Coordinates: 51°46′52″N 1°22′30″W / 51.781°N 1.375°W
| Eynsham | |
  Eynsham
Eynsham shown within Oxfordshire |
|
| Population | 4,778 (2001 Census) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| Parish | Eynsham |
| District | West Oxfordshire |
| Shire county | Oxfordshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | OX29 |
| Dialling code | 01865 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Witney |
| Website | Eynsham Parish Council |
| List of places: UK • England • Oxfordshire | |
Eynsham (pronounced /ˈɛnʃəm/) is a village and civil parish about 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Witney in Oxfordshire, England.
Contents |
History
Eynsham grew up near the historically important ford of Swinford on the River Thames flood plain.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle mentions Eynsham as Egonesham which it describes as one of four towns captured by the Anglo-Saxons from the Britons in AD 571. Its name is recorded in AD 864 (in the dative) as Egenes homme = "Ægen's enclosure or river-meadow".
In 1005 Aethelmar, kinsman of Aethelred II founded a Benedictine abbey. By the medieval period Eynsham Abbey was one of the largest in the area, but it was dissolved at the Reformation in 1538 and only a few remains are still visible. The Church of England parish church of Saint Leonard dates from the 13th century.[1] It has been restored twice: by William Wilkinson in 1856 and H.G.W. Drinkwater in 1892.[1]
By 1302 Eynsham had a wharf handling freight including hay, straw, malt, grain and timber. It was beside the Talbot Inn on Wharf Stream, a tributary of the Thames. By 1790 the newly-completed Oxford Canal was trading with Eynsham Wharf, primarily to sell coal from the Midlands.[2] From 1792 th Oxford Canal employed a wharfinger at Eynsham[3] and in 1800 it bought the lease of the wharf.[4] The Oxford Canal consolidated its position at Eynsham by buying the Talbot Inn in 1845 and the freehold of Eynsham Wharf in 1849,[5] perhaps in response to the Railway Mania that was beginning to take traffic from canals and navigations.
Eynsham Lock is on the Thames just above the confluence with Wharf Stream. This was the last flash lock on the Thames, and was not rebuilt as a pound lock until 1928.
The fortunes of the main road through Eynsham have fluctuated. By the middle of the 18th century Swinford had a ferry, but the road was in poor condition. The heavier road traffic between Oxford and Witney preferred to pass further north via Bladon, where the better-maintained Oxford - Woodstock and Witney - Woodstock roads met. When the latter was made into a turnpike in 1751, the road via Eynsham and Swinford ferry was included as a branch of it.[6] In 1769 the Earl of Abingdon opened Swinford Toll Bridge to replace the ferry. The Witney - Woodstock road ceased to be a turnpike in 1869 but the Witney - Oxford road remained one until 1877.[6]
Eynsham was an important coaching stop on the London to Fishguard trunk road.[citation needed] Since 1922 this has been classified as the A40 road. In 1936 a bypass for the main road was built north of the village, and the road over Swinford bridge was reclassified as the B4044.
The Witney Railway between Witney and Yarnton was built through Eynsham parish and opened in 1861. Eynsham railway station was on the south side of the village. The Great Western Railway took over the line in 1890 and enlarged Eynsham station in 1944. British Railways closed the line to passenger trains in 1962. In 1970 the line closed to freight traffic and was dismantled.
Amenities
Local industries include gravel extraction and the large superconducting magnet factory, Siemens Magnet Technology Ltd. Eynsham also has a business park on its outskirts.
Eynsham Primary School[7] is a community primary school. Bartholomew School[8] in Eynsham is the county secondary school for the village and surrounding area.
Eynsham Football Club plays in Witney and District Football League Division One.[9] Eynsham Sports and Social Club plays in Witney and District Football League Division Three and its reserve team plays in Division Four.[10] Eynsham Cricket Club[11] plays in Oxfordshire Cricket Association League Division Three.[12]
Eynsham has a Women's Institute[13] and a Morris dancing side.[14]
Gallery
 Swinford Bridge |
 The River Thames near Eynsham |
 Map of the town |
See also
Sources
- Compton, Hugh J (1976). The Oxford Canal. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. pp. 58-59. ISBN 0 7153 7238 6.
- Alan Crossley, C.R Elrington (Eds); A.P. Baggs, W.J. Blair, Eleanor Chance, Christina Colvin, Janet Cooper, C.J. Day, Nesta Selwyn, S.C. Townley (1990). Victoria County History: A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 12: Wootton Hundred (South) including Woodstock. Victoria County History of the Counties of England. pp. 98-158. ISBN 0197227740.
- Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire. Harmondsworth: Penguin. pp. 600-603. ISBN 0 14 071045 0.
External links
References
- ^ a b Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 600
- ^ Compton, 1976, page 58
- ^ Compton, 1976, page 59
- ^ Compton, 1976, page 60
- ^ Compton, 1976, page 117
- ^ a b Crossley & Elrington, 1999, Victoria County History of Oxfordshire, pages 98-110
- ^ Eynsham Primary School
- ^ Bartholomew School
- ^ Witney and District Football League
- ^ Witney and District Football League
- ^ Eynsham Cricket Club
- ^ Oxfordshire Cricket Association
- ^ Oxfordshire Federation of Women's Institutes
- ^ Eynsham Morris
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