This section lists books, articles and media presentations that members of the History Association have found useful in learning about the history of Adderbury under the following headings:
Adderbury History
Adderbury House and its inhabitants
Banburyshire
Church History
Folk Song and Morris Dancing
Industry and Cottage Industries
Non-Conformism
Quaker Clockmaking
Transport
Please scroll down to find the section(s) which interest you.
Adderbury History
A Film about rural North Oxfordshire made as part of a government project in 1945. Adderbury is featured as one of the villages in the film. Available from Panamint Cinema or through Amazon
Written by Walter Clark, and published by Banbury and District Civic Society 1964. Out of print. This sketch illustrated 16 page pamphlet gives a short history of Adderbury with short historical descriptions of the large houses.
Written by Henry J Gepp and published by The Banbury Guardian 1924 – Out of print This 93 page illustrated book, by the then vicar of Adderbury, was the first to be written about the history of Adderbury.
Mischief, Pranks and Spare Time: Aspects of the Leisure of Edwardian Village Youth
Written by Michael Pickering, Cake and Cock Horse, 9,4, 1983.
Written by Sir Miles Thomas and published by Michael Joseph 1964. – Out of print. Sir Miles and Lady Thomas lived at Adderbury during WWII and were actively involved in village fund raising activities etc. during the wartime period.
Oxfordshire Friendly Societies
Written by Shaun Morley 2011, Oxfordshire Record Society.
Published 1826 by J G Rusher, Out of Print Page 66 – 75 lists all the Feoffee’s Land etc. that they hold. The money raised from rents etc. are dispersed by the Feoffee’s charity to various causes. The Adderbury Feoffees still administer charity etc. within the parish.
The Progress Notes of Warden Woodward Round The Oxfordshire Estates of New College, Oxford 1659-1675
Published by The Oxfordshire Record Society 1949. Out of print Pages 17 – 27 detail Warden Woodward’s visits to Adderbury.
Written and published by Rhoda Woodward. 200? Out of print, Available in the village library This book is about Rhodas’ memories of her family and life in Adderbury.
Written and published by Rhoda Woodward in 2011. Out of print, available in the village library. The 115 page illustrated book recalls the Boer War, WWI and WII memories using Rhoda’s own memory and articles in the Adderbury Deanery Magazine.
Click here to return to the top
Adderbury House and its Inhabitants
A 4 page article about Adderbury in Country Life, January 7th 1949. A large proportion of this article is devoted to the history of Adderbury House. Also featured the Rookery. There are also 10 pictures of Adderbury House and the village taken about the time of publication.
Written by Georgette Heyer and published in 1938. This book has been republished and is available on Amazon. The book is about Charles II’s escape to Europe after his defeat by Cromwell in which Wilmot plays a part.
Written by Pamela Belle, published by Heron, 1983 An historical saga set during the English Civil War and telling the story of two star-crossed lovers.
Of Ink, Wit and Intrigue: Lord Rochester in Chains of Quicksilver
Written by Susan Cooper-Bridgewater, published by Troubador publishing, 2014. ISBN: 9781783063079 Price: £8.99 eISBN: 9781783067312 Price: £4.99 A novel about Englands most notorious wastrel, poet and libertine John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester 1647-1680 who lived at Adderbury House.
A Profane Wit, The Life of John Wilmot
Written by James William Johnson, 2004
Written by Graham Greene 1989
By Alexander Larman The book is about the Life of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester who lived at Adderbury House.
Excavations at Adderbury House
Written by Stephen Weaver, Cake and Cock Horse, Spring 1999.
The Cobb Mansion, Adderbury, and some of its inhabitants
Written by Nicholas Allen: Cake and Cock Horse, Summer 2008.
Click here to return to the top
Banburyshire
Banbury, The history and heritage of World War I
Written by Julian Dancer and published by Banbury Town Council 2014. This book is being given away free by the Town Council lists those from Adderbury who died in WWI
A Changing Landscape: Banbury and the Cherwell Valley
Written by Sarah Gosling. Oxfordshire County Council Department of Museum Services Publication No. 8, no date.
Early Victorian Squarson – The Diaries of William Cotton Risley Vicar of Deddington 1835-1848
Extracts selected by Geoffrey Smedley-Stevenson, published by Banbury Historical Society Vol 29 2007. ISBN 978 0 900129 27 8 or (978 1899536 84 9 Robert Boyd Publications). William Cotton Risley was vicar of Deddington but travelled to Adderbury regularly to visit family. He was also connected with other village groups etc. in Adderbury.
Written by Alfred Beesley, published 1841, Out of print. There are numerous references to Adderbury throughout the book.
Mid-Victorian Squarson – The Diaries of William Cotton Risley Former Vicar of Deddington 1849-1869
Extracts selected by Geoffrey Smedley-Stevenson, published by Banbury Historical Society Vol 32, 2012. ISBN 978 0 900129 30 (or 978 1 908738 03 5 Robert Boyd Publications). William Cotton Risley was vicar of Deddington but travelled to Adderbury regularly to visit family. He was also connected with other village groups etc. in Adderbury.
Oxfordshire and Banbury Directories
There are a number of Banbury and County Directories that have in them useful material related to the history of Adderbury as well as family history.
The main ones are:
Rusher’s Banbury Directories printed by Rushers of Banbury
Kelly’s Directories of Oxfordshire and Banbury
History, Gazeteer and Directory of the County of Oxford published and printed by Robert Gardner 1852
Victoria County History, Oxfordshire, Vol 9 – Bloxham Hundred 1969. This can be viewed on line at http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=101912
Victorian Banbury
Written by Barrie Trinder, 1982, Phillimore Press
Victorian Banburyshire. Three Memoirs
Ed. Barrie Trinder. Banbury Historical Society, Vol. 33, 2013.
Click here to return to the top
Church History
William Beaw: Bishop and Secret Agent
This article by John R. Guy and published in History Today Volume: 26 Issue: 12 1976. can be accessed at http://www.historytoday.com/john-r-guy/william-beaw-bishop-and-secret-agent by becoming a subscriber to History Today. The article is about William Beaw who became the vicar of Adderbury in 1661. He was a soldier, churchman, Royalist Fellow of New College and served in Russia and Sweden during Cromwell’s years of power. Beaw returned to Britain and became the Vicar of Adderbury and Bishop of Llandaff.
An English Parish Church; its story. St Mary the Virgin, Adderbury
Written by Nicholas Allen. Published 2011 by Wykeham Press. An illustrated 138 page book about the history of St Mary’s church Adderbury. Available through the Secretary priced £5 plus p&p.
History of the Mothers’ Union in Adderbury 1894 – 2001
Written and published by Anne Williams This 184 page illustrated book charts the history of the Mothers’ Union in Adderbury. Available through the secretary.
The Frieze in Adderbury Church
Written by Irene Bennett, Cake & Cock Horse, Spring 1981
Click here to return to the top
Folk Song and Morris Dancing
Janet Blunt: Folk Song Collector and Lady of the Manor by Michael Pickering
Published in the English Folk Dance + Song Society Folk Music Journal Vol 3, No 2 (1976), pp 114 -154. This article tells the story of her early life through to being the self appointed lady of the manor. It details her life in Adderbury and her collecting of local dances and folk songs.
Ribbons, Bells and Squeaking Fiddles
Written by Keith Chandler, published by the Folklore Society, 1993. Out of print. Copies are available on Amazon.
Adderbury features extensively in this work about the social history of morris dancing in the South Midlands. Pages 157 – 170 are almost exclusively devoted to the history of morris dancing in Adderbury.
The Dances of The Adderbury Morris Men
Released 2004 by Adderbury Morris Men. This cd celebrates the 30th Anniversary of The Adderbury Morris Men and is made up of 14 of their dance tunes.
Village Song and Culture: A Study based on the Blunt Collection of Song from Adderbury, North Oxfordshire
Written by Michael Pickering, 1982. Routledge.
Click here to return to the top
Industry and Cottage Industries
Brickmaking in Oxfordshire
Written by Bond,J., Gosling & Rhodes (1980): Oxfordshire Museums Information Sheet.
The Ironstone Quarries of the Midlands. Part Two The Oxfordshire Field
Written by Eric Tonks, published 1988 and reprinted by Book Law Publications in 2009. ISBN 978-1-907094-01-9 Pages 26 -47 detail the working at the Adderbury Quarries
Lacemaking in Oxfordshire
Written by Christine Bloxham. Oxfordshire Museums Information Sheet 3. No date
A Miller’s Tale: A History of J.Bibby and Sons Ltd
Written by J.B. and C.L.Bibby, 1978.
The Oxford Canal and the Ironstone Business
Written by Hugh Compton in Cake and Cock Horse, 14,2, 1998.
The Plush Industry of Oxfordshire
Written by R.P.Beckinsale, in Oxoniensia 1963
Proto-industries of 19th-Century Oxfordshire
Written by Barrie Trinder in An Historical Atlas of Oxfordshire, edited by Kate Tiller and Giles Drakes, Oxfordshire Record Society (ORS Vol 67), 2010, p.120.
Sydenham Ironstone Quarries: Aynho and Adderbury
Written by Peter Brookfield in Cake and Cock Horse, 17,9, 2009, p. 287 -295.
Click here to return to the top
Non-Conformism
Adderbury has long been known as a centre for non-conformism. The following books and articles will provide an introduction to this topic.
Church and Chapel in Oxfordshire 1851: The Return of the Census
Edited by Kate Tiller,1987, Oxfordshire Record Society 55.
The Doylys of Adderbury and their Quaker Meeting House
Written by Nicholas Allen, 2012, Cake and Cock Horse.
Pilgrim’s Progress Revisited; The Nonconformists of Banburyshire 1662-2012
Written by Martin Greenwood, 2013, The Wychwood Press.
Some Rural Quakers
Written by Jack Wood (1991), Sessions of York.
Village Chapels
Written by Pauline Ashridge, 2004.
Click here to return to the top
Quaker Clockmaking
The Quaker Clockmakers of North Oxfordshire
Written by Tim Marshall, published by Mayfield Books, 2013 ISBN 978-0-9540525-6-1 Priced £48. There are many references to the Adderbury Quaker Clockmakers.
Clockmaking in Oxfordshire 1400 – 1850
Written by C F C Beeson, published by the Antiquarian Horological Society in Association with the Banbury Historical Society, 1962. The original is out of print as are more recent reprints. Copies are available on ABE books and Amazon. This illustrated 160 page book written by Dr Beeson a former resident of Adderbury lists the clockmakers of Oxfordshire from 1400 to 1850. Included are a number of the Adderbury Clockmakers
Click here to return to the top
Transport
The Banbury & Cheltenham Railway 1887 – 1962
Written by J H Russell, published by The Oxford Publishing Co, 1977, ISBN 902888-45-5 Out of print Sometimes available on Ebay or Amazon. Pages 23 – 26 refer to Adderbury
The Banbury & Cheltenham Direct Railway
Written by Stanley C Jenkins, Bob Brown and Neil Parkhouse, published by Lightmoor Press, 2004, ISBN 1-899-88915-9 A 368 page well illustrated history of the Banbury to Cheltenham line. Well indexed making it easy to pick out the references to Adderbury.
The Banbury & Cheltenham Railway Vol 1 and Vol 2
Volume 1 written by William Hemmings and published by White Swan publications 2004, ISBN 1-874103-88-7 Volume 2 written by William Hemmings, Paul Karau and Chris Turner and published by White Swan publications 2004, ISBN 1-874103-89-5 These books detail the history of the Banbury to Cheltenham railway which ran through Adderbury.
The Oxford Canal
Written by Bloxham, C. & Bond, J., Oxfordshire Museums Services, Information Sheet 18, 1981.
The Oxford Canal
Written by Hugh Compton, David & Charles, 1976
The Oxford Canal and the Ironstone Business
Written by Hugh Compton, Cake & Cock Horse, Vol. 14, No.2, Spring 1998
Rivers and Canals
Written by Barrie Trinder, in An Historical Atlas of Oxfordshire, edited by Kate Tiller and Giles Drakes, Oxfordshire Record Society (ORS Vol 67), 2010, p. 104.
Turnpike Roads to Banbury
Written by Alan Rosevear, Banbury Historical Society, Vol. 31.
Click here to return to the top