Cote, Oxfordshire
Encyclopedia
Cote is a hamlet about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Witney
and 1 miles (1.6 km) north of the River Thames
in West Oxfordshire
, England
. Cote is part of the civil parish of Aston, Cote, Shifford and Chimney. The hamlet of Cote stretches along Cote Lane, which seems to have originated as a road to a former crossing of the River Thames at Shifford
.
s have been found east of Cote Lane that suggest prehistoric occupation. There have been isolated finds of Neolithic
and Bronze Age
items near the north end of Cote Lane and Iron Age
pottery and a brooch
have been found south of Cote House. In the 19th century two Roman coins
were found at Cote: one each from the reigns of Trajan
(reigned AD 98-117) and Hadrian
(reigned AD 117-138). Other cropmarks on river gravel terraces east of Cote suggest Saxon sunken huts
.
of Bampton
. The earliest known written record of Cote dates from 1203.
Cote may be the site of a messuage
and building plot for a manor that Henry III
granted to one Imbert Pugeys in 1238. The present Cote House is largely 16th and 17th century but may be on the site of the medieval buildings. The east front of Cote House includes a two-light 13th century window with plate tracery that is not in its original position but may well have been salvaged from the mediaeval house.
Alan Horde of the Middle Temple
bought Cote manor in 1553. The hall range and west wing of Cote House were probably built after 1583 for either Thomas Horde (died circa 1607) or Sir Thomas Horde (died 1662). The west wing and hall still have early an 17th century staircase and fireplaces and some 17th century panelling. In 1665 Cote House was assessed at 11 hearths for Hearth Tax.
A new main entrance was added to the north front of Cote House in about 1700, presumably for Thomas Horde (died 1715). The principal rooms were refurbished at the same time, including the present panelling of the drawing room. One set of iron gates is dated 1704 and bears the initials of Thomas Horde.
Late in the 16th century Thomas Horde was convicted of recusancy and the Crown
seized two-thirds of his manor for non-payment of fines. When he died in 1607 his remaining debts were pardoned and the seized part of his manor was restored to his heirs.
shared a single open field system
. Cote Common was often called Cote Moor. In 1497 Mary, Lady Hastings and Botreux, demolished a tenant's house at Cote and enclosed
its 20 acres (8.1 ha) landholding as pasture. In the 1660's the Lord of the Manor
Thomas Horde enclosed about 120 acres (48.6 ha) close to Cote House and promoted a general enclosure of the manor, but most tenants enclosed no more than 2 acre (0.809372 ha) or 3 acres (1.2 ha) each. The open meadows tended to flood and in 1668 new channels were dug to drain them.
Cote Farmhouse and Cote Cottage were built in the 17th or early in the 18th century. Milton Lodge was rebuilt in about 1720 with a symmetrical five-bayed
front. East of Cote is a Windmill Field but no windmill
has survived.
In 1834 tenants of Aston and Cote sought enclosure and initially Caroline Horde supported them. However, most proprietors did not and the proposal was defeated. Parliament finally passed an Enclosure Act for Aston and Cote in 1852 and the land award was completed in 1855. Most landholdings both before and after enclosure were mixed farms.
In the 19th century the Gillett family of Cote House Farm were noted Oxford Down
sheep breeders. In 1862 Charles Gillett won prizes at the Royal Agricultural Show
.
In the middle of the 19th century a new straight road was built northwards from the end of Cote Lane for a distance of just over 1 miles (1.6 km) to where it joined the road between Yelford
and Lew
. By 1876 Cote Lodge Farm had been built west of the new road and around the same time new farm labourers' cottages were built.
Sir Thomas Horde built a malthouse in 1657 but by 1659 it was making a loss. There is another isolated record of a malt
ster in Cote in 1725. Cote had a public house
, the Black Horse, from 1779 to 1801. In the 1840s Cote House Farm produced cider. The hamlet had a beerhouse from 1869 (when Parliament passed the Wine and Beerhouse Act 1869) but it closed after 1939.
Other trades in Cote in 1939 included a hurdle
-maker and a saddle
r.
In 1893 Cote suffered a diphtheria
epidemic that may have been caused by contaminated wells. Cote had a mains gas supply by 1939, mains electricity by 1949 and mains water from about 1967.
. Cote was part of the ecclesiastical parish of Bampton, and Cote residents would have worshipped at the chapel of ease at Shifford until it became derelict some time between 1772 and 1784. Cote appointed a warden for Shifford chapel probably in the 15th century and continued to do so for the rebuilt chapel late in the 19th century.
A Baptist
congregation was established in Cote in about 1656, initially sharing a minister with the Baptist congregation at Longworth
on the opposite side of the Thames. Cote's first Baptist chapel was completed and registered for worship in 1704. It was replaced by the present building in 1756, and chapel membership grew from 85 in 1772 to more than 100. In 1850-51 attendance at Sunday morning worship averaged 200. Benjamin Arthur, who was pastor 1856-82, had the chapel interior extensively reordered in 1859. The present single gable on the east front of the chapel was added at the same time, replacing a previous double gable and hiding a central roof valley. During Rev. Arthur's ministry, membership rose to about 195 and congregations regularly numbered around 400.
For a number of lengthy periods in the 20th century the Baptist congregation lacked a minister and the deacons managed the chapel. Membership declined to 92 in 1906 and 52 in 1935. It had recovered to 104 by 1971 but fell again to about 85 in 1990. The chapel was still in use for worship in 1992 but is now disused. It is a Grade II* listed building and is now managed and maintained by the Historic Chapels Trust.
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'....
and 1 miles (1.6 km) north of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
in 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 ....
, 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...
. Cote is part of the civil parish of Aston, Cote, Shifford and Chimney. The hamlet of Cote stretches along Cote Lane, which seems to have originated as a road to a former crossing of the River Thames at Shifford
Shifford
Shifford is a hamlet in the civil parish of Aston, Cote, Shifford and Chimney in Oxfordshire, England. It is on the north bank of the River Thames about south of Witney.-History:...
.
Archaeology
CropmarkCropmark
Cropmarks or Crop marks are a means through which sub-surface archaeological, natural and recent features may be visible from the air or a vantage point on higher ground or a temporary platform...
s have been found east of Cote Lane that suggest prehistoric occupation. There have been isolated finds of Neolithic
Neolithic British Isles
The Neolithic British Isles refers to the period of British, Irish and Manx history that spanned from circa 4000 to circa 2,500 BCE. The final part of the Stone Age in the British Isles, it was a part of the greater Neolithic, or "New Stone Age", across Europe.During the preceding Mesolithic...
and Bronze Age
Bronze Age Britain
Bronze Age Britain refers to the period of British history that spanned from c. 2,500 until c. 800 BC. Lasting for approximately 1700 years, it was preceded by the era of Neolithic Britain and was in turn followed by the era of Iron Age Britain...
items near the north end of Cote Lane and Iron Age
British Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
pottery and a brooch
Celtic art
Celtic art is the art associated with the peoples known as Celts; those who spoke the Celtic languages in Europe from pre-history through to the modern period, as well as the art of ancient peoples whose language is uncertain, but have cultural and stylistic similarities with speakers of Celtic...
have been found south of Cote House. In the 19th century two Roman coins
Roman currency
The Roman currency during most of the Roman Republic and the western half of the Roman Empire consisted of coins including the aureus , the denarius , the sestertius , the dupondius , and the as...
were found at Cote: one each from the reigns of Trajan
Trajan
Trajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...
(reigned AD 98-117) and Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
(reigned AD 117-138). Other cropmarks on river gravel terraces east of Cote suggest Saxon sunken huts
Grubenhaus
A Grubenhaus is a type of sunken floored building built in many parts of northern Europe between the 5th and 12th centuries AD...
.
Manor
In the Anglo-Saxon era Cote was part of the manorManorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Bampton
Bampton, Oxfordshire
Bampton, also called Bampton-in-the-Bush, is a village and civil parish in the Thames Valley about southwest of Witney in Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Weald....
. The earliest known written record of Cote dates from 1203.
Cote may be the site of a messuage
Messuage
In law, the term messuage equates to a dwelling-house and includes outbuildings, orchard, curtilage or court-yard and garden. At one time messuage supposedly had a more extensive meaning than that conveyed by the words house or site, but such distinction no longer survives.A capital messuage is the...
and building plot for a manor that Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
granted to one Imbert Pugeys in 1238. The present Cote House is largely 16th and 17th century but may be on the site of the medieval buildings. The east front of Cote House includes a two-light 13th century window with plate tracery that is not in its original position but may well have been salvaged from the mediaeval house.
Alan Horde of the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
bought Cote manor in 1553. The hall range and west wing of Cote House were probably built after 1583 for either Thomas Horde (died circa 1607) or Sir Thomas Horde (died 1662). The west wing and hall still have early an 17th century staircase and fireplaces and some 17th century panelling. In 1665 Cote House was assessed at 11 hearths for Hearth Tax.
A new main entrance was added to the north front of Cote House in about 1700, presumably for Thomas Horde (died 1715). The principal rooms were refurbished at the same time, including the present panelling of the drawing room. One set of iron gates is dated 1704 and bears the initials of Thomas Horde.
Late in the 16th century Thomas Horde was convicted of recusancy and the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
seized two-thirds of his manor for non-payment of fines. When he died in 1607 his remaining debts were pardoned and the seized part of his manor was restored to his heirs.
Economic and social history
By 1239 Cote and AstonAston, Oxfordshire
Aston is a village about south of Witney in West Oxfordshire, England. It is also 3.3 Miles from Ducklington. The village is part of the civil parish of Aston, Cote, Shifford and Chimney. The southern boundary of the parish is the River Thames.-History:Until the 19th century Aston was a township...
shared a single open field system
Open field system
The open field system was the prevalent agricultural system in much of Europe from the Middle Ages to as recently as the 20th century in some places, particularly Russia and Iran. Under this system, each manor or village had several very large fields, farmed in strips by individual families...
. Cote Common was often called Cote Moor. In 1497 Mary, Lady Hastings and Botreux, demolished a tenant's house at Cote and enclosed
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...
its 20 acres (8.1 ha) landholding as pasture. In the 1660's the Lord of the Manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
Thomas Horde enclosed about 120 acres (48.6 ha) close to Cote House and promoted a general enclosure of the manor, but most tenants enclosed no more than 2 acre (0.809372 ha) or 3 acres (1.2 ha) each. The open meadows tended to flood and in 1668 new channels were dug to drain them.
Cote Farmhouse and Cote Cottage were built in the 17th or early in the 18th century. Milton Lodge was rebuilt in about 1720 with a symmetrical five-bayed
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:...
front. East of Cote is a Windmill Field but no windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
has survived.
In 1834 tenants of Aston and Cote sought enclosure and initially Caroline Horde supported them. However, most proprietors did not and the proposal was defeated. Parliament finally passed an Enclosure Act for Aston and Cote in 1852 and the land award was completed in 1855. Most landholdings both before and after enclosure were mixed farms.
In the 19th century the Gillett family of Cote House Farm were noted Oxford Down
Oxford sheep
Oxford sheep is an English breed developed in the 1830s by crossing the Cotswold with a forerunner of the Hampshire, and using the resulting cross-breeds to form the basis of the present-day breed...
sheep breeders. In 1862 Charles Gillett won prizes at the Royal Agricultural Show
Royal Show
The Royal Show was an annual agricultural show/fair held by the Royal Agricultural Society of England every year from 1839 to 2009. It was held in Stoneleigh Park near Stoneleigh in Warwickshire, England...
.
In the middle of the 19th century a new straight road was built northwards from the end of Cote Lane for a distance of just over 1 miles (1.6 km) to where it joined the road between Yelford
Yelford
Yelford is a hamlet in Hardwick-with-Yelford civil parish. It is about south of Witney.-Manor:In 1086 the Domesday Book records that Walter of Ponz held the manor of Yelford. Walter's other manors included Eaton Hastings, and together his manors were sometimes called the honour of Hastings. By...
and Lew
Lew, Oxfordshire
Lew is a small village and civil parish about southwest of Witney in West Oxfordshire.-History:Evidence of early human habitation in the parish includes a tumulus, probably Anglo-Saxon, on a high hill west of the village. The name of the village, recorded as Hlæwe in 984, means "tumulus" in Old...
. By 1876 Cote Lodge Farm had been built west of the new road and around the same time new farm labourers' cottages were built.
Sir Thomas Horde built a malthouse in 1657 but by 1659 it was making a loss. There is another isolated record of a malt
Malt
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...
ster in Cote in 1725. Cote had a 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...
, the Black Horse, from 1779 to 1801. In the 1840s Cote House Farm produced cider. The hamlet had a beerhouse from 1869 (when Parliament passed the Wine and Beerhouse Act 1869) but it closed after 1939.
Other trades in Cote in 1939 included a hurdle
Hurdle
A hurdle is a moveable section of light fence. Traditionally they were made from wattle , but modern hurdles are often made of metal. Hurdles are used for handling livestock, as decorative fencing, for horse racing and in the track and field event of hurdling.-Types:*Traditional hurdles are made...
-maker and a saddle
Saddle
A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider or other load, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is the equestrian saddle designed for a horse, but specialized saddles have been created for camels and other creatures...
r.
In 1893 Cote suffered a diphtheria
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
epidemic that may have been caused by contaminated wells. Cote had a mains gas supply by 1939, mains electricity by 1949 and mains water from about 1967.
Chapels
Cote has never had a 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:...
. Cote was part of the ecclesiastical parish of Bampton, and Cote residents would have worshipped at the chapel of ease at Shifford until it became derelict some time between 1772 and 1784. Cote appointed a warden for Shifford chapel probably in the 15th century and continued to do so for the rebuilt chapel late in the 19th century.
A Baptist
Baptist Union of Great Britain
The Baptist Union of Great Britain, despite its name, is the association of Baptist churches in England and Wales. -History:...
congregation was established in Cote in about 1656, initially sharing a minister with the Baptist congregation at Longworth
Longworth
Longworth is a village and civil parish about west of Abingdon and a similar distance east of Faringdon and south of Witney. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire...
on the opposite side of the Thames. Cote's first Baptist chapel was completed and registered for worship in 1704. It was replaced by the present building in 1756, and chapel membership grew from 85 in 1772 to more than 100. In 1850-51 attendance at Sunday morning worship averaged 200. Benjamin Arthur, who was pastor 1856-82, had the chapel interior extensively reordered in 1859. The present single gable on the east front of the chapel was added at the same time, replacing a previous double gable and hiding a central roof valley. During Rev. Arthur's ministry, membership rose to about 195 and congregations regularly numbered around 400.
For a number of lengthy periods in the 20th century the Baptist congregation lacked a minister and the deacons managed the chapel. Membership declined to 92 in 1906 and 52 in 1935. It had recovered to 104 by 1971 but fell again to about 85 in 1990. The chapel was still in use for worship in 1992 but is now disused. It is a Grade II* listed building and is now managed and maintained by the Historic Chapels Trust.