Standlake
Encyclopedia
Standlake is a village and civil parish about 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Witney
and 7 miles (11.3 km) west of Oxford
. The parish includes the hamlet
of Brighthampton
. The River Windrush
flows past the village and with its tributary Medley Brook it forms much of the eastern boundary of the parish. The western boundary has been subject to changes and disputes in past centuries. It now follows Brighthampton Cut, an artificial land drain dug in the 19th century. The Windrush joins the River Thames
at Newbridge
just over 1 miles (1.6 km) to the south.
urn burials have been found in ring ditch
es north of Brighthampton on Standlake Downs. Evidence of an extensive Iron Age
settlement with round huts and storage pits has been found near the Bronze Age site. Sites have been found north and northeast of Standlake village where there were Roman
settlements from the middle of the 1st century AD until late in the 2nd century AD. There was also a Roman settlement west of Standlake village.
A large pagan
burial ground from the 5th and 6th centuries AD has been found south of Malthouse Farm in Brighthampton. Burials from the 7th century have been found in the Bronze Age burial ground on Standlake Downs. Brighthampton was first recorded in AD 984 in the Saxon era
, when it was part of the Royal manor
of Bampton
.
comes from the Old English for "stone stream". Standlake emerged as a separate settlement in the middle of the 12th century.
The Domesday Book
records that in 1086 William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford
was the feudal
overlord of a manor of six hides
at Brighthampton. However, this is believed to be the manor that later became known as Standlake. By 1242 Baldwin de Redvers, 3rd Earl of Devon
was the overlord of Standlake. When his heir Richard de Redvers, 4th Earl of Devon
died in 1193, Standlake passed to the Crown
. In 1355-56 Edward III
granted Standlake to his daughter Isabella de Coucy
. After her death, Richard II
granted Standlake to William Montacute, 2nd Earl of Salisbury
. Standlake belonged to John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
by 1388 and was recorded as part of the Duchy of Lancaster
until early in the 16th century.
In 1086 FitzOsbern's mesne lord
was Anchetil de Greye
, who also held Rotherfield Greys
in South Oxfordshire
. The mesne lordship remained with the de Greyes until 1192, when John de Greye died without a male heir and his holding Standlake passed to his daughter Eve. Eve's husband Ralph Murdac took part in a rebellion for which he was deprived of his landholdings in 1194, but after Ralph's death Richard I
restored Standlake to Eve. When Eve died in 1242 the tenure of the manor was divided into quarters, which were not reunited until the 16th century.
The main part of Standlake Manor House
is a timber-framed house built in the 15th century. A chimney stack and a stone fireplace with heraldic
decoration were inserted around 1600. The western bay
of the mediaeval house was demolished at some time and only the central and eastern bays survive. A stone-built extension was added to the house in 1889.
of Saint Giles
dates from the latter part of the 12th century. It was enlarged in the 13th and 14th centuries and underwent further alterations in about 1500. The Gothic Revival architect
C.C. Rolfe restored the building between 1880 and 1891 and the spire was restored in 1911.
The central range of St. Giles' Rectory
dates from at least 1246 and includes a lancet window from about 1300. The north range was added late in the 15th century, and a small south wing was added in 1661. Further alterations and additions were made in the 18th and 19th centuries, and dilapidated outbuildings including the parish's tithe barn
were demolished. In 1980 the rectory was sold as a private house, and in restoration work in 1981 the new owners uncovered early 17th century wall paintings in an upstairs room over the hall.
In the 15th century Standlake had a hermitage
. After the English Reformation
it became a cottage and was absorbed into Manor Farm. The building still existed in 1659 and may have been incorporated into later buildings, but if so it was demolished when the Manor House was extended in 1889.
A few families of nonconformists
were recorded in the parish in the latter part of the 17th century, and in the 18th century several local families were Anabaptist
s who attended a chapel in Cote
. A Baptist
chapel was built between Brighthampton and Standlake in 1832, flourished in the 1840s and 50s and a gallery was added to increase capacity in 1865. In the 20th century falling attendances led to services being discontinued in 1937, but they were resumed in 1951. The chapel finally closed in 1978 and in 1994 it was serving as the offices of a missionary society. It is now a private house.
A Primitive Methodist
chapel was built in 1864–65 and became a Methodist
chapel in 1932. Sunday services ceased in 1970 but the chapel remains in occasional use.
ed house 0.5 miles (804.7 m) east of Standlake Village across the River Windrush, existed by the latter part of the 15th century. It is named after the family that owned it until 1516. In the English Civil War
it belonged to Samuel Fell
, Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
and was garrisoned by Royalist
troops until the Parliamentarian
Colonel Thomas Rainsborough
besieged and captured it in May 1645. Thereafter it was garrisoned by Parliamentarian troops, including cavalry who raided Kidlington
in October 1645 and infantry who fought at Radcot
in April 1646. After Samuel Fell's death in 1649 Gaunt House passed first to his widow Margaret and then to his son John Fell
, who was Bishop of Oxford
from 1676. On his death in 1686 John Fell left Gaunt House to Christ Church, Oxford
to provide an income to pay bursaries
for poor students. It remained with Christ Church until it was sold 1955. Gaunt House was originally timber-framed but only a section of the original structure remains: all the rest having been replaced in stone by the early part of the 17th century.
Lincoln Cottage, near St. Giles' church, is a timber-framed cruck
building dating from about 1500.
Lincoln Farm house, formerly Tyrlings, is also a late mediaeval timber-framed building. It had a chimney stack inserted about 1564 and a stone-built second wing added before the end of the 16th century. At one time its tenant was Walter Bayley
, who was physician to Elizabeth I
and from 1561 until 1582 was Regius Professor of Physic
at the University of Oxford
.
Cheswell Cottage, originally known as 'Bodens' is a timber framed thatched cottage dating from around 1550, with subsequent stone built 17th and 20th century additions. For parts of the 17th and 18th century it was owned by Lincoln College
, Oxford
.
on the de Grey estate. By the 13th century the parish had five mills on the River Windrush of which two were fulling
mills involved with west Oxfordshire's trade in wool. Weaving was a cottage industry in the parish until the middle of the 18th century.
Gaunt Mill, about 400 yards (365.8 m) southwest of Gaunt House, was the "new mill" in the early part of the 13th century. It was a double mill with one part for corn and the other for fulling. From the early part of the 17th century it was purely a corn or gristmill
. Magdalen College, Oxford
acquired interests in Gaunt Mill in 1483 and 1538 and bought the mill outright in 1617. By 1883 the mill was in poor repair and by 1928 it was in only occasional use. Magdalen College sold the mill in 1920 and it was converted to private use in the 1940s and 1950s.
Church Mill, about 250 yards (228.6 m) upstream of St. Giles' church, existed by 1279. It may have always been a corn mill, and in the 18th and 19th centuries it had a bakery. By 1636 Magdalen College had a half share in Church Mill. The mill was disused by 1911 but was repaired in the 1920s and generated electricity until 1968. During the Second World War
it again undertook some corn milling. The mill was restored again early in the 1980s and was still in working order in 2006.
In 1230 Standlake was licenced to hold a three-day market annually on St. Giles day and the days immediately before and thereafter (31 August - 2 September). By 1279 the market had reduced to two days, and shortly thereafter it seems to have lapsed.
By the latter part of the Middle Ages
the main north-south route through the parish was that between Witney
and Newbridge
, which formed part of the main highway between London
and Gloucestershire
. Since the 1920s the Berinsfield
- Abingdon
- Witney stretch of this road has been classified as the A415. Aston Road, which links Brighthampton with Cote
, was a bridleway until 1629, when it was made into a highway. It is now part of the B4449 road.
By the early part of the 17th century Standlake had three or four public house
s, including the Chequers, which traded until at least 1781. By the latter part of the 18th century Standlake had between seven and 11 pubs. The Black Horse is a 16th century building that was a pub by 1761 and continues to trade today. By 1790 The Bell had opened in Rack End, but by 1804 it had moved to the High Street to a building part of which is timber-framed infilled with brick nogging, and the remainder of which is built of Cotswold stone. The Bell was closed for refurbishment for some time after the sale of the pub by Greene King in 2008, but reopened in August 2010 as a free house run by Few Inns.
The parish was farmed under an open field system
until 1853, when its common land
s were enclosed
.
. The school was enlarged again in 1969 and continues to serve the parishes of Standlake and Northmoor
.
Standlake had a lending library, established with the support of the Rector
by 1877, and which continued intermittently until the 20th century. In 1924 it was superseded by a new library at the village school, which served the village until 1964 when it was succeeded by Oxfordshire County Council
's mobile library service.
In about 1921 a converted army hut was erected as Standlake's first village hall
. It was replaced by the present community centre in 1989. In 1954 a second army hut was erected as a youth club. It was replaced by a purpose built club building in 1963.
Longwood House on Abingdon Road was built in the 1920s. Since 1948 it has been the Mulberry Bush School
for severely disturbed children.
Standlake Arena is a locally owned and run 0.25 mile (0.402335 km) oval racing circuit that hosts stock and banger
car racing throughout the year.
Oxford Downs Cricket Club has its ground at Standlake. It is a member of The Oxford Times
Cherwell Cricket League.
The Standlake Players is an amateur theatrical
society. Established in October 2007 by a group of villagers and other locals, the group has held three productions a year in Standlake village hall
on a newly renovated and modified stage.
Standlake is surrounded by numerous artificial lakes dug for the commercial extraction of gravel. Many are now stocked with fish and popular with anglers; others are used for aquatic sports such as windsurfing
.
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 7 miles (11.3 km) west of Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. The parish includes the hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of Brighthampton
Brighthampton
Brighthampton is a hamlet about south of Witney in West Oxfordshire and contiguous with the village of Standlake.-History:A large pagan burial ground from the 5th and 6th centuries AD has been found south of Malthouse Farm in Brighthampton.Brighthampton's toponym means Beorhthelm's tūn...
. The River Windrush
River Windrush
The River Windrush is a river in the English Cotswolds, forming part of the River Thames catchment.The Windrush starts in the Cotswold Hills in Gloucestershire northeast of Taddington, which is north of Guiting Power, Temple Guiting, Ford and Cutsdean...
flows past the village and with its tributary Medley Brook it forms much of the eastern boundary of the parish. The western boundary has been subject to changes and disputes in past centuries. It now follows Brighthampton Cut, an artificial land drain dug in the 19th century. The Windrush joins 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,...
at Newbridge
Newbridge, Oxfordshire
Newbridge is a 13th century bridge carrying the A415 road over the River Thames in Oxfordshire, between Abingdon and Witney, close to the Thames' confluence with the River Windrush...
just over 1 miles (1.6 km) to the south.
Archaeology
Palaeolithic axes have been found west of Standlake village and northeast of Brighthampton. Neolithic implements have been found north of Standlake village. Late Bronze AgeBronze 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...
urn burials have been found in ring ditch
Ring ditch
In archaeology, the term ring ditch refers to a regularly shaped circular or pennanular ditch cut. The term is most often used as a generic description in cases where there is no clear evidence for the function of the site: for instance where it has been ploughed flat and is known only as a...
es north of Brighthampton on Standlake Downs. Evidence of an extensive 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...
settlement with round huts and storage pits has been found near the Bronze Age site. Sites have been found north and northeast of Standlake village where there were Roman
Roman 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...
settlements from the middle of the 1st century AD until late in the 2nd century AD. There was also a Roman settlement west of Standlake village.
A large pagan
Germanic paganism
Germanic paganism refers to the theology and religious practices of the Germanic peoples of north-western Europe from the Iron Age until their Christianization during the Medieval period...
burial ground from the 5th and 6th centuries AD has been found south of Malthouse Farm in Brighthampton. Burials from the 7th century have been found in the Bronze Age burial ground on Standlake Downs. Brighthampton was first recorded in AD 984 in the Saxon era
History of Anglo-Saxon England
Anglo-Saxon England refers to the period of the history of that part of Britain, that became known as England, lasting from the end of Roman occupation and establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the 5th century until the Norman conquest of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror...
, when it was part of the Royal manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Bampton
Bampton
- England :* Bampton, Cumbria* Bampton, Devon** Bampton railway station**Bampton * Bampton, Oxfordshire- Other :*Bampton Island, former name of Parama Island, Papua New Guinea*Bampton Reefs, Chesterfield Islands, New Caledonia- People :...
.
Manor
Standlake's toponymToponymy
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...
comes from the Old English for "stone stream". Standlake emerged as a separate settlement in the middle of the 12th century.
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 William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford
William Fitzosbern, 1st Earl of Hereford
William FitzOsbern , Lord of Breteuil, in Normandy, was a relative and close counsellor of William the Conqueror and one of the great magnates of early Norman England...
was 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...
overlord of a manor of six hides
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
at Brighthampton. However, this is believed to be the manor that later became known as Standlake. By 1242 Baldwin de Redvers, 3rd Earl of Devon
Baldwin de Redvers, 3rd Earl of Devon
Baldwin de Redvers, 3rd Earl of Devon was Earl of Devon from 1162 until his death. His birth is not attested; but he had a younger brother, and he was invested with the Earldom between the Pipe Rolls of 1185 and 1186, so he should not have been much over twenty-one.He married the heiress of Raoul,...
was the overlord of Standlake. When his heir Richard de Redvers, 4th Earl of Devon
Richard de Redvers, 4th Earl of Devon
Richard de Redvers, 4th Earl of Devon was Earl of Devon from 1188 until his death.He inherited the title on the death of his elder brother Baldwin de Redvers, 3rd Earl of Devon, who died childless. On his own also childless death the title passed to his uncle, William de Redvers, 5th Earl of...
died in 1193, Standlake passed to 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...
. In 1355-56 Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
granted Standlake to his daughter Isabella de Coucy
Isabella de Coucy
Isabella of England, also known as Dame Isabella de Coucy , was the eldest daughter of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault and the wife of Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy, by whom she had two daughters.She was made a Lady of the Garter in 1376.-Early years:Isabella was the royal...
. After her death, Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
granted Standlake to William Montacute, 2nd Earl of Salisbury
William Montacute, 2nd Earl of Salisbury
Sir William II Montague, alias de Montacute, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, 4th Baron Montacute, King of Mann, KG was an English nobleman and commander in the English army during King Edward III's French campaigns in the Hundred Years War.He was born in Donyatt in Somerset, the eldest son of William...
. Standlake belonged to John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...
by 1388 and was recorded as part of the Duchy of Lancaster
Duchy of Lancaster
The Duchy of Lancaster is one of the two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Cornwall. It is held in trust for the Sovereign, and is used to provide income for the use of the British monarch...
until early in the 16th century.
In 1086 FitzOsbern's mesne lord
Mesne lord
A mesne lord was a lord in the feudal system who had vassals who held land from him, but who was himself the vassal of a higher lord. A mesne lord did not hold land directly of the king, that is to say he was not a tenant-in-chief. His subinfeudated estate was called a "mesne estate"...
was Anchetil de Greye
Anchetil de Greye
Anchetil de Greye was a vassal of William the Conqueror, whom he accompanied in the Norman conquest of England.-Life:Anchetil de Greye is specifically named in the Domesday Book of 1086...
, who also held Rotherfield Greys
Rotherfield Greys
Rotherfield Greys is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire. It is west of Henley-on-Thames and just over east of the village of Rotherfield Peppard....
in South Oxfordshire
South Oxfordshire
South Oxfordshire is a local government district in Oxfordshire, England. Its council is based in Crowmarsh Gifford, just outside Wallingford....
. The mesne lordship remained with the de Greyes until 1192, when John de Greye died without a male heir and his holding Standlake passed to his daughter Eve. Eve's husband Ralph Murdac took part in a rebellion for which he was deprived of his landholdings in 1194, but after Ralph's death Richard I
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
restored Standlake to Eve. When Eve died in 1242 the tenure of the manor was divided into quarters, which were not reunited until the 16th century.
The main part of Standlake 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...
is a timber-framed house built in the 15th century. A chimney stack and a stone fireplace with heraldic
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
decoration were inserted around 1600. The western bay
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:...
of the mediaeval house was demolished at some time and only the central and eastern bays survive. A stone-built extension was added to the house in 1889.
Churches
The Church of England parish churchChurch of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
of Saint Giles
Saint Giles
Saint Giles was a Greek Christian hermit saint from Athens, whose legend is centered in Provence and Septimania. The tomb in the abbey Giles was said to have founded, in St-Gilles-du-Gard, became a place of pilgrimage and a stop on the road that led from Arles to Santiago de Compostela, the...
dates from the latter part of the 12th century. It was enlarged in the 13th and 14th centuries and underwent further alterations in about 1500. The Gothic Revival architect
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
C.C. Rolfe restored the building between 1880 and 1891 and the spire was restored in 1911.
The central range of St. Giles' Rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
dates from at least 1246 and includes a lancet window from about 1300. The north range was added late in the 15th century, and a small south wing was added in 1661. Further alterations and additions were made in the 18th and 19th centuries, and dilapidated outbuildings including the parish's tithe barn
Tithe barn
A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing the tithes - a tenth of the farm's produce which had to be given to the church....
were demolished. In 1980 the rectory was sold as a private house, and in restoration work in 1981 the new owners uncovered early 17th century wall paintings in an upstairs room over the hall.
In the 15th century Standlake had a hermitage
Hermitage (religious retreat)
Although today's meaning is usually a place where a hermit lives in seclusion from the world, hermitage was more commonly used to mean a settlement where a person or a group of people lived religiously, in seclusion.-Western Christian Tradition:...
. After the English Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
it became a cottage and was absorbed into Manor Farm. The building still existed in 1659 and may have been incorporated into later buildings, but if so it was demolished when the Manor House was extended in 1889.
A few families of nonconformists
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
were recorded in the parish in the latter part of the 17th century, and in the 18th century several local families were Anabaptist
Anabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
s who attended a chapel in Cote
Cote, Oxfordshire
Cote is a hamlet about south of Witney and north of the River Thames in West Oxfordshire, England. Cote is part of the civil parish of Aston, Cote, Shifford and Chimney...
. A Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
chapel was built between Brighthampton and Standlake in 1832, flourished in the 1840s and 50s and a gallery was added to increase capacity in 1865. In the 20th century falling attendances led to services being discontinued in 1937, but they were resumed in 1951. The chapel finally closed in 1978 and in 1994 it was serving as the offices of a missionary society. It is now a private house.
A Primitive Methodist
Primitive Methodism
Primitive Methodism was a major movement in English Methodism from about 1810 until the Methodist Union in 1932. The Primitive Methodist Church still exists in the United States.-Origins:...
chapel was built in 1864–65 and became a Methodist
Methodist Church of Great Britain
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is the largest Wesleyan Methodist body in the United Kingdom, with congregations across Great Britain . It is the United Kingdom's fourth largest Christian denomination, with around 300,000 members and 6,000 churches...
chapel in 1932. Sunday services ceased in 1970 but the chapel remains in occasional use.
Historic houses
Gaunt House, a moatMoat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
ed house 0.5 miles (804.7 m) east of Standlake Village across the River Windrush, existed by the latter part of the 15th century. It is named after the family that owned it until 1516. In the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
it belonged to Samuel Fell
Samuel Fell
Samuel Fell D.D. was an English academic and clergyman, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford during the First English Civil War.-Life:...
, Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the diocese of Oxford, which consists of the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. It is also, uniquely, the chapel of Christ Church, a college of the University of Oxford.-History:...
and was garrisoned by Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
troops until the Parliamentarian
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
Colonel Thomas Rainsborough
Thomas Rainsborough
Thomas Rainsborough , or Rainborough or Raineborough or Rainborowe or Rainbow or Rainborow, was a prominent figure in the English Civil War, and was the leading spokesman of the Levellers in the Putney Debates.-Life:He was the son of William Rainsborough, a captain and Vice-Admiral in the Royal...
besieged and captured it in May 1645. Thereafter it was garrisoned by Parliamentarian troops, including cavalry who raided Kidlington
Kidlington
Kidlington is a large village and civil parish between the River Cherwell and the Oxford Canal, north of Oxford and southwest of Bicester.-History:...
in October 1645 and infantry who fought at Radcot
Radcot Bridge
Radcot Bridge is a crossing of the River Thames in England, south of Radcot, Oxfordshire and not far north of Faringdon, Oxfordshire . It carries the A4095 road across the river on the reach above Radcot Lock...
in April 1646. After Samuel Fell's death in 1649 Gaunt House passed first to his widow Margaret and then to his son John Fell
John Fell (clergyman)
John Fell was an English churchman and influential academic. He served as Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and later concomitantly as Bishop of Oxford.-Education:...
, who was Bishop of Oxford
Bishop of Oxford
The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford...
from 1676. On his death in 1686 John Fell left Gaunt House to Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
to provide an income to pay bursaries
Bursary
A bursary is strictly an office for a bursar and his or her staff in a school or college.In modern English usage, the term has become synonymous with "bursary award", a monetary award made by an institution to an individual or a group to assist the development of their education.According to The...
for poor students. It remained with Christ Church until it was sold 1955. Gaunt House was originally timber-framed but only a section of the original structure remains: all the rest having been replaced in stone by the early part of the 17th century.
Lincoln Cottage, near St. Giles' church, is a timber-framed cruck
Cruck
A cruck or crook frame is a curved timber, one of a pair, which supports the roof of a building, used particularly in England. This type of timber framing consists of long, generally bent, timber beams that lean inwards and form the ridge of the roof. These posts are then generally secured by a...
building dating from about 1500.
Lincoln Farm house, formerly Tyrlings, is also a late mediaeval timber-framed building. It had a chimney stack inserted about 1564 and a stone-built second wing added before the end of the 16th century. At one time its tenant was Walter Bayley
Walter Bayley
-Life:Bayley, called in Latin Bailæus and in English books also Baley and Baily, was born at Portesham, Dorset, in which county his father was a squire. He was educated at Winchester School, and became a fellow of New College in 1550. He graduated M.B. 1557, and M.D. 1563. He was already in holy...
, who was physician to Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
and from 1561 until 1582 was Regius Professor of Physic
Regius Professor of Medicine (Oxford)
The Regius Professor of Medicine is an appointment held at the University of Oxford. The chair was founded by Henry VIII of England by 1546, and until the 20th century the title was Regius Professor of Physic...
at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
.
Cheswell Cottage, originally known as 'Bodens' is a timber framed thatched cottage dating from around 1550, with subsequent stone built 17th and 20th century additions. For parts of the 17th and 18th century it was owned by Lincoln College
Lincoln College
Lincoln College may refer to:in Australia:* Lincoln College , a residential College of the University of Adelaidein New Zealand:* Lincoln University, New Zealand, formerly called Lincoln College...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
.
Economic history
The Domesday Book in 1086 recorded one watermillWatermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
on the de Grey estate. By the 13th century the parish had five mills on the River Windrush of which two were fulling
Fulling
Fulling or tucking or walking is a step in woolen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of cloth to eliminate oils, dirt, and other impurities, and making it thicker. The worker who does the job is a fuller, tucker, or walker...
mills involved with west Oxfordshire's trade in wool. Weaving was a cottage industry in the parish until the middle of the 18th century.
Gaunt Mill, about 400 yards (365.8 m) southwest of Gaunt House, was the "new mill" in the early part of the 13th century. It was a double mill with one part for corn and the other for fulling. From the early part of the 17th century it was purely a corn or gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
. Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
acquired interests in Gaunt Mill in 1483 and 1538 and bought the mill outright in 1617. By 1883 the mill was in poor repair and by 1928 it was in only occasional use. Magdalen College sold the mill in 1920 and it was converted to private use in the 1940s and 1950s.
Church Mill, about 250 yards (228.6 m) upstream of St. Giles' church, existed by 1279. It may have always been a corn mill, and in the 18th and 19th centuries it had a bakery. By 1636 Magdalen College had a half share in Church Mill. The mill was disused by 1911 but was repaired in the 1920s and generated electricity until 1968. 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...
it again undertook some corn milling. The mill was restored again early in the 1980s and was still in working order in 2006.
In 1230 Standlake was licenced to hold a three-day market annually on St. Giles day and the days immediately before and thereafter (31 August - 2 September). By 1279 the market had reduced to two days, and shortly thereafter it seems to have lapsed.
By the latter part of 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...
the main north-south route through the parish was that between 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'....
and Newbridge
Newbridge, Oxfordshire
Newbridge is a 13th century bridge carrying the A415 road over the River Thames in Oxfordshire, between Abingdon and Witney, close to the Thames' confluence with the River Windrush...
, which formed part of the main highway between London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
. Since the 1920s the Berinsfield
Berinsfield
Berinsfield is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, about southeast of Oxford.-History:Palaeolithic and Roman artefacts were found during 20th century excavations to build the village. The Roman road between Dorchester-on-Thames and Alchester runs through the centre of Berinsfield...
- Abingdon
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...
- Witney stretch of this road has been classified as the A415. Aston Road, which links Brighthampton with Cote
Cote, Oxfordshire
Cote is a hamlet about south of Witney and north of the River Thames in West Oxfordshire, England. Cote is part of the civil parish of Aston, Cote, Shifford and Chimney...
, was a bridleway until 1629, when it was made into a highway. It is now part of the B4449 road.
By the early part of the 17th century Standlake had three or four 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, including the Chequers, which traded until at least 1781. By the latter part of the 18th century Standlake had between seven and 11 pubs. The Black Horse is a 16th century building that was a pub by 1761 and continues to trade today. By 1790 The Bell had opened in Rack End, but by 1804 it had moved to the High Street to a building part of which is timber-framed infilled with brick nogging, and the remainder of which is built of Cotswold stone. The Bell was closed for refurbishment for some time after the sale of the pub by Greene King in 2008, but reopened in August 2010 as a free house run by Few Inns.
The parish was farmed under an 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...
until 1853, when its 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...
s were 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...
.
Social history
A school in Standlake was mentioned in 1672 and bequests to fund the education of Standlake were made in 1711 and 1721. Classes were held in St. Giles' church until 1846, when a schoolroom and schoolmaster's house were built on land given by Magdalen College. The building was enlarged in 1866, 1874 and 1894. In 1939 the school was reorganised as a junior and infants' school and in 1947 it became a Voluntary controlled schoolVoluntary controlled school
A voluntary controlled school is a state-funded school in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in which a foundation or trust has some formal influence in the running of the school...
. The school was enlarged again in 1969 and continues to serve the parishes of Standlake and Northmoor
Northmoor, Oxfordshire
Northmoor is a village and civil parish in West Oxfordshire, west of Oxford and almost southeast of Witney. Northmoor is in the valley of the River Thames, which bounds the parish to the east and south, and is close to the River Windrush which forms part of the parish's western...
.
Standlake had a lending library, established with the support of the Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
by 1877, and which continued intermittently until the 20th century. In 1924 it was superseded by a new library at the village school, which served the village until 1964 when it was succeeded by Oxfordshire County Council
Oxfordshire County Council
Oxfordshire County Council, established in 1889, is the county council, or upper-tier local authority, for the non-metropolitan county of Oxfordshire, in the South East of England, an elected body responsible for the most strategic local government services in the county.-History:County Councils...
's mobile library service.
In about 1921 a converted army hut was erected as Standlake's first village hall
Village hall
In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
. It was replaced by the present community centre in 1989. In 1954 a second army hut was erected as a youth club. It was replaced by a purpose built club building in 1963.
Longwood House on Abingdon Road was built in the 1920s. Since 1948 it has been the Mulberry Bush School
Mulberry Bush School
Mulberry Bush School is an independent residential special school in the village of Standlake in Oxfordshire, for children aged 5 to 12 years.The school was founded in 1948 by psychologist Barbara Dockar-Drysdale. It is a registered charity....
for severely disturbed children.
Amenities
Standlake has a Post Office and general store and a car repair garage. There are various small to medium sized businesses both within the village and on two light industrial parks in the parish.Standlake Arena is a locally owned and run 0.25 mile (0.402335 km) oval racing circuit that hosts stock and banger
Banger racing
Banger Racing is a tarmac or dirt track racing type of motorsport event popularised in both North America and Europe and especially United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands in which drivers of old vehicles race against one another around a race track and the race is...
car racing throughout the year.
Oxford Downs Cricket Club has its ground at Standlake. It is a member of The Oxford Times
The Oxford Times
The Oxford Times is a weekly newspaper, published each Thursday in Oxford, England. It is published from a large production facility at Osney Mead, west Oxford, and is owned by Newsquest, the UK subsidiary of US-based Gannett Company....
Cherwell Cricket League.
The Standlake Players is an amateur theatrical
Amateur theatre
Amateur theatre is theatre performed by amateur actors. These actors are not typically members of Actors' Equity groups or Actors' Unions as these organizations exist to protect the professional industry and therefore discourage their members from appearing with companies which are not a signatory...
society. Established in October 2007 by a group of villagers and other locals, the group has held three productions a year in Standlake village hall
Village hall
In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
on a newly renovated and modified stage.
Standlake is surrounded by numerous artificial lakes dug for the commercial extraction of gravel. Many are now stocked with fish and popular with anglers; others are used for aquatic sports such as windsurfing
Windsurfing
Windsurfing or sailboarding is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a board usually two to four metres long, powered by the orthogonal effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a...
.