The following text was the introductory talk given by Bryan Sheppard on September 27th 2009 at the unveiling of the Blue Plaque in memory of Janet Blunt. Bryan gave the manuscript to AHA after the talk. It therefore seems fitting … Continue reading
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Rhoda Woodward’s most ambitious contribution to the history of the village of Adderbury was her account of the Schools of Adderbury. In the first two parts of this account she wrote about the Boys’ School, the Girls’ School and the … Continue reading
Jackson’s Oxford Journal was a weekly newspaper founded in 1753 by William Jackson, which continued in one form or another until after the First World War. For the first fifty-five years of its existence Jackson’s Oxford Journal was the only … Continue reading
Introduction Over the 230 years since it first opened to Oxford in 1790, the relationship between the Southern Oxford Canal and the village of Adderbury has never been either close or straightforward (see the paper. “Adderbury and the Oxford Canal … Continue reading
Joan Frederica Mathewana Granville (known among close friends and relatives as Mathewana) was the daughter of Bernard Granville of Wellesbourne Hall, Warwickshire. She was born at Calwick Abbey Staffordshire about 1830 a direct descendant of Admiral Sir Richard Grenville, the … Continue reading
Introduction The first half of the nineteenth century saw an unprecedented expansion in the efforts of central government to gather information about aspects of national life that had previously been held to be matters for purely local concern. For example, … Continue reading
Introduction Wilfred Foreman in his definitive book, Oxfordshire Mills (Phillimore, 1983), records in excess of two hundred watermills in the county, many of which were mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086, suggesting that they are largely of Saxon origin. … Continue reading
For a short period in the 1970s Adderbury played a role in international affairs. Government drivers delivered ministerial red boxes requiring decisions on topics such as the terms of an International Monetary Fund loan to the UK, yet another attempt … Continue reading
PRIZE FIGHT PANIC: ADDERBURY IN 1837 Prize fights were enormously popular in the first four decades of the nineteenth century. The sport enjoyed the patronage of aristocrats and even of royalty, with enormous sums being gambled on the outcomes of … Continue reading
Although there had previously been alternatives to agricultural work in Adderbury, notably with plush weaving, which involved some 34 inhabitants in 1841 (see Taylor, 1964), the first activity that could be properly called “industrial” in the village came with the … Continue reading
A beautiful old-fashioned English oak tree resides, in all its summer splendour, on a tiny green at the junction of Horn Hill and the Milton roads – does it have a story? Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee was celebrated nation-wide on … Continue reading
From an early age I would have been familiar with the word “jubilee”, as my father was reminded of Queen Victoria’s jubilee on some occasions, often when we were out for a walk and heard the church clock playing one … Continue reading
The day before the opening of the broad gauge line to Birmingham, a special train for Directors, Officers and friends left London at 9 a.m. for Birmingham. The train was heavier than had been expected, consisting of ten carriages, weighing … Continue reading
In 2019 Adderbury History Association was asked by Christopher Rawlins School if any older residents of the village could come into school and share their memories of the last war. In the end only Jean Moore was able to talk … Continue reading
Going to Banbury in the late 1920s and early 30s was considered to be a special treat, although I grew up in Adderbury, which was only three and a half miles away. We had almost all that we needed in … Continue reading
There is a short entry in the Victoria County History Vol. IX, Bloxham Hundred, 1969, mentioning that there was a brickworks at Twyford Wharf. The next mention is contained in Vera Wood’s book The Licencees of the Inns, Taverns and … Continue reading
Cyril Beeson (1889-1975) chose to retire to Adderbury in 1946 and lived in Westway Cottage, West Adderbury, until shortly before his death in 1975. During his time in Adderbury he gained a reputation as a local historian and particularly as … Continue reading
Over the years I have done a great deal of family history and at first this was research into my own family then it progressed into other people’s families and trying to solve the ‘’brick walls’’ they had run up … Continue reading
Three of my family of four children were born at home. When I first realised I was pregnant in 1948 my mother said I should find where the District Nurse lived. We had just moved into a tied one-bedroom farm … Continue reading
INTRODUCTION The Quaker Meeting House in Adderbury was built in 1675 on the estate of the Lord of the Manor of Adderbury West, Bray D’Oyly. This guide has been prepared to help visitors to appreciate this unique building. It contains … Continue reading
When I see a large crusty loaf in a shop window I always remember our local bake house that I used to visit as a child. On Sunday mornings my father, carrying a large baking tray containing our Sunday dinner, … Continue reading
William Cole was brought up in Adderbury from birth to the age of sixteen, a son of the local schoolmaster. He remains of interest to us today because in his twenties he became “the most famous simpler of his age”, … Continue reading
In 1976 Michael Pickering published a paper in Folk Music Journal entitled “Janet Blunt – Folk Song Collector and Lady of the Manor”. This biographical work was a part of the research for his doctoral thesis, which eventually led to … Continue reading
The first known mention of Adderbury in writing is contained in an Anglo-Saxon Charter dated c 995 – a little over 1,000 years ago. Wynflaed, a very wealthy woman with possible royal connections, lived in Berkshire; she owned many properties … Continue reading
George Henry Davis was given various headline titles by the local and national newspapers. These included – The Giant Brickie from Banbury and Britain’s Biggest Boxer. George Henry Davis, along with his brother Norman, was born at Deddington in their … Continue reading
John Hone was born in Adderbury in 1844 and lived with his parents, William and Mary Ann, plus five siblings in Parsons Street. William, his father, was a plush weaver, a skilled occupation. Nevertheless, their family circumstances were very humble. … Continue reading
The Adderbury violin-maker, Charles Harris (1791-1851), came to Adderbury after serving his apprenticeship, established his family here and carried on his trade in the village for a decade or so in the 1820s. He is interesting to us principally because … Continue reading
The Garage I suppose I must have been about three years old when we moved to a cottage on the main road a few yards opposite was what was known as Tommy Thacker’s Garage and it is one of my … Continue reading
All my dancing days were during World War II. I had been asked to act as partner by our tap dancing teacher to some young men that wanted to learn ballroom dancing early in 1939. I was only 14 at … Continue reading
Late in 1950 John Burgess Wilson, who was later to find fame as the prolific writer Anthony Burgess, moved to 4, Water Lane, Adderbury with his wife Lynne. He had accepted a post as a junior English master at Banbury … Continue reading
Henry Gepp became vicar of Adderbury in 1874 and held the post until his retirement through illness in 1913. This made him the longest-serving vicar of Adderbury since 1381. Despite its length, his incumbency was to a large degree without … Continue reading
SAD AFFAIRS: A Century of Stories about the Oxford Canal at Adderbury, taken from Jackson’s Oxford Journal Jackson’s Oxford Journal, Sat Nov 26th 1808, Issue 2900 A few days since an inquisition was taken at Adderbury, before Mr Gough, one … Continue reading
The small Hamlet of Milton is the focal point of the civil parish which consists of 328 hectares (810 acres), mostly of farmland. A sizeable area was requisitioned during the second World War as an airfield and is still occupied … Continue reading
For just over two hundred years the lakes have lain quietly hidden behind the grounds of Adderbury House. Of course, we all knew that they were there. My father would tell me about the skating parties held by the Miss … Continue reading
This article was composed in 1995 and formed part of the Special Edition of Adderbury Contact published in May, 1995, to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of VE Day. For most of 1939 everyone talked of war, with the older ones … Continue reading
This article was composed in May 2005 as part of a BBC survey of women’s voluntary groups in World War 2 edited by Ian Billingsley. In 1942, I was working in a factory making surgical corsets. I didn’t like it … Continue reading
In 1874, Sarah and Thomas Joines of Adderbury, were emigrating to New Zealand. They had assisted passage on the Carisbrooke Castle that was sailing from London to Lyttelton, NZ. Sarah 24, and Thomas 22, had three children, Alice who was … Continue reading
“Several years ago, the magnificent mansion at Adderbury, which had been the abode, successively, of the Earls of Rochester, the Duke of Argyle and the Duke of Buccleuch, was reduced to the dimensions of a commodious modern mansion, which … Continue reading
At the end of WWI there was a housing crisis for the returning soldiers and their families and at the end of 1918 the Banbury Rural District Council attempted to devise a housing scheme to meet this need. Potential sites … Continue reading
The Twyford Tea Gardens (house and grounds) were developed as part of the Twyford Garden Estate. This was an attempt to develop a rural Garden Suburb outside Banbury. The Garden Suburbs and Cities movement became popular in the early 20th … Continue reading
When it was completed in 1790 the Oxford Canal provided a vital link between the industrial Midlands and the markets of Oxford and London, and completed the “Grand Cross” of waterways intended by James Brindley and others to provide the … Continue reading
The present day Greenhill complex stands on the former site of Greenhill House which later became the Leonard Cheshire Care Home. Greenhill House was built in 1906 for Lewis Stone the son of Henry Stone. … Continue reading
MAPS 1922 OS map covering the whole of the village, east and west. Three sheets. Field ownership maps (3 copies), believed to be of the period Enclosure – 1769. William Hunt Chamberlin Estate Map 1808. Photocopy of map of The … Continue reading
Adderbury Parish had its own magazine, which appeared monthly from January 1875, the year after the Reverend Henry Gepp became Vicar of Adderbury, until the end of 1892. At this point, parish information was subsumed within the Deddington Deanery Magazine, … Continue reading
This list of the origins of the street and road names in Adderbury and Twyford was prepared at the request of members of the Adderbury History Association. It is based on a number of printed sources, particularly Nicholas Allen: Adderbury: A … Continue reading
The two stretches of water we now know as The Lakes first make their appearance in the historical record as an ornamental feature in the early eighteenth century when the Duke of Argyll was in residence at Adderbury House. They … Continue reading
The Twyford that is now part of Adderbury was never a place! Twi-ford is a topographical description in Anglo-Saxon, the language spoken in this country over a thousand years ago. “Twi” is the Saxon word for two – our modern … Continue reading
Thomas Hayward, born in 1781 and a basketmaker by trade, came from a musical family. He himself was a member of and trained the Adderbury church choir in the late 1830s and 1840s. This was a time when country choirs … Continue reading
Hearing about the 200 year celebrations brought back memories of the Coach and Horses being the first public house I went into. It would have been the late 1930s. I had been with my Dad and he said we would … Continue reading
The bridle path off the Oxford Road at the end of Berry Hill Road is still known as Paper Mill Lane from the days when it led to a mill making watermarked paper for bank notes. A mill existed here … Continue reading
In June 2013 the Adderbury History Association organised an exhibition of Quaker clockmaking, which illustrated the output of local Quaker clockmakers from around 1700 to the middle of the nineteenth century, from the early works of Thomas Gilkes senior of … Continue reading