Chipping Norton
Encyclopedia
Chipping Norton is a market town
in the Cotswold Hills in the West Oxfordshire
district of Oxfordshire
, England
, about 12 miles (19.3 km) southwest of Banbury
.
, a stone circle
2.5 miles (4 km) north of Chipping Norton, is evidence of prehistoric habitation in the area.
The town's name means 'market north town', with "Chipping" (from Old English cēping) meaning 'market'. It is not clear what the original Saxon
settlement was north of, but John Blair, Professor of Medieval History and Archaeology at the University of Oxford, suggested in 2000 at a lecture in Chipping Norton Town Hall that Charlbury
to the south, now a smaller town, was in Anglo-Saxon
times a more important minster town and that Chipping Norton's "nor-" prefix refers to this geographical and pastoral relationship with Charlbury.
Chipping Norton began as a small settlement at the foot of a hill on which stand the motte-and-bailey
Chipping Norton Castle
. Only the earthworks of the castle
remain.
The parish church
of St. Mary the Virgin
was built on the hill next to the castle. Parts of the present building may date from the 12th century. It certainly retains features from the 13th and 14th centuries. The nave
was largely rebuilt in about 1485 with a clerestorey in the Perpendicular style. This rebuilding is believed to have been funded by John Ashfield, a wool merchant, making St. Mary's an example of a "wool church
". The bell tower
was rebuilt in 1825 and has a peal
of eight bells.
In the Middle Ages
wool production made the Cotswolds one of the wealthiest parts of England. Many of the mediaeval
buildings built in the town as a result of that trade still survive. It became the new centre of the town and remains so today. There is still a weekly market every Wednesday and the "Mop Fair
" in September. In 1205 a new market place was laid out higher up the hill.
Later, sheep farming was largely displaced by arable
, but agriculture remained important in this part of the Oxfordshire Cotswolds. Many of the original houses around the market place were rebuilt in the 18th century with fashionable Georgian
frontages.
An inscription on the almshouse
s records that they were built in 1640 as "The work and gift of Henry Cornish, gent".
house and its own water well
s. Three generations of Hitchmans ran the brewery, but in 1890 Alfred Hitchman sold the business as a limited company
. The new company grew by buying other breweries in 1891 and 1917. In 1924 it merged with Hunt Edmunds
of Banbury, and in 1931 Hunt Edmunds Hitchmans closed the brewery in Chipping Norton.
Other industries in the town included a wool mill (see below), a glove-making factory, a tannery
and an iron foundry
.
Chipping Norton had a workhouse
by the 1770s. In 1836 the architect George Wilkinson
built a new, larger workhouse. It had four wings radiating from an octagonal central building, similar to Witney
workhouse, which also was built by Wilkinson. The architect G. E. Street
added a chapel to Chipping Norton workhouse in 1856–57. It ceased to be a workhouse in 1929 and became a hospital in the Second World War. The National Health Service
took it over in 1948, making it Cotshill Hospital which later served as a psychiatric hospital
. The hospital was closed in 1983. and has since been redeveloped as private residences.
Chipping Norton was one of the borough
s reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835
. The borough built its neoclassical
town hall in 1842.
Holy Trinity
Roman Catholic church is also neoclassical. It was built in 1836 by the architect John Adey Repton, a grandson of the English garden
designer Humphry Repton
.
The Chipping Norton Railway
opened in 1855, linking the town with Kingham
on the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway
. In 1887 a second railway opened, linking Chipping Norton to the Oxford and Rugby Railway at King's Sutton
, and the CNR became part of the resulting Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway
. Extending the railway from Chipping Norton involved digging a tunnel 685 yards (626.4 m) long under Elmsfield Farm to the west of the town.
In May 1873, rioting took place following the conviction and sentencing of the Ascott Martyrs
, sixteen local women accused of trying to interfere with strikebreaker
s at a farm.
In 1951, British Rail
ways withdrew passenger services between Chipping Norton and Banbury
. In 1962 BR closed Chipping Norton railway station
and withdrew passenger services between Chipping Norton and Kingham
. In 1964 BR closed the B&CDR to freight traffic, and thereafter dismantled the line. The disused railway tunnel is now bricked up at both ends to prevent access, both for people's safety and to protect any bat
s that may roost inside. (See Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
)
Bliss Mill, on the western side of the town, was built as a tweed
mill in 1872. In 1913 to 1914 the millworkers struck
for eight months. The mill closed in 1980 and has since been converted into flats. It remains a local landmark, clearly visible from Worcester Road.
The town lost its status as a municipal borough
in 1974, when the Local Government Act 1972
made it a successor parish
within the district of West Oxfordshire
.
Constituency. The current MP is David Cameron
, the Prime Minister. The town is part of the South East England constituency for the European Parliament. The town is represented by two Conservative councillors and one Labour councillor in the district council, making it the least Conservative part of Mr Cameron's constituency.
, also known as Westonia, was born in Chipping Norton. She soon moved to Prague
with her mother and stepfather Edward Kelley
, an alchemist
at the court of Emperor Rudolf II
.
James Hind
was born in the town in 1616. He was a notorious highwayman
in the area, executed for high treason
in 1652.
In 1763, the Reverend Edward Stone (1702–68), while living in Chipping Norton, reported to the Royal Society
that willow
bark relieved pain, later discovered to contain 2-hydroxybenzoic acid (salicylic acid) a mild analgesic
, and prepared via esterification into aspirin
.
William Bliss modernised the textile industry using the technology of the Industrial Revolution
. He was also the promoter of the Chipping Norton Railway (see above). After a fire destroyed his old textile mill in the town, Bliss built the Bliss Mill in 1872 (see above).
In the 1850s, Charles Stewart Parnell
from Ireland was sent to school in the town. He later became an MP and in the 1880s he led the Irish Home Rule League
, which he renamed the Irish Parliamentary Party
.
Joseph Allen
was born in Chipping Norton, moved to Canada and became a business owner and mayor of Verdun, Quebec, a borough on the Island of Montreal
.
The artist Conroy Maddox
lived with his parents at the Blue Boar pub in the town centre from 1929–33. He used one of the bedrooms as a studio and later became Britain's leading surrealist
.
The World record
-holding ocean rower
, Janice Meek
, lived for many years in Chipping Norton. She was the first female Chairman of the Chipping Norton Chamber of Commerce, served on the town council and served for a year as Mayor.
The actors Rachel Ward
and Wentworth Miller
were born in Chipping Norton.
The Who
drummer Keith Moon
once owned the Crown and Cushion Hotel in High Street. Comedian and actor Ronnie Barker
ran the Emporium antique shop
in Chipping Norton after his retirement from show business in 1987.
Between 1972 and 1999, Chipping Norton Recording Studios existed in the old British School on New Street. "Baker Street"
by Gerry Rafferty
, "In The Army Now
" by Status Quo, "Too Shy" by Kagagoogoo, "I Should Have Known Better" by Jim Diamond, "Perfect" by Fairground Attraction
, "I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight" by Cutting Crew
and "Bye Bye Baby" by the Bay City Rollers
were all recorded in this internationally acclaimed studio. Duran Duran
, Marianne Faithfull
, Wet Wet Wet
, Jeff Beck
, Barbara Dickson
, Alison Moyet
and Radiohead
were also clients.
Rebekah Brooks, former editor of The Sun
newspaper and former chief executive of News International
, currently lives in Chipping Norton as does historian Dominic Sandbrook
. Television presenter Jeremy Clarkson
currently lives just outside the town.
s. It has a number of public house
s and a theatre.
The town has three schools. Holy Trinity Roman Catholic School
and St Mary's Church of England
School are primary schools. Chipping Norton School is the town's secondary school and has a Sixth form
.
Chipping Norton Golf Club is the oldest in Oxfordshire. The course was started in 1890 on Chipping Norton Common.
Chipping Norton Rugby Union
Football Club first XV plays in the Southern Counties North League and was the league champion for the 2007–2008 season. Chipping Norton Town Football Club used to play in the Hellenic Football League
premier division. Chipping Norton Town Cricket Club plays in Oxfordshire Cricket Association Division 6. The town also has a bowls
club.
Chipping Norton has a Women's Institute, and a Rotary Club.
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
in the Cotswold Hills in the West Oxfordshire
West Oxfordshire
West Oxfordshire is a local government district in north west Oxfordshire, England including towns such as Woodstock, Burford, Chipping Norton, Charlbury, and Witney ....
district of Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, about 12 miles (19.3 km) southwest 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...
.
History until the 17th century
The Rollright StonesRollright Stones
The Rollright Stones are a complex of three Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic monuments located near to the village of Long Compton on the borders of Oxfordshire and Warwickshire in England...
, a stone circle
Stone circle
A stone circle is a monument of standing stones arranged in a circle. Such monuments have been constructed across the world throughout history for many different reasons....
2.5 miles (4 km) north of Chipping Norton, is evidence of prehistoric habitation in the area.
The town's name means 'market north town', with "Chipping" (from Old English cēping) meaning 'market'. It is not clear what the original Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
settlement was north of, but John Blair, Professor of Medieval History and Archaeology at the University of Oxford, suggested in 2000 at a lecture in Chipping Norton Town Hall that Charlbury
Charlbury
Charlbury is a small town and civil parish in the Evenlode valley, about north of Witney in West Oxfordshire. It is on the edge of the Wychwood forest and the Cotswolds.-Place name:The origin of the town's toponym is obscure...
to the south, now a smaller town, was in Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
times a more important minster town and that Chipping Norton's "nor-" prefix refers to this geographical and pastoral relationship with Charlbury.
Chipping Norton began as a small settlement at the foot of a hill on which stand the motte-and-bailey
Motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
Chipping Norton Castle
Chipping Norton Castle
Chipping Norton Castle was a timber Norman motte and bailey castle which stood to the north west of the town of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. Very little of the original structures remain apart from earthworks.-External links:*...
. Only the earthworks of the castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
remain.
The parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of St. Mary the Virgin
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...
was built on the hill next to the castle. Parts of the present building may date from the 12th century. It certainly retains features from the 13th and 14th centuries. 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...
was largely rebuilt in about 1485 with a clerestorey in the Perpendicular style. This rebuilding is believed to have been funded by John Ashfield, a wool merchant, making St. Mary's an example of a "wool church
Wool church
A wool church is an English church built primarily from the proceeds of the mediaeval wool trade. Wool churches are common in the Cotswolds and in East Anglia, where enormous profits from the wool business spurred construction of ever-grander edifices....
". 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...
was rebuilt in 1825 and has a peal
Change ringing
Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a series of mathematical patterns called "changes". It differs from many other forms of campanology in that no attempt is made to produce a conventional melody....
of eight bells.
In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
wool production made the Cotswolds one of the wealthiest parts of England. Many of the mediaeval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
buildings built in the town as a result of that trade still survive. It became the new centre of the town and remains so today. There is still a weekly market every Wednesday and the "Mop Fair
Mop Fair
Mop Fairs are a feature of many English towns and are traditionally held on or around "Old Michaelmas Day". They originated as a Hiring fair and their history dates back some 600 to 700 years.-History:...
" in September. In 1205 a new market place was laid out higher up the hill.
Later, sheep farming was largely displaced by arable
Agronomy
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...
, but agriculture remained important in this part of the Oxfordshire Cotswolds. Many of the original houses around the market place were rebuilt in the 18th century with fashionable Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
frontages.
An inscription on the almshouse
Almshouse
Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...
s records that they were built in 1640 as "The work and gift of Henry Cornish, gent".
History from the 18th century onwards
In 1796 James and William Hitchman founded Hitchman's Brewery in West Street. In 1849 the business built a larger brewery in Albion Street that included a maltMalt
Malt is germinated cereal grains that have been dried in a process known as "malting". The grains are made to germinate by soaking in water, and are then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air...
house and its own water well
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
s. Three generations of Hitchmans ran the brewery, but in 1890 Alfred Hitchman sold the business as a limited company
Limited company
A limited company is a company in which the liability of the members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. And the former of these, a limited company limited by shares, may be...
. The new company grew by buying other breweries in 1891 and 1917. In 1924 it merged with Hunt Edmunds
Hunt Edmunds
-History:The brewery was founded by John Hunt in 1840, but it was Thomas Hunt who went into partnership with William Edmunds in 1850. Edmunds' son, Charles Fletcher Edmunds became a partner in 1886, and succeeded his father in 1896. His son Maurice Edmunds was a later chairman...
of Banbury, and in 1931 Hunt Edmunds Hitchmans closed the brewery in Chipping Norton.
Other industries in the town included a wool mill (see below), a glove-making factory, a tannery
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
and an iron foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
.
Chipping Norton had a workhouse
Workhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
by the 1770s. In 1836 the architect George Wilkinson
George Wilkinson (architect)
George Wilkinson, FRIBA was a British architect who practised largely in Ireland. He was born at Witney, Oxfordshire in 1814. He was the elder brother of William Wilkinson , who practised in Oxford.-Career:...
built a new, larger workhouse. It had four wings radiating from an octagonal central building, similar to Witney
Witney
Witney is a town on the River Windrush, west of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England.The place-name 'Witney' is first attested in a Saxon charter of 969 as 'Wyttannige'; it appears as 'Witenie' in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name means 'Witta's island'....
workhouse, which also was built by Wilkinson. The architect G. E. Street
George Edmund Street
George Edmund Street was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex.- Life :Street was the third son of Thomas Street, solicitor, by his second wife, Mary Anne Millington. George went to school at Mitcham in about 1830, and later to the Camberwell collegiate school, which he left in 1839...
added a chapel to Chipping Norton workhouse in 1856–57. It ceased to be a workhouse in 1929 and became a hospital in the Second World War. The National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
took it over in 1948, making it Cotshill Hospital which later served as a psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
. The hospital was closed in 1983. and has since been redeveloped as private residences.
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
s reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835
Municipal Corporations Act 1835
The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 – sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales...
. The borough built its neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
town hall in 1842.
Holy Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
Roman Catholic church is also neoclassical. It was built in 1836 by the architect John Adey Repton, a grandson of the English garden
English garden
The English garden, also called English landscape park , is a style of Landscape garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical Garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The...
designer Humphry Repton
Humphry Repton
Humphry Repton was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of the 19th century...
.
The Chipping Norton Railway
Chipping Norton Railway
The Chipping Norton Railway opened in 1855, first linking the town of Chipping Norton with the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway.-History:...
opened in 1855, linking the town with Kingham
Kingham railway station
Kingham railway station in Oxfordshire is between the Oxfordshire village of Kingham and the Gloucestershire village of Bledington, to which it is closer...
on the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway
Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway
The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton railway was a company authorised on 4 August 1845 to construct a railway line from the Oxford and Rugby Railway at Wolvercot Junction to Worcester, Stourbridge, Dudley, and Wolverhampton, with a branch to the Grand Junction Railway at Bushbury...
. In 1887 a second railway opened, linking Chipping Norton to the Oxford and Rugby Railway at King's Sutton
King's Sutton railway station
King's Sutton railway station serves the village of King's Sutton in Northamptonshire, England. It is also the nearest railway station to the town of Brackley. The station is managed by Chiltern Railways, who provide services along with First Great Western....
, and the CNR became part of the resulting Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway
Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway
The Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway is a former railway in the Cotswold Hills in Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, England.-Origins and development:...
. Extending the railway from Chipping Norton involved digging a tunnel 685 yards (626.4 m) long under Elmsfield Farm to the west of the town.
In May 1873, rioting took place following the conviction and sentencing of the Ascott Martyrs
Ascott Martyrs
The Ascott Martyrs were 16 women from the village of Ascott-under-Wychwood in Oxfordshire, England who were imprisoned in 1873 for their role in founding a branch of the National Union of Agricultural Workers...
, sixteen local women accused of trying to interfere with strikebreaker
Strikebreaker
A strikebreaker is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who are not employed by the company prior to the trade union dispute, but rather hired prior to or during the strike to keep the organisation running...
s at a farm.
In 1951, British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways withdrew passenger services between Chipping Norton and Banbury
Banbury railway station
Banbury railway station serves the town of Banbury in Oxfordshire, England. The station is currently operated by Chiltern Railways, on the Chiltern Main Line, and has four platforms in use.-History:...
. In 1962 BR closed Chipping Norton railway station
Chipping Norton railway station
Chipping Norton railway station served the town of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England. The station had two platforms and a signal box.- History :...
and withdrew passenger services between Chipping Norton and Kingham
Kingham railway station
Kingham railway station in Oxfordshire is between the Oxfordshire village of Kingham and the Gloucestershire village of Bledington, to which it is closer...
. In 1964 BR closed the B&CDR to freight traffic, and thereafter dismantled the line. The disused railway tunnel is now bricked up at both ends to prevent access, both for people's safety and to protect any bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s that may roost inside. (See Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom and was implemented to comply with the Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds...
)
Bliss Mill, on the western side of the town, was built as a tweed
Tweed (cloth)
Tweed is a rough, unfinished woolen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is made in either plain or twill weave and may have a check or herringbone pattern...
mill in 1872. In 1913 to 1914 the millworkers struck
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
for eight months. The mill closed in 1980 and has since been converted into flats. It remains a local landmark, clearly visible from Worcester Road.
The town lost its status as a municipal borough
Municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
in 1974, when the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
made it a successor parish
Successor parish
Successor parishes are civil parishes with a parish council created by the Local Government Act 1972 in England. They replaced, with the same boundaries, a selected group of urban districts and municipal boroughs that were abolished in 1974. Most successor parish councils exercised the right to...
within the district of West Oxfordshire
West Oxfordshire
West Oxfordshire is a local government district in north west Oxfordshire, England including towns such as Woodstock, Burford, Chipping Norton, Charlbury, and Witney ....
.
Government
Chipping Norton lies in the WitneyWitney (UK Parliament constituency)
Witney is a county constituency in Oxfordshire represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election, and was created for the 1983 general election....
Constituency. The current MP is David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, the Prime Minister. The town is part of the South East England constituency for the European Parliament. The town is represented by two Conservative councillors and one Labour councillor in the district council, making it the least Conservative part of Mr Cameron's constituency.
Notable people
In 1581 the neo-Latin poet Elizabeth Jane WestonElizabeth Jane Weston
Elizabeth Jane Weston was mostly known for her Neo-Latin poetry, and she had the unusual distinction for a woman of that time of having her poetry published. The full works, published in two volumes in 1608, were entitled Parthenica...
, also known as Westonia, was born in Chipping Norton. She soon moved to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
with her mother and stepfather Edward Kelley
Edward Kelley
Sir Edward Kelley or Kelly, also known as Edward Talbot was an ambiguous figure in English Renaissance occultism and self-declared spirit medium who worked with John Dee in his magical investigations...
, an alchemist
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
at the court of Emperor Rudolf II
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor
Rudolf II was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Hungary and Croatia , King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria...
.
James Hind
James Hind
Captain James Hind was a 17th century highwayman and Royalist rabble rouser during the English Civil War....
was born in the town in 1616. He was a notorious highwayman
Highwayman
A highwayman was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw, usually, travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who traveled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads...
in the area, executed for high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
in 1652.
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
that willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
bark relieved pain, later discovered to contain 2-hydroxybenzoic acid (salicylic acid) a mild analgesic
Analgesic
An analgesic is any member of the group of drugs used to relieve pain . The word analgesic derives from Greek an- and algos ....
, and prepared via esterification into aspirin
Aspirin
Aspirin , also known as acetylsalicylic acid , is a salicylate drug, often used as an analgesic to relieve minor aches and pains, as an antipyretic to reduce fever, and as an anti-inflammatory medication. It was discovered by Arthur Eichengrun, a chemist with the German company Bayer...
.
William Bliss modernised the textile industry using the technology of the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. He was also the promoter of the Chipping Norton Railway (see above). After a fire destroyed his old textile mill in the town, Bliss built the Bliss Mill in 1872 (see above).
In the 1850s, Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell was an Irish landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...
from Ireland was sent to school in the town. He later became an MP and in the 1880s he led the Irish Home Rule League
Home Rule League
The Home Rule League, sometimes called the Home Rule Party, was a political party which campaigned for home rule for the country of Ireland from 1873 to 1882, when it was replaced by the Irish Parliamentary Party.-Origins:...
, which he renamed the Irish Parliamentary Party
Irish Parliamentary Party
The Irish Parliamentary Party was formed in 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nationalist Members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons at...
.
Joseph Allen
Joseph Allen
Joseph Allen may refer to:* Joseph Allen , member of the eleventh United States Congress* Joseph Allen , Bishop of Bristol and Bishop of Ely* Joseph Allen * Joseph H...
was born in Chipping Norton, moved to Canada and became a business owner and mayor of Verdun, Quebec, a borough on the Island of Montreal
Island of Montreal
The Island of Montreal , in extreme southwestern Quebec, Canada, is located at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. It is separated from Île Jésus by the Rivière des Prairies....
.
The artist Conroy Maddox
Conroy Maddox
Conroy Maddox , was an English surrealist painter, collagist, writer and lecturer; and a key figure in the Birmingham Surrealist movement....
lived with his parents at the Blue Boar pub in the town centre from 1929–33. He used one of the bedrooms as a studio and later became Britain's leading surrealist
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
.
The World record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
-holding ocean rower
Ocean rowing
Ocean rowing is the sport of rowing across oceans. The sport is as much a psychological as it is a physical challenge. Rowers often have to endure long periods at sea without help often many days if not weeks away. The challenge is especially acute for solo rowers who are held in especially high...
, Janice Meek
Janice Meek
Janice Meek FRGS is a Guinness World Record holding adventurer, ocean rower, international motivational speaker and polar adventurer...
, lived for many years in Chipping Norton. She was the first female Chairman of the Chipping Norton Chamber of Commerce, served on the town council and served for a year as Mayor.
The actors Rachel Ward
Rachel Ward
Rachel Claire Ward, AM is a British actress, columnist, film director, and screenwriter who has primarily pursued her career in Australia.-Early life:...
and Wentworth Miller
Wentworth Miller
Wentworth Earl Miller III is an English-born American actor; model and screenwriter who rose to stardom following his role as Michael Scofield in the Fox Network television series Prison Break.-Early life:...
were born in Chipping Norton.
The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
drummer Keith Moon
Keith Moon
Keith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...
once owned the Crown and Cushion Hotel in High Street. Comedian and actor Ronnie Barker
Ronnie Barker
Ronald William George "Ronnie" Barker, OBE was a British actor, comedian, writer, critic, broadcaster and businessman...
ran the Emporium antique shop
Antique shop
An antique shop is a retail store specializing in the selling of antiques. Antiques shops can be located either locally and with the advent of the Internet found online...
in Chipping Norton after his retirement from show business in 1987.
Between 1972 and 1999, Chipping Norton Recording Studios existed in the old British School on New Street. "Baker Street"
Baker Street (song)
"Baker Street" is a ballad written and first recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty. Released as a single in 1978, it reached #1 in Canada, #2 in the US, #3 in the UK, #1 in Australia and #9 in the Netherlands...
by Gerry Rafferty
Gerry Rafferty
Gerald "Gerry" Rafferty was a Scottish singer songwriter best known for his solo hits "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line", "Days Gone Down", "Night Owl", "Get It Right Next Time", and with the band Stealers Wheel, "Stuck in the Middle with You". Rafferty was born into a working-class family in...
, "In The Army Now
In The Army Now
In the Army Now is a 1994 war comedy, directed by Daniel Petrie, Jr. and starring Pauly Shore, Andy Dick, David Alan Grier, Esai Morales, and Lori Petty...
" by Status Quo, "Too Shy" by Kagagoogoo, "I Should Have Known Better" by Jim Diamond, "Perfect" by Fairground Attraction
Fairground Attraction
Fairground Attraction were a British acoustic pop band. They are best known for their hit single "Perfect", and for helping to launch the career of lead vocalist Eddi Reader.-Career:...
, "I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight" by Cutting Crew
Cutting Crew
The Cutting Crew is a pop rock band formed in England in 1985, best known for their #1 hit, " Died in Your Arms".-Career:Vocalist Nick Van Eede founded the group along with Canadian guitarist Kevin MacMichael in 1985, and the two made demos that led to a recording contract, before bassist Colin...
and "Bye Bye Baby" by the Bay City Rollers
Bay City Rollers
The Bay City Rollers were a Scottish pop band who were most popular in the 1970s. The British Hit Singles & Albums noted that they were "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh", and were "the first of many acts heralded as the 'Biggest Group since The Beatles' and one of the most screamed-at...
were all recorded in this internationally acclaimed studio. Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
, Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....
, Wet Wet Wet
Wet Wet Wet
Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish pop rock band that formed in the 1980s. They scored a number of hits in the British charts and around the world. The band is composed of Marti Pellow , Tommy Cunningham , Graeme Clark and Neil Mitchell...
, Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, Barbara Dickson
Barbara Dickson
Barbara Ruth Dickson, OBE is a Scottish singer whose hits include "I Know Him So Well" and "January February"...
, Alison Moyet
Alison Moyet
Alison Moyet , is an English singer, songwriter and performer noted for her bluesy voice.Her UK album sales have reached a certified 2.3 million, with 800,000 singles sold, all in the UK, where all seven of her studio albums and three compilation albums have charted in the Top 40 UK Album Chart,...
and Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
were also clients.
Rebekah Brooks, former editor of The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
newspaper and former chief executive of News International
News International
News International Ltd is the United Kingdom newspaper publishing division of News Corporation. Until June 2002, it was called News International plc....
, currently lives in Chipping Norton as does historian Dominic Sandbrook
Dominic Sandbrook
Dominic Sandbrook http://dominicsandbrook.com/wordpress/about/ is a British historian. Born in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, he was educated at Malvern College...
. Television presenter Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
currently lives just outside the town.
Amenities
The town is a retail and leisure centre for its area, with a supermarket and numerous shops including branches of a number of national chain storeChain store
Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses. In retail, dining and many service categories, chain businesses...
s. It has a number of public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s and a theatre.
The town has three schools. Holy Trinity Roman Catholic School
and St Mary's Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
School are primary schools. Chipping Norton School is the town's secondary school and has a Sixth form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
.
Chipping Norton Golf Club is the oldest in Oxfordshire. The course was started in 1890 on Chipping Norton Common.
Chipping Norton Rugby Union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
Football Club first XV plays in the Southern Counties North League and was the league champion for the 2007–2008 season. Chipping Norton Town Football Club used to play in the Hellenic Football League
Hellenic Football League
The Hellenic Football League is an English football league covering an area including the English counties of Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, southern Buckinghamshire, southern Herefordshire, western Greater London, and northern Wiltshire. There is also one team from Hampshire.The league...
premier division. Chipping Norton Town Cricket Club plays in Oxfordshire Cricket Association Division 6. The town also has a bowls
Bowls
Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls so that they stop close to a smaller "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat or convex or uneven...
club.
Chipping Norton has a Women's Institute, and a Rotary Club.
External links
- Chipping Norton Town Partnership
- Chipping Norton – 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article.