miles south-west of Banbury. The village stands on the red rock of the
middle Lias which bears a capping of clay on the high lands: the lower
levels are of the usual marls. Field ways from Banbury run from the end of
West Bar, and by a less direct but pretty route across the farm field on
the Oxford Road. The buildings of All Saint's School, founded about half a
century since, are at the entrance of the village. The school has earned
good place by the excellence of its tuition. The brook cutting through the
town from west to east and the many side streets and jetways add a
pleasant appearance to the many good homesteads and gardens.
BLOXHAM CHURCH (ST. MARY'S) is one of the most perfect specimens of Gothic
architecture in the county of Oxford. Part of the materials of the
chancel, the mouldings, walls, and buttresses are Norman, though the
church is mainly of the 14th century, about which time it was re-built.
The west doorway is surmounted by figures of the apostles, with a canopied
representation of the Saviour at the apex; on the left and right are
sculptured representations also of the rising of the dead and the
punishment of the lost. The spire, which is 195 feet high, presents a
particularly graceful outline. The square tower is crowned by an octagon
middle stage, rising above which is a balcony, projected on corbels from
the face of the tower. Within the balcony the spire springs, and from the
four angles of the square tower stage slender turrets, terminating in
spirets, are carried up through the middle stage to above the springing of
the spire. The geometric tracery of the windows of the west front, and the
grotesque cornice carvings on the north side, are exceedingly good work.
The decorated oak chancel screen is again a noticeable feature, and its
restoration has brought to light the remains of paintings on its lower
panels. There are also remains of a mural painting of St. Christopher on
the north wall, and of others on the wall above the rood loft. There are
large perpendicular windows in the Milcombe chapelry, on the south side of
the church, and in its north aisle is a beautiful decorated column, having
an enriched capital, with sculptures of mailed figures and heads of
saints. A good Gothic font, the carved work of the hoods of the north and
south doorways, and a handsome modern reredos and other portions of the
chancel can here be mentioned only.
KING'S SUTTON.--Altitudes: 385-282; population, 1037; 5 miles south-east
of Banbury. It is built on the red rock and marls of the Middle Lias. The
old life is represented in the handsome manor house, by tradition also
connected with the wanderings of King Charles I., and a good house on the
south side of the green said to have been a prebendary manor. The town was
in the eighteenth century, with the adjoining village of Astrop, of resort
for the use of its mineral waters. The chalybeate spring (St. Rumbald's
well) is in Sir Wm. Brown's park at Astrop. The well basin and the carved
stone hood stand as in old time together with the Well House. The Well
House, by the work of the doorway and windows, would appear to be of
earlier date than the well hood, but the spring is at present conveyed
from its source to a replica of the well head by the road side. The
associated buildings have long since disappeared, but the pleasant walk up
the old road past the Well Close and the Long Spinney remain. Near the
railway station at King's Sutton is the other mineral spring charged with
sulphate of soda, yet in common use by the people of the homesteads near.
Celia Fiennes in her diary, "Through England on a side saddle," writes of
her journey: "Thence I went to Astrop where is a Steele water much
ffrequented by y{e} Gentry, it has some mixture of Allum so is not so
strong as Tunbridge. There is a ffine Gravell Walke that is between 2
high cutt hedges where is a Roome for the Musick and a Roome for y{e}
Company besides y{e} Private Walkes. The well runnes very quick, they are
not curious in keeping it, neither is there any bason for the spring to
run out off, only a dirty well full of moss's which is all changed yellow
by the water. There are Lodgings about for y{e} Company at a little place
called Sutton." Halliwell gives the following rhyme in his nursery series:
"King's Sutton is a pretty town,
And lies all in a valley:
There is a pretty ring of bells,
Besides a bowling-alley:
Wine and liquor in good store,
Pretty maidens plenty:
Can a man desire more?
There aint such a town in twenty."
[Illustration: KING'S SUTTON CHURCH.]
KING'S SUTTON CHURCH is dedicated to St. Peter. The chancel is principally
Norman work, and has along each side a continuous stone bench under an
arcade, exhibiting the characteristic zigzag moulding. The piers and
arches on the south side of the nave are also Norman; those on the north
side are early English. The rood loft turret and staircase remain in the
south abutment of the chancel arch. The appearance of the tower from the
north and south-west is very beautiful. Crocketed pinnacles, connected by
flying buttresses with the face of the spire, are arranged around the
junction of the spire and tower, and the spire itself is boldly crocketed
from base to apex. It is of the early perpendicular period. The deeply
recessed doorway of the western entrance may be of somewhat later date,
and contains the original west door. Separating the chancel from the nave
is a beautiful oak screen, which was designed by Sir Gilbert Scott.
A well-known local rhyme, referring to the spires of the three famous
churches of the neighbourhood, says:--
Bloxham for length,
Adderbury for strength,
And King's Sutton for beauty.
A hill side coppice bearing the name of Rosamunds Bower and the Moate
House are within easy walking distance. The pathway near the bog (mineral)
spring is the shorter and pleasanter route to Banbury, leading near to the
calcining furnaces and ironstone quarries of the Astrop Ironstone Company.
COMPTON WYNYATES, the residence of The Marquis of Northampton, is distant
about nine miles to the south-west of Banbury, and is a beautiful example
of a brick castellated house of Tudor date. It stands in a prettily
wooded hollow at the foot of the hills which skirt the south-east border
of Warwickshire. The building surrounds a quadrangle, and was formerly
encircled by a moat, which has now been filled in on the west, south, and
east sides; its erection began about 1519. The woodwork of the gables and
the doorway of the entrance front, with the shields bearing the Tudor
roses and the emblems of Castile and Arragon, are good instances of the
work of the time. On the right of the quadrangle is the rich bay window of
the hall, and in the hall itself is a finely carved wood screen, coeval
with the building. The tower, and particularly the highly ornamented brick
chimneys, are worth detailed attention. Adjoining the tower is the chapel,
the window of which looks out upon the lawn; a secret passage and Roman
Catholic chapel also testify to the troubled transition times of the early
households. There is but space to note two incidents in the long history
of the house,--the visit of King Henry VIII., and in later years the
fierce little fight when the place, garrisoned by the Puritan troops, was
attacked by Sir Charles and Sir Wm. Compton with a party of Royalists from
Banbury. The Comptons failed to regain their home.
[Illustration: COMPTON WYNYATES, HALL WINDOW.]
HORLEY.--Altitudes, 500-400; population, 247; is 4 miles north-west of
Banbury, and may be reached by a pleasant footpath passing over Ruscot
Hill and through Drayton fields. The village stands at the neck dividing
two of the high vales of North Oxon, the Lias ironstone covering all the
high lands thereabouts. St. Ethelreda's Church, plain, square towered and
full of good old Early English work, is in mid village; the two pointed
arches between chancel and nave, the old glass of the north aisle and the
great mural painting of Saint Christopher, the Christ bearer, with the
legend:
"What are thou; and art so yying
Bar I never so heavy a thinge."
"Yey, I be hevy, no wunther nys
For I am the Kynge of blys."
All these, and the organ (1765), are worth the passing hour of the
wayfarer. Many of the houses, for instance that of Mr. B. Hirons, are of
good proportion and build. At the north-west end of the village, Clump
Lane leads to some beautifully terraced fields known as Steps Meadow and
Hadsham Hollow, and the footway along the high bank to the near village of
Hornton is also one of the pleasant ways of the countryside. At the Yellow
Well beyond the Horley House a dole of bread was wont to be made on St.
Thomas's day.
RADWAY.--Altitude, 400; population, 216; 9 miles north-west of Banbury; is
pleasantly reached by the pathway below the Tower at Ratley Grange. Radway
Grange by alteration about 1735 lost most of its good features as a
building--it stands on the slopes of its park land at the foot of the
hill. The farm pool runs close to the road side, and a pleasant prospect
of the hill side is got through its foliage. The church is more noticeable
for its enclosure of the Kingsmill monument, one of the burials of the
Edge Hill fight, than for its architectural style. The wide openings of
the village and the high wooded lanes of the Edge are diversified with
many a pleasant path and resting place.
[Illustration: COMPTON WYNYATES, ANGLE AND CHIMNEYS.]
WARMINGTON.--Altitudes: high town, 600; low town, 409; population, 269.
The village is within the Warwickshire border, 5-1/2 miles to the north of
Banbury, and is built on the slopes of a continuation of the Edge Hill
escarpment. From the south side it is hidden from view by the woods of
Deddington Hill. The church stands on a bold mass of Lias rock jutting
into the roadway, and with the old homesteads surrounding the green and
pool and the high banks clothed with wood and orchard, have given
Warmington a high reputation for beauty even amongst the many beautiful
villages near it. St. Nicholas' Church is known to antiquarians more by
the plain solidity of its work than by any richness of ornamentation. It
has heavy Norman and early English piers, and sedilia and piscina in the
chancel with Norman enrichment. The priest's house, one of the best of the
countryside, is on the north side. It has done service as vestry also, and
in the window embrasure in the upper room is a stone altar table. There is
the ancient stone fireplace also, and a window from which the altar could
be watched. The headstone in the churchyard to Captain Gourdin stands by
the path to the Banbury road. The Manor House facing the pool dates from
the later days of Henry VIII.'s reign. Though now in use as two homes, its
hall and oak stairway retain their old style. Of the usual type with
projecting wings and recessed entrance, it looks over the pool and wide
green to the Dassett hills in front. A pathway from the south-west corner
of the churchyard passes through the woods of Deddington Hill and commands
good views of the dale.
RATLEY.--Altitudes, high town, 680; low town, 593; 8 miles north-west of
Banbury. At the point of the long vale, beginning a little south of Ratley
Grange, is Ratley, built in terraces on the hill slope. The red rock of
the Lias covers the brow and high slope; the low town is on the yellow
marls. If it were not for Warmington, it might be said to be the prettiest
village in the district. Descending springs make at their several
outbursts the Bachelor's Trough and the Gogswell. The temperature of the
Bachelor's Trough would seem to be low enough for the humane purposes of
past days. The Church of St. Peter ad Vincula at the hill foot, with a
plain and square tower, bears good appearance from the height and beauty
of the windows (15th century) and the spacious porch of the north side. In
the churchyard on the same side is a cross with steps, plinth and head in
far better preservation than others of the countryside. A curious hummock
at the south-west end of the village is known as the Castle Mound, but it
is probably but a terraced bank naturally formed. Near by is the old manor
house, in bad repair. Beautiful field-ways bear to Arlescot, Warmington,
Hornton, and Horley. The Arlescot path is known as the Tryst-path.
WORMLEIGHTON.--Altitude, 431; population, 191. The village, a few houses
between the mansion and the highway, is on the ridge of the water parting
between the Cherwell and the Avon. The three shire stone is near by.
Hidden by trees from the main road the older settlement is not seen until
quite near, where ampler width of roadway brings tower, house and church
into view. The gateway tower, as the dated shields (1613) tell, is of
later building than the house. It is a plain square tower with connected
side buildings all of the local (Hornton) stone. The archway of the tower
is of good proportions, bearing on the west and south fronts in stone
entablature shields and coats of arms of the Spencers, the latter with the
motto "Dieu defende droit." Inside the archway are warder's doors on
either side, though the approach to the turret is now by an adjoining
building. The ancient turret clock tells time only by its bell.
The manor was bought by John Spencer, Esq., of Sir Wm. Cope, of Hanwell,
in Henry VII.'s days, and the house was built then. It is of the usual
flat red brick of the time, with stone quoins; such as we see of it on the
north and east sides, of handsome proportions and style, and embattled. It
was entered in the inquisition of the time as having sixty persons in
residence, and was then of ampler state and extent. The Tudor brickwork,
though not so elaborated as Compton Wynyates, makes, with that of Hanwell
Castle, good local study. On the south side, a postern leads to the hall,
and of the old front the brickwork and crenellations of the angle remain.
The north entrance, though with no porch now, is at once seen to be the
main way by the proportions of the lobby and its panelled ceiling. On the
right and the left in the lobby are doorways, the one bearing corner
shields and the other triple shields of the house (fret d'or and escallops
of the field).[i] The left doorway opens to the hall, a fine plain room
with large oriel window with bold stone mullions. Above is the star
chamber: the gilt stars remain here and there on the timber work. It is of
like size to the hall, with similar east windows and west side windows,
nearly all bricked up, and a good fireplace with corner shields. It is
coloured to resemble Purbeck marble. Leads and battlements above with
covered niches show the semi-defensive house type of Tudor time. It is
said to have been garrisoned by the Parliamentarians on the evening of the
Edge Hill fight, and that the garrison was captured or driven out by
Prince Rupert. But as to the burning of the house, it is not clear whether
it was then partly destroyed or late in the year after. The Lord Spencer,
a King's man, though at first Parliamentarian, had little liking for Court
ways, and lost his life at the battle of Newbury. Whether the house at
Watergall, two miles to the North-west, of which the foundations only
remain, was of the Spencer holding, and of its fate there is no evidence.
The escallops of the field of the Spencer arms probably find their origin
in the fossil escallops of the Wormleighton stone.
ST. PETER'S CHURCH near by, though plain in all its external decoration,
retains in the interior some work typical of the district. The enamelled
tiles with figures and geometric ornament, the panelling of the chancel
and the carved grotesques of the bench ends are good early work. The
handsome chancel screen removed from the hall, though large for its place,
is of skilled later workmanship; especially rich are the spandrils and
ornament on the inner side of the screen. On the west chancel wall is a
mural tablet to Robert E. Spencer, of date 1610, and an empty tomb is in
an inlet in the north wall of the aisle. Arms of the Spencer family are on
the wall above the belfry arch. A south doorway in the tower and the
carved heads of the tower moulding are worth notice.
SHUTFORD.--Altitudes: high level, 485; low level, 400; population, 283; is
on the inner fringe of hills of the west Oxfordshire border. It rests
mainly on the red rock of the Middle Lias, there as much as 20 to 25 feet
thick. Though mainly of plain agricultural homesteads, it supports a small
community of plush weavers who settled there many generations since, and
who weave a fabric of good repute. The Manor House at the east entrance to
the village is by its height a conspicuous landmark. In the excellence and
strength of its masonry it stands amongst the best of our good houses. On
the south front are porch and square-headed doorway with plain good
moulding and a smaller (postern) door of similar type opening to one of
the south-west rooms. The house appears to be of the style of Broughton,
but of later date, and it is part of the Castle estate. It is not
crenellated, but has similar stone gabling and somewhat smaller windows.
The north front, with projecting wing and entrance, presents a solid wall
of stone covered with fine flint concrete. In its upper storey an angled
fire place and room point to the place of a recluse. The long room of the
upper storey is large enough for the "the stowering of a troop"--if time
allowed the quartering of King Charles or Oliver Cromwell in a new place a
legend might be found--it must suffice to know that it was probably the
home of the famous Puritan soldier Nathaniel Fiennes. The hall, well
lighted and with good panelling, is at the north-east of the building, the
further extent of the house on the west side of the court yard is shown by
the old foundation. The kitchen yet keeps its recessed fireplace of ample
space. In the south room there is a chimney piece of Hornton stone with
lozenge-shaped ornament, and the floor stone of the same kind is unusually
good. The Diary of Celia Fiennes, in the time of William and Mary,
mentions "a neate little house and gardens" at Shuttford.
ST. MARTIN'S CHURCH, in close touch with the Manor, is of plain early
English work, with a buttressed and pinnacled tower of small proportions.
The nave is on the south side with north chapelry or Lady aisle, heavy
Norman pillars and plain chancel screen. A garden facing the west front
has a stone sun-dial, its plinth covered with ivy, and near by a low stone
building known as the Monastery, said to have been a foundation of the
Knights of St. John. The stonework of the doorway, windows, and stone
bench in the interior are parts of the early work of the house.
A List of Books and Pamphlets relating to Edge Hill and the Battle.
A Nalson, J.--Imp. Coll. of Great Affairs of State. London, 1633.
B Clarendon History of Great Rebellion, pp. 379-384. Oxford, 1842.
C Dugdale.--A Short View of the late Troubles of England. Oxford, 1641.
D Carte.--Original Letters and Papers, 1641-1660. London, 1739.
E Rushworth, J.--Historical Collections. London, 1692.
F Warburton.--Miscellanies.
G May, T.--History of the Parliament of England. Oxford, 1854.
H Gibson's Camden's Britannia. Vol. II. London, 1772.
I Memoirs of Denzil. Lord Holles, p. 17. London, 1699.
J Lee, W.--A Brief Chronicle of All the Chief Actions ... from 1640-1661.
London, 1662.
K Memoirs of Edmund Ludlow, Esquire. Vol. I. Vivay, Switzerland, 1698.
L Wood, A.--Athenae Oxonensis.
M Heath, J.--Brief Chronicle of Late Intestine War, pp 66-69. London,
1663.
N Wood, A.--Fasti Oxoniensis. London, 1815.
O England's Worthies. London, 1819.
P Dugdale, W.--The Antiquities of Warwickshire. p. 392. 1765.
Q Whitlock, B.--Memorials of English Affairs. Oxford, 1853.
R Warwick, Sir P.--Memoirs of Charles I., pp. 282-231. London, 1701.
S Sylvester, M.--Reliquae Baxterianae. Pt. 1, p. 43. London, 1696.
T Viccars' God in the Mount. London, 1644.
U Viccars' Parliamentary Chronicle, p. 198.
V Perfect Diurnal.
W Whyte Melville--Crisis of the Civil War.
X Manley's Itir Carolinum (Gutch's Collecteana).
PA A Relation of the Battaile lately fought between Keynton and Edge-hill
by His Majesties Army and that of the Rebels. Oxford, 1642.
PB A Most true and Exact Relation of both the Battels fought by his
Excellency and his Forces against the Bloudy Cavalliers, by N. Fiennes.
London, 1642.
PC A More True and Exacter Relation of the Battaile of Keynton, &c., by
T. C., one of the Chaplains of the Army. London, 1642.
PD A True Relation of a Great and Happy Victory ... Earl of Essex over
King's Army, &c. London, 1642.
PE A Most True Relation of the present state of H.M. Army also ... the
Battaile at Keynton, by J. E. London, 1642.
PF Three Speeches made by the King's Most Excellent Majestie ... before
battel at Keynton. London, N.D.
PG A Letter sent from a Worthy Divine to ... Lord Mayor of London, being a
true Relation of the Battaile fought between his Majestie and His
Excellencie the Earl of Essex. London, 1642.
PH An Exact and True Relation of the Dangerous and Bloody Fight ... sent
in a letter to John Pym, Esquire ... by Denzell, Holles, Ph. Stapleton,
Tho. Ballard, William Balfore, J. Meldrum, Charles Pym. London, 1642.
PI Exceeding Joyfull Newes from Lord Saye. &c., by N. Fiennes. London,
1612.
PJ The Two Speeches of the Lord Wharton, spoken in the Guild Hall, Oct.
27th, 1642, &c. London, 1642.
PK A copy of a Letter sent from a Gentlemen of quality dwelling in Banbury
to Mr. Jennings, of Fan Church Streete, &c. London, 1642.
PL Many Remarkable Passages ... concerning the Battell on Sunday, the 23rd
of October, 1642, with fearful observations upon the Dead Corpses, &c., by
T. Talbott. London, 1642.
PM A Declaration of the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament
concerning the late Valorous and Acceptable Service of his Excellency
Robert, Earle of Essex. London, 1642.
PN Special Newes from the Army at Warwicke since the Fight; sent from a
Minister of good note to an Alderman, &c. London, 1642.
PO Speciall and Remarkable Passages informed to both Houses. 1642.
PQ His Majestie's Declaration to all his Loving Subjects after his late
Victory against the Rebels on Sunday, 23rd of October (with a Relation of
the Battell). Oxford, 1642.
PR A Declaration of the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament in
answer to his Majestie's Declaration, &c. London, 1642.
PS The Last True intelligence from Warwick, being a certain Relation of
the death of the Earle of Lindsey. London.
PT Prince Rupert, his Declaration. Oxford, 1642.
PU "The Parliament's Vindication in answer to Prince Rupert's
Declaration," by S. W., Esquire (with Prince Rupert's Declaration).
London, 1642.
PV His Majestie's Declaration and Manifestation to all his Souldiers ...
at Southam, Oct. 21. London, 1642.
PX Eight Speeches spoken in Guild-Hall by Lord Wharton, Master Strode, &c.
London, 1642.
PY Three Speeches spoken in Guild-Hall concerning His Majestie's refusal
of a Treaty of Peace. London, 1642.
PZ A Collection of Speciall Passages ... from Monday, Oct. 17, till
Tuesday, Novemb. 1, 1642. London, 1642.
AP A Perfect Declaration of the Barbarous and Cruel practices committed
by Prince Robert, the Cavalliers, &c., by R. Andrewes, Chyrurgion. London,
1642.
BP Caleb's Integrity, a Sermon by Richard Vines. London, 1642.
CP The Loyall Convert (According to the Oxford Copy), by W. Bridges.
London, 1642.
DP A Dialogue or rather a Parley between Prince Rupert's Dogge, whose name
is Puddle, and Tobie's Dog, whose name is Pepper. London, 1642.
EP Prince Rupert, his Reply to a Pamphlet entitled "The Parliament's
Vindication," &c. 1642.
FP A True Copy of a Letter to the Lord Maior of London, from a Friend in
the Army, after the Battel of Kineton, 1642.
GP A True Relation of the Fight betwixt his Majestie's Souldiers, and his
Excellence the Earle of Essex, his Forces, on the 24th of Oct., 1642.
HP Letter from a Worthy Divine (Byfield) to the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor
... fr. Warwick Castle, 24th Dec. 1642, at 2 o'clock in the morning.
IP Relation of the great Battle fought between the King's Army and the
Earle of Essex, near Kineton.
KP List of Army raised under Earle of Essex, with names of the severall
Officers. 1642.
LP King's Instructions to his Commissioners. 1642.
MP Speech (Lord Broke) at the Election of the Captains and Commanders at
Warwick Castle. 1642.
NP Most True Relation of the Present State of His Majestie's Army, &c., by
Miles Corbet. 1642.
a Nugent--Memorials of John Hampden. London, 1831.