Caversfield
Encyclopedia
Caversfield is a village and civil parish about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of the centre of Bicester
. In 1844 Caversfield became part of Oxfordshire
, but until then it was always an exclave
of Buckinghamshire
entirely surrounded by Oxfordshire.
road between Alchester and Towcester
, now the A4421, forms the eastern boundary of the parish.
Caversfield's toponym
has evolved from Cavrefelle in the 11th century through Kaueresfuld, Chauresfeld, Caffresfeld, Caueresfeud and Kaveresfeld (12th-13th centuries), and by the 18th century it was Catesfield.
Before the Norman Conquest of England
the manor
belonged to one Edward, who was a man of Tostig Godwinson
, Earl of Northumbria
. The Domesday Book
records that in 1086 Caversfield was one of the manors owned by William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey
. William's descendants retained Caversfield until the beginning of the 14th century.
By 1317 Caversfield belonged to Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
, and when the Earl died in 1324 it passed to his niece Joan. She was the wife of David II Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl
, who although Scottish had become a peer of England
after King Robert the Bruce
deposed and exiled him for rebellion. Caversfield remained with the Earl of Atholl's descendants until 1375, when it passed to the heirs of a different branch of the de Warenne family.
By the 12th century the Gargate family held the feudal
tenancy of Caversfield. In 1236 Muriel de Ros and Isabel de Munbury, the daughters of Hugh Gargate, endowed the tenancy of half of the manor to the Augustinian
Priory
at Bicester. The priory retained this holding until the Dissolution of the Monasteries
after 1536.
In the 13th century the Gargate family owned a watermill, a windmill and a house where the manorial court was held. The watermill was presumably on the small River Bure which rises at Bainton, flows south through Caversfield and Bicester and around Graven Hill, and joins the River Ray
at Merton
. No trace of either mill is known to survive, and the original manor house
has gone.
of Saint Laurence is the Saxon
ground stage of the bell tower
, probably from the 10th century. The nave
and chancel
were rebuilt late in the 12th century. Early in the 13th century the chancel was remodelled again in the Early English Gothic style with two lancet window
s at its east end, and the bell-stage of the tower was either added or rebuilt. The small north and south aisles were added around the same time. Each aisle is linked to the nave by an arcade
of two bays
, in which the style of the piers
is of about AD 1180 but the Early English Gothic style of the arches is of about 1230. The south walls of the church include a lancet window, a Decorated Gothic window from early in the 14th century and a Perpendicular Gothic window from late in the 15th century.
In the 18th century the north and south aisles of St. Laurence church were demolished and the two arcades blocked up. In 1874 the Gothic Revival architect
Henry Woodyer restored the chancel, rebuilt the aisles and added a vestry
to the east of the north aisle.
Until the 20th century the tower had three bells, including a treble bell that was cast in about 1218 for Hugh and Sibilla Gargate and is believed to be the oldest inscribed bell in England. In the 20th century this bell was removed from the tower and mounted as an historic exhibit inside the church. The tower now has a ring
of five bells. John Taylor & Co of Loughborough
cast the tenor bell in 1874 and the fourth bell in 1876. Mears & Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
cast the third bell in 1928 and new treble and second bells in 1949.
St. Laurence's parish is now part of the benefice of Bicester with Caversfield.
connected with RAF Bicester, dating from before and during the Second World War
. This was a training station for Bomber Command
and a number of the burials are of airmen killed in training accidents. 19 are RAF
airmen, including one Australian and one Canadian serving in the RAF. Four are RCAF
airmen, one is from the RNZAF
and one is a soldier from the Royal Artillery
.
until 1780, when an Act of Parliament
enabled the enclosure
of the common land
of the parish.
Caversfield is on the old main road between Bicester and Banbury
via Aynho
. In 1791 an Act of Parliament made both the Bicester–Aynho road and the Bicester–Finmere
stretch of the old Roman road into turnpikes
. The two roads ceased to be turnpikes in 1877. In the 1920's the Bicester–Banbury road was classified as part of the A41
and the Bicester–Finmere road was part of the A421
. After the M40 motorway
was completed in 1990, the Bicester–Banbury road was downgraded to B4100 and the Bicester–Finmere road was reclassified A4421.
In the 19th century Caversfield's status as an exclave of Buckinghamshire was brought to an end. The Reform Act 1832
removed the parish from the Buckingham parliamentary constituency, and in 1839 two further Acts placed exclaves such as Caversfield under their surrounding counties' magistrates and county constabularies
. Finally the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 transferred Caversfield to Oxfordshire for all remaining purposes.
In 1842–45 the architect C.R. Cockerell
built Caversfield House on the site of the former manor house. In 1872–75 the architect William Wilkinson
built the neo-Tudor style Brashfield House in the east of the parish by the Roman Road.
Until the 20th century Caversfield was a manor and parish with no village and a very small population. However, in 1911 Bicester Airfield
was created just east of the Roman road in Launton
parish. At the end of the First World War
the airfield became RAF
Bicester and subsequently housing for RAF personnel was built in Skimmingdish Lane in the eastern part of Caversfield parish. RAF operations ceased in 2004, and the Skimmingdish Lane accommodation is now used by the Defence Logistics Organisation
. The parish also now includes accommodation for USAFE
personnel serving at the RAF Croughton
communications base in Northamptonshire
about 5 miles (8 km) north of Caversfield.
Late in the 20th century Bicester has been greatly expanded with new housing. Parts of the Bure Park housing estate, although contiguous with Bicester, are in Caversfield civil parish.
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...
. In 1844 Caversfield became part of Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, but until then it was always an exclave
Enclave and exclave
In political geography, an enclave is a territory whose geographical boundaries lie entirely within the boundaries of another territory.An exclave, on the other hand, is a territory legally or politically attached to another territory with which it is not physically contiguous.These are two...
of Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
entirely surrounded by Oxfordshire.
Early history
The ancient RomanRoman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
road between Alchester and Towcester
Lactodurum
Lactodurum was a town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is known as Towcester, located in the English county of Northamptonshire.Towcester lays claim to being the oldest town in Northamptonshire and possibly, because of the antiquity of recent Iron Age finds in the town, to be one of the...
, now the A4421, forms the eastern boundary of the parish.
Caversfield'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...
has evolved from Cavrefelle in the 11th century through Kaueresfuld, Chauresfeld, Caffresfeld, Caueresfeud and Kaveresfeld (12th-13th centuries), and by the 18th century it was Catesfield.
Before the Norman Conquest of England
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
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...
belonged to one Edward, who was a man of Tostig Godwinson
Tostig Godwinson
Tostig Godwinson was an Anglo-Saxon Earl of Northumbria and brother of King Harold Godwinson, the last crowned english King of England.-Early life:...
, Earl of Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
. The Domesday Book
Domesday 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...
records that in 1086 Caversfield was one of the manors owned by William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey
William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey
William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, Seigneur de Varennes is one of the very few proven Companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066...
. William's descendants retained Caversfield until the beginning of the 14th century.
By 1317 Caversfield belonged to Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke was a Franco-English nobleman. Though primarily active in England, he also had strong connections with the French royal house. One of the wealthiest and most powerful men of his age, he was a central player in the conflicts between Edward II of England and...
, and when the Earl died in 1324 it passed to his niece Joan. She was the wife of David II Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl
David II Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl
Sir David II Strathbogie was Earl of Atholl, Constable of Scotland, and Chief Warden of Northumberland.The eldest son and heir of John Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl by his wife Marjory daughter of Donald, 10th Earl of Mar, Sir David was a prisoner in England in 1300...
, who although Scottish had become a peer of England
Peerage of England
The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain....
after King Robert the Bruce
Robert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
deposed and exiled him for rebellion. Caversfield remained with the Earl of Atholl's descendants until 1375, when it passed to the heirs of a different branch of the de Warenne family.
By the 12th century the Gargate family held the feudal
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
tenancy of Caversfield. In 1236 Muriel de Ros and Isabel de Munbury, the daughters of Hugh Gargate, endowed the tenancy of half of the manor to the Augustinian
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
Priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
at Bicester. The priory retained this holding 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...
after 1536.
In the 13th century the Gargate family owned a watermill, a windmill and a house where the manorial court was held. The watermill was presumably on the small River Bure which rises at Bainton, flows south through Caversfield and Bicester and around Graven Hill, and joins the River Ray
River Ray
The River Ray is a river in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, England. It rises at Quainton Hill and flows west through a flat countryside for around 25 km or 15 miles. It passes the village of Ambrosden and then flows through Otmoor...
at Merton
Merton, Oxfordshire
Merton is a village and civil parish near the River Ray, about south of Bicester in Oxfordshire, England.-Archaeology:In 1978 a Middle Bronze Age spearhead was found at West End Farm on the northwestern side of the village.-Manor:...
. No trace of either mill is known to survive, and the original manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
has gone.
Parish church
The oldest part of the small 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 Saint Laurence is the Saxon
Anglo-Saxon architecture
Anglo-Saxon architecture was a period in the history of architecture in England, and parts of Wales, from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with thatch for roofing...
ground stage of the bell 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...
, probably from the 10th century. The nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and 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...
were rebuilt late in the 12th century. Early in the 13th century the chancel was remodelled again in the Early English Gothic style with two lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
s at its east end, and the bell-stage of the tower was either added or rebuilt. The small north and south aisles were added around the same time. Each aisle is linked to the nave by an arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
of two bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
, in which the style of the piers
Pier (architecture)
In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...
is of about AD 1180 but the Early English Gothic style of the arches is of about 1230. The south walls of the church include a lancet window, a Decorated Gothic window from early in the 14th century and a Perpendicular Gothic window from late in the 15th century.
In the 18th century the north and south aisles of St. Laurence church were demolished and the two arcades blocked up. In 1874 the Gothic Revival architect
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
Henry Woodyer restored the chancel, rebuilt the aisles and added a vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
to the east of the north aisle.
Until the 20th century the tower had three bells, including a treble bell that was cast in about 1218 for Hugh and Sibilla Gargate and is believed to be the oldest inscribed bell in England. In the 20th century this bell was removed from the tower and mounted as an historic exhibit inside the church. The tower now 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 five bells. John Taylor & Co of Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
cast the tenor bell in 1874 and the fourth bell in 1876. Mears & Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
Whitechapel Bell Foundry
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is a bell foundry in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The foundry is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain...
cast the third bell in 1928 and new treble and second bells in 1949.
St. Laurence's parish is now part of the benefice of Bicester with Caversfield.
Commonwealth War Graves
St Lawrence's parish churchyard includes 25 Commonwealth War GravesCommonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
connected with RAF Bicester, dating from before and during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. This was a training station for Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
and a number of the burials are of airmen killed in training accidents. 19 are RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
airmen, including one Australian and one Canadian serving in the RAF. Four are RCAF
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
airmen, one is from the RNZAF
Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
and one is a soldier from the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
.
Economic and social history
Caversfield was farmed on the open field systemOpen field system
The open field system was the prevalent agricultural system in much of Europe from the Middle Ages to as recently as the 20th century in some places, particularly Russia and Iran. Under this system, each manor or village had several very large fields, farmed in strips by individual families...
until 1780, when 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....
enabled the enclosure
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...
of the 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...
of the parish.
Caversfield is on the old main road between Bicester and 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...
via 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...
. In 1791 an Act of Parliament made both the Bicester–Aynho road and the Bicester–Finmere
Finmere
Finmere is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, south of the River Great Ouse. It is almost west of Buckingham in Buckinghamshire and just over east of Brackley in Northamptonshire.-Archaeology:...
stretch of the old Roman road into turnpikes
Toll 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...
. The two roads ceased to be turnpikes in 1877. In the 1920's the Bicester–Banbury road was classified as 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,...
and the Bicester–Finmere road was part of the A421
A421 road
The A421 is an important road for east/west journeys across England. Together with the A428, the A43 and A34, it forms the route from Cambridge through Milton Keynes to Oxford...
. After the M40 motorway
M40 motorway
The M40 motorway is a motorway in the British transport network that forms a major part of the connection between London and Birmingham. Part of this road forms a section of the unsigned European route E05...
was completed in 1990, the Bicester–Banbury road was downgraded to B4100 and the Bicester–Finmere road was reclassified A4421.
In the 19th century Caversfield's status as an exclave of Buckinghamshire was brought to an end. The Reform Act 1832
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
removed the parish from the Buckingham parliamentary constituency, and in 1839 two further Acts placed exclaves such as Caversfield under their surrounding counties' magistrates and county constabularies
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
. Finally the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 transferred Caversfield to Oxfordshire for all remaining purposes.
In 1842–45 the architect C.R. Cockerell
Charles Robert Cockerell
Charles Robert Cockerell was an English architect, archaeologist, and writer.-Life:Charles Robert Cockerell was educated at Westminster School from 1802. From the age of sixteen, he trained in the architectural practice of his father, Samuel Pepys Cockerell...
built Caversfield House on the site of the former manor house. In 1872–75 the architect William Wilkinson
William Wilkinson (architect)
William Wilkinson was a British Gothic Revival architect who practised in Oxford, England.-Family:Wilkinson's father was a builder in Witney in Oxfordshire. William's elder brother George Wilkinson was also an architect, as were William's nephews C.C. Rolfe and H.W. Moore .-Career:Wilkinson...
built the neo-Tudor style Brashfield House in the east of the parish by the Roman Road.
Until the 20th century Caversfield was a manor and parish with no village and a very small population. However, in 1911 Bicester Airfield
Bicester Airfield
Bicester Aerodrome, formerly RAF Bicester, is an airfield on the outskirts of the English town of Bicester in Oxfordshire. The RAF left in 2004....
was created just east of the Roman road in Launton
Launton
Launton is a village and civil parish on the eastern outskirts of Bicester, Oxfordshire, England. Launton is twinned with the village of Gavray in France.-History:King Edward the Confessor gave the manor of Launton to Westminster Abbey in 1065...
parish. At the end of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the airfield became RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
Bicester and subsequently housing for RAF personnel was built in Skimmingdish Lane in the eastern part of Caversfield parish. RAF operations ceased in 2004, and the Skimmingdish Lane accommodation is now used by the Defence Logistics Organisation
Defence Logistics Organisation
The Defence Logistics Organisation was a key element of the UK Ministry of Defence, responsible for supporting the armed forces throughout the various stages of an operation or exercise; from training, deployment, in-theatre training and conduct of operations, through to recovery and recuperation...
. The parish also now includes accommodation for USAFE
United States Air Forces in Europe
The United States Air Forces in Europe is the United States Air Force component of U.S. European Command, a Department of Defense unified command, and is one of two Air Force Major Commands outside of the continental United States, the other being the Pacific Air Forces...
personnel serving at the RAF Croughton
RAF Croughton
RAF Croughton is a United States Air Force communications base in Northamptonshire, England, to the southeast of the village of Croughton. The station is home to the 422nd Air Base Group and operates one of Europe's largest military switchboards and processes approximately a third of all U.S...
communications base in 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,...
about 5 miles (8 km) north of Caversfield.
Late in the 20th century Bicester has been greatly expanded with new housing. Parts of the Bure Park housing estate, although contiguous with Bicester, are in Caversfield civil parish.