Souldern
Encyclopedia
Souldern is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire
about 7 miles (11.3 km) northwest of Bicester
and a similar distance southeast of Banbury
. The parish is bounded to the west by the River Cherwell
and to the east by field boundaries. Its northern boundary is Ockley Brook, a tributary of the Cherwell that forms the county boundary with Northamptonshire
. The parish's southern boundaries are the main road between Bicester and Adderbury
and the minor road between Souldern and Somerton
.
Souldern's toponym
is derived from the Old English Sulh-porn meaning "Thorn-bush in a gully".
of 1086 does not mention Souldern. Early in the 12th century Jordan de Say, a Norman
nobleman who owned the manor
of Kirtlington
, seems also to have owned Souldern. He married his daughter Eustache or Eustachia to Hugh FitzOsbern (died 1140), by whom the manor became part of the honour
of Richard's Castle
in Herefordshire
. Hugh and Eustache's sons took their mother's surname de Say, and overlordship of the Honour of Richard's Castle, including Souldern, remained with the family until about 1196, when their grandson Hugh de Say died leaving Richard's Castle to his daughter Margaret. She married three times and the castle eventually passed to the heirs of her second husband Robert Mortimer. The Mortimers kept the castle until Hugh Mortimer died in 1304, leaving it to his daughter Joan. Joan married twice and with her second husband Richard Talbot had a son, John, who was recorded as overlord of Souldern in 1346.
By 1196 Hugh de Say, grandson of Hugh FitzOsbern, had transferred lordship of the manor
of Souldern to his brother-in-law Thomas de Arderne. By 1279 the Ardernes were mesne lord
s, collecting rent from the de Lewknor family. By 1307 the de Lewknors had conveyed Souldern to the Abberbury family of Donnington, Berkshire
. Sir Richard Abberbury, knight of the shire for Oxfordshire in 1373 and 1387, granted lands at Souldern to both Donnington Hospital
and a house of Crutched Friars
at Donnington. Sir Richard's nephew, another Richard Abberbury, inherited the remainder. The younger Richard seized the Crutched Friars' land at Souldern and granted it to William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk
in 1448. The remainder of Richard's land at Souldern passed to his nephew Sir Richard Arches, who in turn left it to his daughter Joan and her husband Sir John Dynham. When their son, John Dynham, 1st Baron Dynham
, died in 1501, Souldern manor was divided into four parts which remained in separate hands until the 1590s.
One part passed to Thomas Arundell of Lanherne, Cornwall
, whose mother was a Dynham, and remained in the Arundell family until Sir John Arundell (died 1590) sold it. By that year John Stutsbury, Robert Weedon and his son John Weedon had bought two parts of the manor. Robert married Stutsbury's daughter and by the time he died in 1598 Robert had acquired a third part. In 1604 John Weedon acquired the fourth and final part of Souldern by quitclaim
, thus reuniting the manor after just over a century of division.
The Stutsbury and Weedon families were recusants
(see below) and during the English Civil War
the Parliamentarians confiscated the Weedons' estates. After the English Restoration
the Crown
restored the estates, which then stayed in the family until John Weedon died in 1710. John left his manor to Samuel Cox, the infant grandson of Richard Kilby of Souldern. The Cox family lived in Farningham
, Kent
and were largely absentee landlords. In the 1860s Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Snead Cox of Broxwood, Herefordshire was listed as lord of the manor of Souldern, but thereafter the lordship was allowed to lapse.
of the Annunciation
to the Blessed Virgin Mary
are 12th century. The church was enlarged and altered at various times between about 1200 and 1500. The mediaeval chancel
fell into disrepair in the 18th century and was demolished after 1775. In 1896-97 the Gothic Revival architect
Ninian Comper
rebuilt the chancel and in 1906 G.F. Bodley
dismantled and rebuilt the Norman tower and tower arch.
From 1161 until the Dissolution of the Monasteries
in 1539 the Benedictine
Eynsham Abbey
owned he advowson
of the parish. After 1623 John Williams, Bishop of Lincoln
granted it to St John's College, Cambridge
, which still owned the advowson in 1955.
The tower
has a ring
of six bells.
The Church of the Annunciation is a member of the Cherwell Valley Benefice along with the parishes of Ardley
, Fritwell
, Lower Heyford
, Somerton
and Upper Heyford
.
The Church of the Annunciation had a rectory
that was built before 1638 and had fishponds well-stocked with carp
by 1723. The poet William Wordsworth
stayed there in 1820. Afterwards he wrote the sonnet
A Parsonage in Oxfordshire, and in another sonnet called the house "this humble and beautiful parsonage". In 1809 this historic house was demolished and replaced with a new one designed by the Gothic Revival architect E.G. Bruton
.
in Souldern in 1577 and 1592. John Weedon and his wife were fined for recusancy in 1603 and the Weedons were said to have mortgaged land to a house of Benedictine
nuns in Dunkirk. The Kilby family were recusants and were said to have mortgaged land to the Benedictine Douai Abbey
, which then was at Douai
in France. The Cox family were also Roman Catholics. The number of recusants recorded in Souldern was nine in 1643, 21 in 1676, 19 in 1690 and 25 in 1703. for the remainder of the 18th century the number fluctuated between 10 and 14.
The manor-house had a Roman Catholic chapel hidden in the attic. There seems to have been no resident priest, so Roman Catholics would have relied on visiting clergy to celebrate Mass
. In 1778 Parliament
passed the Papists Act
(England's first Roman Catholic Relief Act
) and in 1781 Souldern's hidden chapel ceased to be used. The attic chapel was used again from 1852 until 1869 or 1870 when it was succeeded by Saint Joseph
's chapel, which the Gothic Revival architect
Charles Hansom
created by adding a brick extension to convert the manor house's stone-built coach house
. These developments helped to revive Souldern's Roman Catholic community which by the end of the 19th century comprised about nine families.
was completed in Souldern. In 1857 most Methodist Reform congregations merged with the Wesleyan Association
, but Souldern chapel was one of a minority that rejected the merger and together founded the Wesleyan Reform Union
instead.
it may have served both villages. It may be the mill that was referred to as "Aynho Mill" in 1797. A watermill
between the two villages was still working in 1920.
The parish's open field system
of farming was ended at a relatively early date. Early in the 17th century the lord of the manor
wished to terminate all common land
rights but the Souldern's freeholders opposed him and the case went to court. The judge advised the parties to accept the arbitration of the Recorder
of Banbury
, Sir Thomas Chamberlayne
, who ruled that the parish be "measured, divided and inclosed
". The parish was duly surveyed and in 1613 the division and awarding of land was ratified by the Court of Chancery
.
Before enclosure much of the parish was arable, but afterwards farmers converted the major part of their land to pasture and meadow, apparently to minimise the amount of tithes that they had to pay. Most of the conversion was by sowing sainfoin
, which by 1700 had doubled the value of the land. In 1842 two-thirds of the parish's farmland was pasture and only one-third was arable. The good pasture supported the development of cheese-making in the parish. Early in the 20th century up to 15 cheese-makers were employed at the manor house.
Souldern's economy was unusually diverse for a village. In the 17th century it included two tailors, a weaver and a mercer
. At alater date there were three tailors and a milliner. At one time Souldern had three lace
-making schools and in 1851 there were more than 30 lace-makers in the parish, but the trade declined towards the end of the 19th century.
Numerous houses in Souldern are built of local pale Jurassic limestone
and date from the Great Rebuilding
of England between the mid-16th and mid-17th centuries, some with stone-mullion
ed windows on the lower floor and attic dormer
s upstairs. The Court and The Hollies are two L-shaped houses from about 1600. The Barn and Greystones are rectangular in plan and probably early 17th century in age. The Hermitage was built in the 16th century, extended in the 18th century and its 17th century staircase is said to have come from The Court.
There have been two different properties called "Souldern House". The present one is a rectangular early 17th century house formerly called "Souldern Lodge". In its garden is a gazebo
dated 1706. The previous "Souldern House" is now called the Manor House. Until the 1950s it had the date 1665 on a fireplace in one of its rooms. The house was altered in 1850, and again in 1955-56 for Vivian Smith, 1st Baron Bicester
.
In 1641 during the English Civil War
, Royalists
ordered the parish to send carts and provisions to King Charles I
at Oxford
. In 1643 six regiments of Parliamentarian
troops from London were billeted in the parish.
master. The School was affiliated to the National Society for Promoting Religious Education
by 1847.
The school outgrew its premises, and in 1851 James Minn died leaving land for a new school building and cottages for two teachers. These were completed in 1856. After 1871 the school was enlarged again and a new house added for schoolmaster. In 1930 it was reorganised as a junior school, with senior pupils being sent to Fritwell. By 1951 it was a voluntary controlled school
and by 1954 the number of pupils had declined to 17. It has since closed.
St. Joseph's Roman Catholic school was built in 1879. It had one teacher, and the number of pupils declined from 18 in 1887 to eight in 1903. It was closed in 1904.
by an Act of Parliament
passed in 1791. The section through Souldern parish between Bicester and Aynho
ceased to be a turnpike in 1877. When Britain's principal roads were classified early in the 1920s, the stretch of the former turnpike between Bicester and Twyford, Oxfordshire was made part of the A41
. In 1990 the section of the M40 motorway
between Wheatley, Oxfordshire
and Hockley Heath
was built and the Bicester - Twyford stretch of the A41 was reclassified as part of the B4100. The M40 runs through the southwestern part of Souldern parish, passing within 1200 yards (1.1 km) of the village.
The Oxford Canal
was built through the western part of the parish in 1787. Souldern Wharf is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of the village.
Construction of the Oxford and Rugby Railway (ORR) between and began in 1845. By the time the line opened in 1850 the Great Western Railway
(GWR) had taken it over. In Souldern parish the ORR runs parallel with and just east of the canal. The railway is now part of the Cherwell Valley Line
.
In 1910 the GWR completed a new main line linking Ashendon Junction
and Aynho Junction to shorten the high-speed route between its termini at and . It passes through Souldern parish just east of the ORR, crossing two streams on viaducts. The cut-off line leaves the Cherwell valley via the 1155 yards (1,056.1 m) long Ardley Tunnel, the north portal of which is in the parish. The railway is now part of the Chiltern Main Line
.
. By 1784 there were two: the Bull's Head and The Fox, and by the 1850s these had been joined by The Crown. By 1939 the only survivor was The Fox, which now trades as the Fox Inn.
Souldern Football Club plays in the Banbury District and Lord Jersey FA
. In 1925 Souldern FC beat Kirtlington
FC 1-0 to win the Jersey Cup. The Souldern team included four members of one local family, the Westburys, and it was Bob Westbury who scored the only goal of the match. In 1982 Souldern FC reached the final again but lost 3-1 to Charlton
FC.
politician F.J. Wise
(1887-1968). Wise had entered politics by 1931 and was elected MP for King's Lynn
in 1945. Wise lost his seat in the 1951 General Election
. He was then ennobled in the 1951 Resignation Honours
as 1st Baron Wise of King's Lynn
.
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
about 7 miles (11.3 km) northwest of Bicester
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...
and a similar distance southeast of Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
. The parish is bounded to the west by the River Cherwell
River Cherwell
The River Cherwell is a river which flows through the Midlands of England. It is a major tributary of the River Thames.The general course of the River Cherwell is north to south and the 'straight-line' distance from its source to the Thames is about...
and to the east by field boundaries. Its northern boundary is Ockley Brook, a tributary of the Cherwell that forms the county boundary with Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
. The parish's southern boundaries are the main road between Bicester and Adderbury
Adderbury
Adderbury is a large village and civil parish in northern Oxfordshire, England. It is about south of Banbury and from Junction 10 of the M40 motorway. The village is divided in two by the Sor Brook. The village consists of two neighbourhoods: West Adderbury and East Adderbury...
and the minor road between Souldern 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....
.
Souldern's 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...
is derived from the Old English Sulh-porn meaning "Thorn-bush in a gully".
Manor
The Domesday BookDomesday 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...
of 1086 does not mention Souldern. Early in the 12th century Jordan de Say, 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 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 Kirtlington
Kirtlington
Kirtlington is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about west of Bicester.-Archaeology:The Portway is a pre-Roman road running parallel with the River Cherwell on high ground about east of the river. It bisects Kirtlington parish and passes through the village. A short stretch of it is now...
, seems also to have owned Souldern. He married his daughter Eustache or Eustachia to Hugh FitzOsbern (died 1140), by whom the manor 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 Richard's Castle
Richard's Castle
Richard's Castle is a village, castle and two civil parishes on the border of the counties of Herefordshire and Shropshire in England.The village lies on the B4361, 5½ miles south of the historic market town of Ludlow...
in Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
. Hugh and Eustache's sons took their mother's surname de Say, and overlordship of the Honour of Richard's Castle, including Souldern, remained with the family until about 1196, when their grandson Hugh de Say died leaving Richard's Castle to his daughter Margaret. She married three times and the castle eventually passed to the heirs of her second husband Robert Mortimer. The Mortimers kept the castle until Hugh Mortimer died in 1304, leaving it to his daughter Joan. Joan married twice and with her second husband Richard Talbot had a son, John, who was recorded as overlord of Souldern in 1346.
By 1196 Hugh de Say, grandson of Hugh FitzOsbern, had transferred lordship of the manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
of Souldern to his brother-in-law Thomas de Arderne. By 1279 the Ardernes were mesne lord
Mesne lord
A mesne lord was a lord in the feudal system who had vassals who held land from him, but who was himself the vassal of a higher lord. A mesne lord did not hold land directly of the king, that is to say he was not a tenant-in-chief. His subinfeudated estate was called a "mesne estate"...
s, collecting rent from the de Lewknor family. By 1307 the de Lewknors had conveyed Souldern to the Abberbury family of Donnington, Berkshire
Donnington, Berkshire
Donnington is a village in the civil parish of Shaw-cum-Donnington just north of the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England.Donnington Castle, a ruined medieval castle of some historical significance, is in the village. Donnington Hospital almshouses, established in 1393, are the oldest charity in...
. Sir Richard Abberbury, knight of the shire for Oxfordshire in 1373 and 1387, granted lands at Souldern to both Donnington Hospital
Donnington Hospital
Donnington Hospital is a series of almshouses at Donnington in the English county of Berkshire, run by the Donnington Hospital Trust.It was established in 1393 by Sir Richard Abberbury the Elder. The original site on the Oxford Road is now occupied by almshouses built in 1602. A further complex was...
and a house of Crutched Friars
Crutched Friars
The Crutched Friars or Crossed Friars were a Roman Catholic religious order of Augustinian canons who went to England in the 13th century from Italy, where they existed for some time, and where they were called Fratres Cruciferi.-History:...
at Donnington. Sir Richard's nephew, another Richard Abberbury, inherited the remainder. The younger Richard seized the Crutched Friars' land at Souldern and granted it to William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk
William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk
William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, KG , nicknamed Jack Napes , was an important English soldier and commander in the Hundred Years' War, and later Lord Chamberlain of England.He also appears prominently in William Shakespeare's Henry VI, part 1 and Henry VI, part 2 and other...
in 1448. The remainder of Richard's land at Souldern passed to his nephew Sir Richard Arches, who in turn left it to his daughter Joan and her husband Sir John Dynham. When their son, John Dynham, 1st Baron Dynham
John Dynham, 1st Baron Dynham
John Dynham, 1st Baron Dynham was an English peer and politician. He was the Lord High Treasurer of England, Lord Chancellor of Ireland and Baron Dynham. He was the owner of Souldern...
, died in 1501, Souldern manor was divided into four parts which remained in separate hands until the 1590s.
One part passed to Thomas Arundell of Lanherne, 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...
, whose mother was a Dynham, and remained in the Arundell family until Sir John Arundell (died 1590) sold it. By that year John Stutsbury, Robert Weedon and his son John Weedon had bought two parts of the manor. Robert married Stutsbury's daughter and by the time he died in 1598 Robert had acquired a third part. In 1604 John Weedon acquired the fourth and final part of Souldern by quitclaim
Quitclaim deed
A quitclaim deed is a legal instrument by which the owner of a piece of real property, called the grantor, transfers his interest to a recipient, called the grantee. The owner/grantor terminates his right and claim to the property, thereby allowing claim to transfer to the...
, thus reuniting the manor after just over a century of division.
The Stutsbury and Weedon families were recusants
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"...
(see below) and 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 Parliamentarians confiscated the Weedons' estates. After the English Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
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...
restored the estates, which then stayed in the family until John Weedon died in 1710. John left his manor to Samuel Cox, the infant grandson of Richard Kilby of Souldern. The Cox family lived in Farningham
Farningham
Farningham is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent in England. It is located on the River Darent, south of Dartford, and has a population of 1,289...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and were largely absentee landlords. In the 1860s Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Snead Cox of Broxwood, Herefordshire was listed as lord of the manor of Souldern, but thereafter the lordship was allowed to lapse.
Church of England
The oldest parts of 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 the Annunciation
Annunciation
The Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...
to the Blessed Virgin 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...
are 12th century. The church was enlarged and altered at various times between about 1200 and 1500. The mediaeval 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...
fell into disrepair in the 18th century and was demolished after 1775. In 1896-97 the Gothic Revival architect
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
Ninian Comper
Ninian Comper
Sir John Ninian Comper was a Scottish-born architect. He was one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architects, noted for his churches and their furnishings...
rebuilt the chancel and in 1906 G.F. Bodley
George Frederick Bodley
George Frederick Bodley was an English architect working in the Gothic revival style.-Personal life:Bodley was the youngest son of William Hulme Bodley, M.D. of Edinburgh, physician at Hull Royal Infirmary, Kingston upon Hull, who in 1838 retired to his wife's home town, Brighton, Sussex, England....
dismantled and rebuilt the Norman tower and tower arch.
From 1161 until 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...
in 1539 the Benedictine
Order of Saint Benedict
The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...
Eynsham Abbey
Eynsham Abbey
Eynsham Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Eynsham, Oxfordshire, in England between 1005 and 1538. King Æthelred allowed Æthelmær the Stout to found the abbey in 1005. There is some evidence that the abbey was built on the site of an earlier minster, probably founded in the 7th or 8th...
owned he 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 the parish. After 1623 John Williams, Bishop of Lincoln
Bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral...
granted it to St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
, which still owned the advowson in 1955.
The tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
has a ring
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 six bells.
The Church of the Annunciation is a member of the Cherwell Valley Benefice along with the parishes of Ardley
Ardley
Ardley is a village in Ardley with Fewcott civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, about northwest of Bicester. The parish includes the village of Fewcott that is now contiguous with Ardley.-History:...
, Fritwell
Fritwell
Fritwell is a village and civil parish about northwest of Bicester in Oxfordshire. The parish's southern boundary is a stream that flows eastwards through Fewcott and past the villages of Fringford and Godington before entering Buckinghamshire where it becomes part of Padbury Brook, a tributary of...
, Lower Heyford
Lower Heyford
Lower Heyford is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, beside the River Cherwell about west of Bicester.-Prehistory:Aves ditch is pre-Anglo-Saxon and may have been dug as a boundary ditch...
, 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....
and Upper Heyford
Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire
Upper Heyford is a village and civil parish about northwest of Bicester in Oxfordshire, England.-Location:Upper Heyford is on the east bank of the River Cherwell. "Upper" distinguishes it from Lower Heyford which is about "lower", downstream along the Cherwell valley...
.
The Church of the Annunciation had a rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
that was built before 1638 and had fishponds well-stocked with carp
Carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...
by 1723. The poet William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
stayed there in 1820. Afterwards he wrote the sonnet
Sonnet
A sonnet is one of several forms of poetry that originate in Europe, mainly Provence and Italy. A sonnet commonly has 14 lines. The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song" or "little sound"...
A Parsonage in Oxfordshire, and in another sonnet called the house "this humble and beautiful parsonage". In 1809 this historic house was demolished and replaced with a new one designed by the Gothic Revival architect 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:...
.
Roman Catholic
John Stutsbury was recorded as a recusantRecusancy
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"...
in Souldern in 1577 and 1592. John Weedon and his wife were fined for recusancy in 1603 and the Weedons were said to have mortgaged land to a house of Benedictine
Order of Saint Benedict
The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...
nuns in Dunkirk. The Kilby family were recusants and were said to have mortgaged land to the Benedictine Douai Abbey
Douai Abbey
Douai Abbey is a Benedictine Abbey at Woolhampton, near Thatcham, in the English county of Berkshire, situated within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth. Monks from the monastery of St. Edmund's, in Douai, France, came to Woolhampton in 1903 when the community left France as a result of...
, which then was at Douai
Douai
-Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying...
in France. The Cox family were also Roman Catholics. The number of recusants recorded in Souldern was nine in 1643, 21 in 1676, 19 in 1690 and 25 in 1703. for the remainder of the 18th century the number fluctuated between 10 and 14.
The manor-house had a Roman Catholic chapel hidden in the attic. There seems to have been no resident priest, so Roman Catholics would have relied on visiting clergy to celebrate 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...
. In 1778 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...
passed the Papists Act
Papists Act 1778
The Papists Act 1778 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain and was the first Act for Catholic Relief. Later in 1778 It was also enacted by the Irish parliament....
(England's first Roman Catholic Relief Act
Roman Catholic Relief Bills
Roman Catholic Relief Bills were attempted steps of legislation in the United Kingdom towards Catholic Emancipation. They sought to remove the legal tests and disabilities imposed on British and Irish Catholics, brought about by Henry VIII's state Protestant Reformation, and numerous subsequent...
) and in 1781 Souldern's hidden chapel ceased to be used. The attic chapel was used again from 1852 until 1869 or 1870 when it was succeeded by Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
's chapel, which the Gothic Revival architect
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
Charles Hansom
Charles Francis Hansom
Charles Francis Hansom was a prominent Roman Catholic Victorian architect who primarily designed in the Gothic Revival style.-Career:...
created by adding a brick extension to convert the manor house's stone-built coach house
Carriage house
A carriage house, also called remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack.In Great Britain the farm building was called a Cart Shed...
. These developments helped to revive Souldern's Roman Catholic community which by the end of the 19th century comprised about nine families.
Wesleyan
In 1851 a stone-built Methodist Reform chapelMethodist Reform Church
The Methodist Reform Church was a Christian denomination that was formed in 2999 in Clapham, England. Their place of worship was called the Methodist Reform Chapel. It dissolved in 1857 when most of the members amalgamated with the Wesleyan Association to form the United Methodist Free Church,...
was completed in Souldern. In 1857 most Methodist Reform congregations merged with the Wesleyan Association
Wesleyan Association
The Wesleyan Association, or the Wesleyan Methodist Association, was a Christian denomination in the United Kingdom that was formed in 1836, largely by Protestant Methodists. Their place of worship was the Wesleyan Association Chapel. They sent several missionaries to Jamaica and Australia.Robert...
, but Souldern chapel was one of a minority that rejected the merger and together founded the Wesleyan Reform Union
Wesleyan Reform Union
The Wesleyan Reform Union is an Independent Methodist Connexion based in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1859 by the members of the Wesleyan Reform movement who did not join the United Methodist Free Churches-Statement of Faith:...
instead.
Economic & social history
Souldern Mill is on Ockley Brook about 0.5 miles (804.7 m) west of the village. The oldest known record of it is from 1279. By the latter part of the 17th century there were two mills, but the second mill did not survive. The mill was independent of Souldern Manor, and being on the county and parish boundary with AynhoAynho
Aynho is a village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, England, on the edge of the Cherwell valley about southeast of the north Oxfordshire town of Banbury and southwest of Brackley...
it may have served both villages. It may be the mill that was referred to as "Aynho Mill" in 1797. A watermill
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
between the two villages was still working in 1920.
The parish's 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...
of farming was ended at a relatively early date. Early in the 17th century the lord of the manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
wished to terminate all common land
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
rights but the Souldern's freeholders opposed him and the case went to court. The judge advised the parties to accept the arbitration of the Recorder
Recorder (judge)
A Recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales. It now refers to two quite different appointments. The ancient Recorderships of England and Wales now form part of a system of Honorary Recorderships which are filled by the most senior full-time circuit judges...
of Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
, Sir Thomas Chamberlayne
Thomas Chamberlayne
Sir Thomas Chamberlayne, SL was an English judge who served as Chief Justice of Chester during the reign of James I of England....
, who ruled that the parish be "measured, divided and inclosed
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...
". The parish was duly surveyed and in 1613 the division and awarding of land was ratified by the Court of Chancery
Court of Chancery
The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid the slow pace of change and possible harshness of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law, the administration of the estates of...
.
Before enclosure much of the parish was arable, but afterwards farmers converted the major part of their land to pasture and meadow, apparently to minimise the amount of tithes that they had to pay. Most of the conversion was by sowing sainfoin
Sainfoin
Onobrychis, the Sainfoins, are Eurasian perennial herbs of the legume family . Including doubtfully distinct species and provisionally accepted taxa, about 150 species are presently known...
, which by 1700 had doubled the value of the land. In 1842 two-thirds of the parish's farmland was pasture and only one-third was arable. The good pasture supported the development of cheese-making in the parish. Early in the 20th century up to 15 cheese-makers were employed at the manor house.
Souldern's economy was unusually diverse for a village. In the 17th century it included two tailors, a weaver and a mercer
Mercery
Mercery initially referred to silk, linen, and fustian textiles imported to England in the 12th century.The term later extended to goods made of these and the sellers of those goods.-Mercer:...
. At alater date there were three tailors and a milliner. At one time Souldern had three lace
Lace
Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
-making schools and in 1851 there were more than 30 lace-makers in the parish, but the trade declined towards the end of the 19th century.
Numerous houses in Souldern are built of local pale Jurassic limestone
Cotswold stone
Cotswold stone is a yellow oolitic limestone quarried in many places in the Cotswold Hills in the south midlands of England. When weathered, the colour of buildings made or faced with this stone is often described as 'honey' or 'golden'....
and date from 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 between the mid-16th and mid-17th centuries, some with stone-mullion
Mullion
A mullion is a vertical structural element which divides adjacent window units. The primary purpose of the mullion is as a structural support to an arch or lintel above the window opening. Its secondary purpose may be as a rigid support to the glazing of the window...
ed windows on the lower floor and attic dormer
Dormer
A dormer is a structural element of a building that protrudes from the plane of a sloping roof surface. Dormers are used, either in original construction or as later additions, to create usable space in the roof of a building by adding headroom and usually also by enabling addition of windows.Often...
s upstairs. The Court and The Hollies are two L-shaped houses from about 1600. The Barn and Greystones are rectangular in plan and probably early 17th century in age. The Hermitage was built in the 16th century, extended in the 18th century and its 17th century staircase is said to have come from The Court.
There have been two different properties called "Souldern House". The present one is a rectangular early 17th century house formerly called "Souldern Lodge". In its garden is a gazebo
Gazebo
A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal, that may be built, in parks, gardens, and spacious public areas. Gazebos are freestanding or attached to a garden wall, roofed, and open on all sides; they provide shade, shelter, ornamental features in a landscape, and a place to rest...
dated 1706. The previous "Souldern House" is now called the Manor House. Until the 1950s it had the date 1665 on a fireplace in one of its rooms. The house was altered in 1850, and again in 1955-56 for Vivian Smith, 1st Baron Bicester
Vivian Smith, 1st Baron Bicester
Vivian Hugh Smith, 1st Baron Bicester was a British merchant banker.Smith was the son of Hugh Colin Smith and Constance Maria Josepha , and grandson of John Abel Smith. He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge...
.
In 1641 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...
, 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...
ordered the parish to send carts and provisions to King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
at 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...
. In 1643 six regiments of 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...
troops from London were billeted in the parish.
Schools
Souldern's first purpose-built village school was paid for by William and James Minn and opened in 1816. In 1820 Sarah Westcar died, leaving £200 to be invested for the school to pay the salary of 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...
master. The School was affiliated to the National Society for Promoting Religious Education
National Society for Promoting Religious Education
The National Society for Promoting Religious Education, often just referred to as the National Society, is a Church of England body in England and Wales for the promotion of church schools and Christian education....
by 1847.
The school outgrew its premises, and in 1851 James Minn died leaving land for a new school building and cottages for two teachers. These were completed in 1856. After 1871 the school was enlarged again and a new house added for schoolmaster. In 1930 it was reorganised as a junior school, with senior pupils being sent to Fritwell. By 1951 it was 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...
and by 1954 the number of pupils had declined to 17. It has since closed.
St. Joseph's Roman Catholic school was built in 1879. It had one teacher, and the number of pupils declined from 18 in 1887 to eight in 1903. It was closed in 1904.
Transport history
The main road between Bicester and Banbury was made into a turnpikeToll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
by 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....
passed in 1791. The section through Souldern parish between Bicester and Aynho
Aynho
Aynho is a village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, England, on the edge of the Cherwell valley about southeast of the north Oxfordshire town of Banbury and southwest of Brackley...
ceased to be a turnpike in 1877. When Britain's principal roads were classified early in the 1920s, the stretch of the former turnpike between Bicester and Twyford, Oxfordshire was made part of the A41
A41 road
The A41 is a formerly-major trunk road in England that links London and Birkenhead, although it has now largely been superseded by motorways. It passes through or near various towns and cities including Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Aylesbury, Solihull, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton,...
. In 1990 the section 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...
between Wheatley, Oxfordshire
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...
and Hockley Heath
Hockley Heath
Hockley Heath is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, West Midlands, England. The parish is to the south of the West Midlands conurbation, from Birmingham from Solihull and from Stratford on Avon...
was built and the Bicester - Twyford stretch of the A41 was reclassified as part of the B4100. The M40 runs through the southwestern part of Souldern parish, passing within 1200 yards (1.1 km) of the village.
The Oxford Canal
Oxford Canal
The Oxford Canal is a narrow canal in central England linking Oxford with Coventry via Banbury and Rugby. It connects with the River Thames at Oxford, to the Grand Union Canal at the villages of Braunston and Napton-on-the-Hill, and to the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury Junction in Bedworth just...
was built through the western part of the parish in 1787. Souldern Wharf is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of the village.
Construction of the Oxford and Rugby Railway (ORR) between and began in 1845. By the time the line opened in 1850 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...
(GWR) had taken it over. In Souldern parish the ORR runs parallel with and just east of the canal. The railway is now part of the Cherwell Valley Line
Cherwell Valley Line
The Cherwell Valley Line is the railway line between Didcot and Banbury via Oxford. It links the Great Western Main Line and the south to the Chiltern Main Line and the Midlands...
.
In 1910 the GWR completed a new main line linking Ashendon Junction
Ashendon Junction
Ashendon Junction in Buckinghamshire, England, was a major mainline railway junction where, from July 1910, the Great Western Railway's London-Birmingham direct route diverged from the Great Central Railway's main London-Sheffield route....
and Aynho Junction to shorten the high-speed route between its termini at and . It passes through Souldern parish just east of the ORR, crossing two streams on viaducts. The cut-off line leaves the Cherwell valley via the 1155 yards (1,056.1 m) long Ardley Tunnel, the north portal of which is in the parish. The railway is now part of the Chiltern Main Line
Chiltern Main Line
The Chiltern Main Line is an inter-urban, regional and commuter railway, part of the British railway system. It links London and Birmingham on a 112-mile route via the towns of High Wycombe, Banbury, and Leamington Spa...
.
Amenities
In 1735 Souldern had one licenced 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...
. By 1784 there were two: the Bull's Head and The Fox, and by the 1850s these had been joined by The Crown. By 1939 the only survivor was The Fox, which now trades as the Fox Inn.
Souldern Football Club plays in the Banbury District and Lord Jersey FA
Banbury District and Lord Jersey FA
The Banbury District and Lord Jersey FA is a football competition based in Oxfordshire, England. The league has a total of four divisions, of which the highest, the Premier Division, sits at level 13 of the English football league system and is a feeder to the Oxfordshire Senior Football League.-...
. In 1925 Souldern FC beat Kirtlington
Kirtlington
Kirtlington is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about west of Bicester.-Archaeology:The Portway is a pre-Roman road running parallel with the River Cherwell on high ground about east of the river. It bisects Kirtlington parish and passes through the village. A short stretch of it is now...
FC 1-0 to win the Jersey Cup. The Souldern team included four members of one local family, the Westburys, and it was Bob Westbury who scored the only goal of the match. In 1982 Souldern FC reached the final again but lost 3-1 to Charlton
Charlton-on-Otmoor
Charlton-on-Otmoor is a village and civil parish about south of Bicester in Oxfordshire, England. The village is close to the River Ray on the northern edge of Otmoor.-Church of England:Charlton had a parish church by the 11th century...
FC.
Notable people
Another member of Souldern's winning 1925 football team was the future LabourLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician F.J. Wise
Frederick Wise, 1st Baron Wise
Frederick John Wise, 1st Baron Wise was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was Member of Parliament for King's Lynn from 1945 to 1951....
(1887-1968). Wise had entered politics by 1931 and was elected MP for King's Lynn
King's Lynn (UK Parliament constituency)
King's Lynn was a constituency in Norfolk, known as Lynn or Bishop's Lynn prior to 1537, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1885, and one member thereafter. Until 1918 it was a parliamentary borough, after which the name...
in 1945. Wise lost his seat in the 1951 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1951
The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...
. He was then ennobled in the 1951 Resignation Honours
1951 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours
The 1951 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours were officially announced in a supplement to the London Gazette of 27 November 1951, published on 30 November 1951, to mark the resignation of Prime Minister Clement Attlee.-Baron:*David Kirkwood, MP...
as 1st Baron Wise of King's Lynn
King's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
.