Farmoor and Swinford...
. Grayline route 43 links Eaton with Abingdon-on-Thames via Longworth on Mondays and Thursdays.
Public houses
Longworth has two 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...
s: the Blue Boar in the village and the Lamb and Flag 2 miles (3.2 km) to the south. Forthcoming boundary changes in 2011 will remove the Lamb and Flag from the parish but add The Maybush Inn at Newbridge
Newbridge, Oxfordshire
Newbridge is a 13th century bridge carrying the A415 road over the River Thames in Oxfordshire, between Abingdon and Witney, close to the Thames' confluence with the River Windrush...
.
The thatched part of the Blue Boar was built 1606 during the Great Rebuilding
Great Rebuilding
A Great Rebuilding is a period in which a heightened level of building work, architectural change, building or rebuilding occurred.More specifically, W. G. Hoskins defined the term "The Great Rebuilding" in England as the period from the mid-16th century until 1640...
of England and the two storey part was added about 50 years later. Its not clear however whether it has always been a pub. As it is on the main route out of the village to the River Thames it was popular in the 19th century as a resting stop for horse, cart and drover. The current owner rescued it from dereliction in the late 1970s and has extended and modernised it while retaining the beams and open fires. It is the only one of five original licenced premises surviving within the village boundary and is now a gastropub
Gastropub
Gastropub or Gastrolounge refers to a bar and restaurant that serves high-end beer and food.The term gastropub, a portmanteau of gastronomy and pub, originated in England in the late 20th century. English pubs were drinking establishments and little emphasis was placed on the serving of food. If...
.
On the Blue Boar pub sign, the white boar and the white rose on the pennant represent the symbols of Richard III
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
. The blue boar was the personal badge of the De Vere family who were the Earls of Oxford. Legend has it that when King Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, any White Boar pubs were quickly repainted as Blue Boars, as an acknowledgement that the white boar was dead and the blue boar prevailed.
Blue Boar RFC
Blue Boar Rugby Football Club is based at the Blue Boar pub in Longworth. It normally plays home games at Oxford RFC.The club played its first game of rugby in March 1977, as a result of a challenge by staff of Blackwells Bookshop
Blackwell's
Blackwell UK Ltd is a national chain of bookshops, online retail, mail order and library supply services in the United Kingdom, which has an annual turnover of £74 million...
in 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 occasion proved so enjoyable that the following season several more matches were arranged against local sides and the club affiliated to the Oxfordshire Rugby Football Union. In succeeding seasons the number of fixtures and strength of opposition increased, and in May 1981 the club was elected to the Rugby Football Union
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
.
In September 1980 the club made its first tour of Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. It made further visits to the Duchy in 1987, 1988 and 1989. It made its first foreign tour in 1981, when a party of 35 players and supporters went to Brittany and enjoyed themselves so much that they returned there a year later. In 1991 the club was the first English RFU club to make an official tour of Hungary, which was hosted by the Hungarian Rugby Union
Rugby union in Hungary
Rugby union in Hungary is a minor but growing sport.-Governing body:The Hungarian union was founded in 1990, and affiliated to the IRB in 1991.-History:...
.
The club reached the final of the Oxfordshire Knockout Cup Plate competition in the 2003-04 and 2008-09 seasons.