Alkerton, Oxfordshire
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Alkerton, Oxfordshire
Coordinates: 52°05′06″N 1°27′04″W / 52.085°N 1.451°W
| Alkerton | |
 Alkerton
Alkerton shown within Oxfordshire |
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| OS grid reference | SP3742 |
|---|---|
| Civil parish | Shenington with Alkerton |
| District | Cherwell |
| Shire county | Oxfordshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Banbury |
| Postcode district | OX15 |
| Dialling code | 01295 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Banbury (UK Parliament constituency) |
| Website | Shenington with Alkerton |
| List of places: UK • England • Oxfordshire | |
Alkerton is a village about 5 miles (8 km) west of Banbury in Oxfordshire, on the county boundary with Warwickshire.
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Contents
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Manor
The Domesday Book records that in 1086 Alkerton had two main manors. Miles Crispin held the larger manor as part of the Honour of Wallingford.[1] Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, William the Conqueror's half-brother, held the smaller manor.[1]
Parish church
The oldest parts of the Church of England parish church of Saint Michael are the lower stages of the central bell tower, which date from the 12th century[1] in the Transitional style between Norman and Early English Gothic.[2] Towards the end of the 12th century the south aisle was added,[1] linked with the nave by an Early English Gothic arcade of two bays.[2] Early in the 13th century the east and west arches of the central tower were replaced with Early English Gothic ones.[1] A stone effigy of a knight in an early 13th century style[1] was presumably added about the same time. Early in the 14th century the upper stages of the bell tower were built and the nave was rebuilt.[1] Late in the 14th century a clerestory was added to the nave.[2] The exterior of the clerestory is elaborately decorated with figures of men and animals carved from Hornton stone.[2] The style of carving belongs to a school of 14th century north Oxfordshire masons[2] whose work survives also at Adderbury, Bloxham and Hanwell.[1] Early in the 17th century the rector, the mathematician Thomas Lydiat, had the chancel rebuilt in the Perpendicular Gothic style.[1] In 1889 the architect J.A. Cossins restored the church building and added an organ chamber south of the tower and east of the south aisle.[1]
The tower has a chime of four bells[1] but they are not currently ringable. The oldest bell was cast in about 1400 and another was cast in 1618.[1]
St. Michael's is now one of eight ecclesiastical parishes in the Ironstone Benefice.[3]
Social and economic history
Thomas Lydiat was descended from Christopher Lydiat of London, who bought Alkerton manor house in 1567.[1] Thomas Lydiat became rector of Alkerton in 1612[1] and had the rectory built in 1625.[4]
By 1624 Alkerton had a watermill,[1] presumably on Sor Brook. It was absent from village records by 1778.[1]
An open field system prevailed in the parish until 1777, when an Act of Parliament was passed for its common lands to be enclosed.[1]
The main road between Banbury and Stratford-upon-Avon passes through the northeast part of the former parish of Alkerton. It was made into a turnpike in 1743-44.[1] Since the 1920's it has been classified as part of the A422 road.
In 1782 Alkerton had a public house, the White Lion.[1]
An elementary school was established in Alkerton as a National School, but it failed to attract as many children as it was intended to serve.[1] In 1905 it was closed and its children were transferred to the larger National School in neighbouring Shenington.[1]
By 1959 the Oxfordshire Ironstone Company was a major owner of land around Alkerton.[1]
Amenities
Alkerton's nearest public house, the New Inn, is on the Stratford Road about 0.6 miles (1 km) northeast of the village, in Wroxton Heath.
References
Sources
- Lobel, Mary D; Crossley, Alan, eds. (1969). A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 9. Victoria County History. pp. 44–53.
- Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). Oxfordshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 420–421. ISBN 0-14-071045-0.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alkerton, Oxfordshire |
- Alkerton in the Domesday Book
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