THE

HANBOROUGH

PARISH

APPRAISAL

-*-+t1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Committee TheCommittee consisted of thefollowing persons for all or partof theduration of theproject: Robin Dawkins David Gould Liz Ryder JaneEnoch David Greenway Edward Twiss John Fox Angela Holt Mary Twiss JackGarner John Lewis-Barned Andrew Wilkins Roger Parrott Helpers The SteeringComrnittee is very grateful to the following people who helped in various ways with the project. The following abbreviationsindicate the natureof the help: A = Advertising hocurement; C = ComputerData Input; D = Distributor/Collector; R = Report Contributor

Mark Ashwofth (C) RosemaryGlossop (D) Kathy McCall (C) PaulAtyeo (D) Terry Glossop(D) Malcolm Osmond(C) Eileen Barre (D) MargaretGould (D) DenisePanott (D) Clive Berry (D) Kay Haggie(D) Derek Polgrean(R) Pam Berry (D) GrahamHaines (C) Peggyhior (D) John Brown (D) JeanneHall (D) MargaretPullen (D) Pat Brown (D) David Hancox(C) Colin Randall (D & R) JoanBuckingham (D) Terry Hardaker(R) David Rischmiller (D) JanetCapel (C) EdnaHarris (D) Neil Robson(C) Adrienne Chaplin (D) Michael Hanis (D) Michael Ryan (A & D) JonathanChaplin (D) Julie Harvey (D) Malcolm Ryder (R) Mrs Cobb (D) BrendaHayden (R) Brian Sewell (D) Paul Coffey (R) Norman Hayes(R) CharlesSimpkins (D) Leslie Cookson(D) HeatherHebborn (R) Carol Stark (D) Sue Cotterill (D) JackyHopkins (D) Tony Stark (D) HeatherDawkins (D) ZandraHouston (R) GeraldThompson (R) BarbaraDew (R) HowardHudson (R) Joan Tompkins (R) Brian Field (D) GillianHunt (D) DeniseWebb (D) Val Field (D) Colin James(D & R) Mike Webb (D) Mury French (R) Nigel James(D) Mury Withen (D) HelenGale (D) CarolJanes (D) Eric Young (D) Pat Garner(D) David Janes(D) JoyceYoung (D) Maggie Gibbard(D) Dick Jefferis(D) Children of the Manor Mike Gibbard(D) RosalindJefferis (D) School(R) JeremyGibson (R) JohnJudge (C, D & R) In addition the committeeis awarethat many of the abovenamed helpers wete assistedby membersof their family. So many people of Hanboroughhelped that it has been difficult to keep track of everyone. If you helped and cannot find your name on the above list, pleaseaccept the committee'sapologies. Sponsors The Committee is indebted to the following organisationsthat have given facilities and financial help on the Project: HanboroushParish Council Supportedby Oxford Rfral Community Council Lovell JohnsLtd rural action Oxford ScientiflrcFilrns Ltd FOR THE ENVIRONMENT CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Insidefront cover INTRODUCTION 2 HANBOROUGH 5 HISTORY - From the Norman Conquest 6 POPULATION AND HOUSING t2 EDUCATION 15 EMPLOYMENT AND INDUSTRY T9 THE ENVIRONMENT 22 THE NATURAL HISTORY OF HANBOROUGH 25 THE 1605MAP 32 GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY AND PRE-HISTORY 34 PREHISTORYTO THE NORMAN CONQUEST 36 HEALTH 40 RETAIL AND OTHER SERVICES 42 LEISURE AND RECREATION 46 TRANSPORTAND HIGHWAYS 48 HANBOROUGH HERALD 51 RELIGION 53 LOCAL GOVERNMENT 55 IMPRESSIONSOF HANBOROUGH 59 APPENDIX A - How the Village Appraisal 60 questionnairewas conducted APPENDIX B -Clubs and Organisations 62 APPENDIX C - ElectedRepresentatives 64

Illustratedby Norman Hayesand BrendaHayden Cover by Norman Hayes Printedby InformationPress Ltd., Eynsham INTRODUCTION

Perhapsthe earliestpicture of Hanboroughthat existsis the 1605map includedin this report, pages 32-33. The map predatesby just a few years the disturbing wotk by Galileo Galilei who was using his new telescopeto prove that the earth was not the centreof the universe.

Galileo's proof is today cofiunon knowledge and we know that Hanborough is certainly not part of the centre of the universe. However, it is our home and for that reason alone it may be a useful exercise to look at it from time to time 'telescope'to throughour own seehow it moves.

This frst village appraisal has been an attempt to capture an impression of Hanboroughas it is in the final decadeof the twentieth century. Where possiblewe have tried to contrastthe presentwith the past so that some senseof the constant, thoughsometimes slow, change we haveundergone can be communicated.

If the map of the parishthat follows is comparedwith that of 1605it will be seen that the essentialpattern of roads we know today was already in place. It is interestingto searchfor the changesin that patternthat have occurredin the past almost400 years.

In July 1993the ParishCouncil held a public meetingto discussthe possibility of Hanboroughconducting a village appraisal. A memberof the OxfordshireRural Community Council (ORCC) was on hand to brief the meetingon the natureand possible advantagesof a village appraisal. The ORCC also recommended computersoftware for devisinga suitablequestionnaire and analysingthe results.

From this meeting came the impems for a group of volunteers to form a steering group whose purposehas been to conductthe process,the outcome of which is this reportto you.

The aims that haveguided the steeringgroup are:

to recordan impressionof the communityof Hanborough to collect datareflectins the assetsand deficienciesof the community . to provide informationthat could be usedin making decisionsfor the benefit of the community

During 1994 questionnaireswere delivered to virtually every household in Long Hanborough and Church Hanborough. The return was almost 80%, a tribute to your interest and participation. We hope that this report gives an insight into the views and wishesof the citizens of Hanborough. It reflects a variety of styles in keeping with the different contributors. It also containsmuch factualinformation which we hope will prove tusefuland interestin s.

Footnote

See Appendix A for a detailed description of the conduct of the village appraisal questionnaire.

THE PARISHOF HANBOROUGH

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This map hasbeen producedfor the Appraisalby Lovell JohnsLtd, HanboroughBusiness Park

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MEMORIES

There was a stone quarry in Silk Hill (now Swan Lane) and a gravel pit ort Main Road oppositethat turning and one on the north side near where the garage now stands. Therewas a gravel pit eitherside of Church Road,the one on the westwos known as Tuckwellspit.

Adjacent to North Leigtt Contrttortthere is a sevenacre field (alongsidethe A4095). This.fieldused to be known as HanboroughHeath and it was Queen Anne's Bounty. The rent collected.from thefanner cultivating the field was divided betweenthe poor and needyof the Parish of Hanborough. The rent still goes to Hanborough WelfareTrust.

Theallotnrcnts, tlow betweenLong Hanboroughand the Cenrctery,were known as Martin's Piece[who was Martin?]. All the ground adiacentto thatfootpath betweenLong and Church Hanborough used to be allotrnents. There were also allotnrcnts down Millwood End.

4 HANBOROUGH

Hanboroughin the county of Oxfordshireis locatedwithin the triangle formed by Witney, Woodstock and Oxford. By road it is approximately four miles to Witney and to Woodstockand nine miles to Oxford.

There are two principal portions, the villages of Long Hanboroughand Church Hanborough,which ate a mile apart and lie on a low plateau. There are a few outlying parts,such as Mill Farn, CollegeFam, GooseEye and New Barn Farm to the eastof Lower Roadin the valley of the river Evenlode.

Church Hanboroughis so called becauseit is that portion which contains the parish church, while Long Hanboroughgets its name not from it being a long and straggling village, which it is, but becauseit is that portion which lies at some distancefrom the parishchurch.

Hanboroughis boundedby Combe to the north, Bladon on the east,Cassington on the south east,Eynsham on the south, Freelandon the west and North Leigh on the north west.

There is one outstandingfeaftrre, the spire of the parish church,visible for miles around. 'Hanborough' The origin of the name may be attributable to the Saxon 'Hageneberga'which means'Hagen'sHill'.

That this areahas been settled for a very long time is beyonddispute. However,now that its inhabitants al€ more numelous than at any time and there are signs of pressuresto increasesettlement here, Hanborough may need to look hatd at how it might develop. A growing senseof communitywill undoubtedlyassist that process.

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'7''''& A CONCISB AND SELBCTIVE HISTORY OF HANBOROUGH IN OXFORDSHIRE

Some time in the year 1105William the Conqueror'sson King Henry I stayed briefly in Hanborough,when three royal charterswere datedhere. In June 1644 King Charles I passedthrough the parish at the end of his famous night march from Oxford, and drew up his army on HanboroughHeath (nearShepherd's Hall) before continuing to Burford. Just over 300 years later on 29 January1965 the train carrying the body of Sir Winston Churchill, after the funeral service at Westminster Abbey, drew into Handborough Station. The cortdge passedalong the Woodstock road, lined by members of local volunteer services from Hanboroughand other villages,to the final restingplace in Bladon churchyard. Thus infrequentlyhave nationalevents directly touchedour parish. Hanborough is typical of most rural villages in having little but parishpump history. For the 'manor', past nine centuries the the earliest unit of land ownership and law administration,has been in the handsof, first, the Crown, delegatedto various tenants for a generationor two or attachedto the royal park and palace of Woodstock,and forestof Wychwood;and, second, rvhen the Woodstockmanors were grantedby a grateful sovereignand nation to the conqueringhero John Churchillin 1705,the Duke of Marlborough- rvhosedescendant is still our I-ord of the Manor. During the l8th and l9th centuriesthe ducal estatesteadily built up its land-holding,until by 1863it comprisedI,270 out of the total 2,270acres making up the parish. The secondlarge landowneris Corpus Christi College, Oxford, whoseestate was accumulatedin the l6th and lTth centuries. The advowsonof the church (the right to fill the incumbencywhenever this falls vacant)has since the later l7th century belongedto St John's College,and from 1665until 1854the rectory was annexedto the presidencyof the college,with the duties normally being undertakenby a curate. Thus the parishhas rarely had dominantresident landowners or rectors. The vast proportion of its male popnlation have until this century worked on the land, whilst in the 19th century the women and girls supplementedthe meagre agricultural wages by gloving for the Woodstock glove trade. There were quarriesin the parish as early as I27O (indeed the parish church is thought to have beenbuilt from stonefrom the qllarry in PinsleyWood). A quarry between Long Hanboroughand the Evenlode provided the stone for the Oxford University Pressbuilding between 1826 and 1830, and for EynshamHall in 1904. There were Llsuallya dozenor so masonsto work the stone. Brickmaking was another village industry, thanks to a good sourceof lime. The lime-burner Henry Wise in 1706 contractedto supply 500,000 bricks for the kitchen gardensat Blenheim. Brickmaking on or nearHanborough Heath was recordedfrom 1783to 1911. All villages have alwayshad alehouses,though only in the past 250 yearsis there a good chanceof finding their names. 'Walter the vintner' was mentionedas early as 1279. The earliestrecords of victuallers in the parish are in 1533 and 1634,the first pubs named in 1661,the Katherine Wheel, and 1686, the Holly Bush. The first comprehensivenaming datesfrom L775,with the familiar Hand and Shears,George [and Dragon], and Bell, plus the Ball, which was soon succeededby the Swan. Shepherd'sHall first appearsin the 1851census, and the Three Horseshoesten yearslater.

The earliestsurviving featureof the parishis PinsleyWood, first named,as Pin's wood, rn 1237,but certainlypart of the 7 by 6 furlongsof woodlandcatalogued in the DomesdayBook of 1086 and shown in maps at Corpus Christi College dated 1605. The parishchurch, dedicated to SS Peter and Paul, was in existenceby c.1130 when it was grantedto ReadingAbbey. and its earliestarchitectural features bear this out. The Norman tympanum over the north door, showing St Peter with a lion on his right, a lamb on his left, and a cock at his feet, after nine hundted years is still, in its prirnitive impact,the finest work of art in the parish. The church itself, with its soaring columns inside and its soaring spire piercing the horizon, is outstanding in a county of fine churches.A published Guide is available, so its many featuresneed no descriptionhere. However, it should be recorded that its six bells, three dating from 1602-23,havein 1994been recast and rehuns after an appealraised the .€53,000required.

The fact that the church was built where it is implies that the earliestcentre for administrationof the parishwas in ChurchHanborough, so possiblyat that time it was the larger place, or merely the location of the manor house. The earliest records of spread of population suggest that from medieval times Long Hanboroughhas always been the major settlement. However, the first record which differentiatesbetween the two villages appearsto be in 1609/10,when there were 52 dwellings in Long Hanboroughand 16 in Church Hanborough, with a further 9 in the Little Blenl'reimarea. Long Hanborough was usually 'ends', divided into two Burleigh End/Green(the easternend, around the Bell and the George and Dragon) and Wood End (now Millwood End). In 1662 in the whole parish there were only 59 householdersassessed for the hearth tax, whilst there were 142 aduls in 1676. By 1738 there were 110 houses in Long Hanboroughand 20 in ChurchHanborough. In 1801there was a populationof 655 but only 100 houses. The populationrose steadilyto a peak in 1851 of 1,153, including 60 probably itinerant railway labourers(the railway was in courseof construction),and then fell back to 816 by I92L In the past 75 years Hanboroughhas developedapace, with severalestates built within the last two decades.The electoralroll takenin the alltumnof 1993shows there were 1,836 registeredvoters in the parish,of which about I,700live in Long Hanborough. Until the late 18th cennlry the parish church was the only centre for religious worship. However, the absenceof a resident rector, with perhapsinadequate curates,led to a growth of Methodism,first using the delightful little chapel at Freeland,but with its own chapel from 1827 (still there, close to its successor). The Primitive Methodistswere active in Millwood End from 1842. Their former secondchapel, of 1904,is on the main roadopposite that turning. By the 1890sit was realisedthat dwindling congregationsat the parishchurch were partly due to the need to walk from Long Hanborough,whilst dissentershad their own places 'mission of worshipnearby. The church'of ChristChurch was opened in 1893. The original rectory in Church Hanborough,occupied intermittently by rectors and curates,and dating from the l6th century,was consideredunsafe by 1845, and a typically Victorian replacementwas built the other side of the churchyard. In 1966it was appreciatedthat not only churchbut also parsonshould be nearthe major part of the congregation,and a new rectory was built in Long Hanborough. Fortunatelyboth earlier buildings remain well caredfor in privatehands. There is little evidenceof any attemptat educationin the parish before the early 19th century. The populationof agriculturallabourers were desperatelypoor, and as soon as a child was old enoughhe or she was put to work on the land, be it only bird scaringot stonepicking; there was no money to pay for schoolingand little hands were required to earn as early as possible.However small private schoolswere appearingby the early 19th century in both villages, supportedby the Rectorand the Duke. In 1832a National day and Sundayschool, with 60 day and I20 Sundaypupils, was openedin ChurchHanborough - presumablyin or on the site of the old school houseby the village sqllare. Within two yearsit had 48 boys and 46 girls as day pupils, all under 10. The church had provided the school, so the children of Long Hanboroughhad to walk there rather than have somewherein their own village - but walking some distance was taken as a matter of coursein those days. Only in 1879 was an infants' school openedin Long Hanborough. There were variolls pennutationsof junior and senior pupils over the succeedingyears, with Church Hanborougheventually closing in 1959, replacedby the Long HanboroughManor School.

Long Hanboroughgrew up along the Witney to Bicester road, an ancientroute, turnpiked from 1751 to 1870. The bridge over the Evenlodeexisted as early as II4l. Rebuilt in 1798,it still stands,two centurieslater. Its own replacement, built in the early 1950s,had to be reconstructedless than forty years later! One eventthat must havehad repercussionsin the early 1850swas the building of the railway: the Oxford, Worcester& Wolverhampton(known, not unjustly, as the 'Old Worse & Worse'). Frequently threatenedwith closure, it as yet remains open and the only way to avoid the Oxford rush-hour traffic jams.

There must always have been barter and some form of shops. An 1852 directory lists six shopkeepers, three bakers, a butcheq a tailor, a shoemaker and a blacksmith. Similar occupations were recorded in earlier centuries. The blacksmith was succeededby a cycle repairer in 1907 and two garagesby 1924. The Co-op, as shown by the datestoneon its building, has been serving us since 1913. Once we had three post offices. Church Hanborough lost its only shop and P.O. twenty years ago, and Long Hanborough has just the one post office now In the past decade we have seen shops open, flourish and fail, affected by developmen6 outside the village: the opening of supermarkets in Witney and around Oxford, the closing of the Barclays Bank branch in Eynsham; this, contrariwise, at a time when light industry and office complexesare opening in Long Hanborough,and we even have a Bus Musetrm.

Every parish that has no history, like Hanborough,really has a mass of it. We kno*, from reading the HanboroughHerald or the O{ord Mail, how little actuallygets recorded. But, in this spaceof a few pages,what is known has to be severelycondensed, and much omitted. Hanboroughexists becauseof farming, but fields, crop rotation, even inclosure (it happenedin 1773) have receivedno mention; nor have the clergS the gentry and universitypeople who then,like now, choseHanborough to live in becauseit was near Oxford. No mention has beenmade of the many old houses and banrs.

For anyone really interestedin our history, there is an excellent,readable and authoritative account in Vol. 12 of the O{ordshire Wctoria County History, cornpiledby Alan Crossleyand publishedas recentlyas 1990. This short history is almostentirely basedon that book. Precisedocumentary references are there. Thereis an architecturalguide to tlre parishchurch of St Peterand St Paul,on sale at the church; and two long out-of-print books: a typically antiquarianhistory, Hanborough,by RobertC.S. Bailey, Rector rglL-1927 (1953),mainly aboutthe chtrrch, its incumbentsand the medieval descentof the manor; and Country Neighbours, by David Green (1948), who lived for many years in church Hanborough,rvith someentertaining wartime reminiscences. There's plenty more to find at the Centrefor OxfordshireStudies or OxfordshireArchives, which house the sourcematedal from which much of this historyis written. JeremvGibsort MEMORIES A hundredyears ago

We tend to .forget that in thosefar o.ff days the Witney to Woodstockroad (A4095)wos not tannac and was dusty (or nruddy)and inclined,at tintes,to be full of potholes. It wa-salso ntuch nomower than at present. It was closed once o 1,earJbr the HanboroughFeast, a large nmrket and gathering whiclt tookplace nelr theManor House.

The Witney-Woodstockroad, Long Hanboroughfrom the railway bridge

Wartinte on tltefarnr During World War I prisoners were kapt at WllageFarn4 North Leigh (where the garden cettre now stctnds).Sonrc of them were nmrchedto Hanborough daily to work on the ktnd. Hanboroughin the 1920sand 1930s Many people u,ill know that J.B. Priestley lived in Church Hanborough in the 1920s. The ftrst clrupterof his borsk"Apes and Angels"published in 1928is a colourfulaccouttt of the HanboroughFLower Show and describessonte of the local charactersof tlrc day. Thkenfrom real life, as were so many of his characters, Priestleybaccotutt is particularly interestingas beinggiven by an outsider World WarII h World War II there was an AgricultLtral E.recutiveCorturtittee who were responsiblefor issuing v'arious pennits for agricultural activities. The corrtrttitteernentbers were tnostlythe Lesssuccessfulfanners! Pennits had to be issuedfor tnostcrops. Every available land was ploughed up. Grants were given for clearing pen,nnent posturesthat were not essentialfor stock. Grants were given for drainagebut the work had to be specifiedto qualifyfor a grant.

Therewos ctpool of intplenrcttsand tools andfanners could opply to use these, but the procu.sswds cuntbersonteand nmnyfanners by-passedthe system.

l0 Duritrg tlte Sccortd Workl Wtr tlrere \)us u prisr,ttrerof v,ur carttp irt Eynshanr Park antt u nrutrbcro.f tlte prisortcrs w,orkcdott tlrc.farnts itt tltc locaLity. Sonte prisorters u,ere ulso brougltt irt .frun urtotlter cotnp at Curbridge. Sonrc of tltese tnett \)ere v(r)'gootl u,orkersuttd tlrc.fartners tried to persuade thetn to stay ort a.ftcr tlrc v,ur ltucl.t'irrishad.

Italictrt prisorters were used.for lrceing sugar beet - they did two rows hoeing urtd thertstopped.for u nrcol!

Larrd Girls also u,orkecl orr tlte .fanns. Sonrctirtrcs it was dfficult to find suitable ocutpatiorts .fbr tlrcnt durirtg the day - tlrc evenings were not such a problem!

A rrainee pilot Lardecl irt the ./ield neur East End, North Leigh during the war Tlrcsetrairtaes proctised using tractors in tlrcfieltls as dununy targets. Lortg House

Lorrg Hotrse becuntea clilldranis honrc in 1947. Before this General Mullins Iiv'ed there. He v,as ltaad o.f tlrc Honrc Guard and during the war they held tlteir rrteetings itr tlte stuhles. Prey'iot.tsto Mullins, tlte owner was Major Dodgson. He was u brotlter o.f'tlte Deun of Christ Church and was better ktrov,tr as Lcv,is Carroll, urttltor of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He wrote sev'aralclrupters o.f'tlrcbook w,ltile stufing ut Lottg House.

At otte tittte the ltot.tse u'us ot't,n(d hy tlte Atttlersott funily wlto owned a sltipltitry litte. Tltc ltutt.s't,tr'1./.r rr.vc,r/ tt.s tltt,ir L'()untrt lit,ttsc Lnd the s(n'onts v,ortld opert it Ltp ()n Tltt.trsduyin reudirtessJbr tlrc weekend, artd large house porti6 t'rere regulorly 11r14,especiaLly in the sLtnutrcr Five gardeners were enryloyedtu terttl tlte grouttcls. Origitrulll'tlte ltouse belonged to the Manor of Woodstock.

Lorrg Hortse ceusedto be a chilclretrisltorrrc irt 1991.

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ll POPULATION AND HOUSING

Population

In 500 years,from the late thirteenthcentury, Hanborough's population doubled from some 25Osouls to 500 by l77 L In the following 70 years the population doubled again to 1,009by 1841. Thereafterfor 90 years or so until the Second World War it fluctuated around 1,000. The 2,000 mark was passedin the late 1960sand by 1971the total stoodat2,460. The rise to over 2,000followed the building of new housing in the area of Churchill Way. By 1991 the census showeda residentpopulation of 2,626living in 975 households.

Oxfordshirepopulation and householdforecasts to 2001 do not show thesetotals increasingsignifi cantly.

The parish in its late Victorian days showed a remarkably different population profile from the current picture. As the diagramshows, in 1881 when the total was 968, 42% of the population were aged 15 or younger, whereastoday that sameage grolrp claims 22%. The peakingof the presentday profile in the 35 to 44 agerange contrasts with the steadilydeclining profile in l8 8 I .

1881 & 1991 Population Profiles Compared

18 16 14 12 o\ 1n

() 8 6 () O c) 4 2 0 5-9 10-15 16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75-84 85+

T2 The occttpationalemphasis has changedvery substantially.In 1881when school had been made compulsory for five to ten year olds, 24% of the parish wete classified as scholars. The two main groups after this were glovers, l5%, and agricultural labouters,14%. The parish boasteda stationmaster and t7 railway employees. The Mansell family were catpenters,John Wastie was a stonemason, Emma Lay kept the Shepherd'sHall. There were shepherds,cowherds, carters,a quarrymasterand qLlarrymen,tilemakers, a drainpipe maker, a cordwainer, a miller and severalblacksmiths and a collectorof rates. There were eight paupers, sevenof whom were women over the ageof 60.

In 1991the socio-economic(census terminology) grouping by householdwas as follows:

Socio-EconomicGroup Total No of Households: Vo 970 r12 Employersand Managers 180 19 314 Professional 60 6 ) IntermediateNon-Manual 70 7 6 Junior Non-Manual 70 7 7,ro PersonalService 60 6 8,9,12 Manual 140 t4 ll UnskilledManual 20 2

13,14,15 Farmingand agricultural 30 J 16,17 Forcesand other 20 2 Economicallyinactive 320 33

In 1991cars totalled 1,375 in the parish. They were apportioned among the 900 dwellings, a slightly smaller number thanhouseholdsthus: 141 had no car:.402 had one ca4 357 lrad two or more cars.

Housing

The village of Long Hanboroughis madeup of just over 900 housesgrouped for the most part in the estates of Pinsley-RooseveltRoads; Abelwood Road; Marlborough Crescent-ChurchillWay; Millwood Vale, along the A4095 main road, and Hurdeswell. The housingstock hasincreased radically since the 1950s, 70% of respondentsdeclaring their dwellingsto have beenbuilt since that period. Just over half the houses are three-bedroomed,most of the remainder being equally split betweentwo-and four-bedroomed.

l3 If the village is not to merge with the adjoiningvillages, no more than a mile distant, growth mnst be restrictedto no more than in-filling and rounding-off under currentplanning policy.

There is a demand for housing for both young and local people, but this is balancedby an equalvoice for no change. The difficulty is finding low cost land suitable for development. Most recent building in the village is higher priced beyondthe reachof young locals.

The small numberof older housesis concentratedmostly along the main road and Millwood End.

Church Hanborough,which containsfewer than 80 houses,is a designated conservationarea and thereforeno new building is normally permitted.

Of 764 householdsanswedng the questionon energysaving features,some 907o state that they have lagged hot water tanks and loft insulation,while two-thirds have dotrble glazing and 15% secondary glazing. The more recently available features,such as low energylighting, seemednot to have attractedmuch support, but this could be due, for example,to the high cost of low energy light bulbs. Only 1% claimedto haveno energysaving features at all.

E.xcerptfroma letterfromMrs A. Stnne[1985] I canteto Hanborough62 )-earsago so I am still not a "Hanborough-ite".We cailrc to live in orte of the snmll stone cottogesin Broad Row which is now Church Road. Tlrcrewere only eight of these,two up, one down and a shedat the backfor a washhouse. Toiletof courserigltt up the garden. Therewere no other housesat all alorrythere. Whenthe Councilhouses u,ere.first built in ChurchRoad (1931) the rent was 6s IId a week; translatedinto presentnnney it would be about 35p. Early in the 1930swoter sanita.tiortond electricity were installed in the village. Prior to that water was drawn.frotn wells, light wasfrom parffin lamps or candles. Sanitationutas rnostly by septic ranls or the privy dowrtthe garden.

I4 EDUCATION

Educatiortbefore 1944 Thesenior school v)as then at ChurchHartborough and the seniorboys would v,alk across the allotrnentsto attend woodwork classesin the Parish Hall. Girls had cookerl'Iessortsat tlrc hall with Miss Sharp (the late Mrs Wastie).We cookedort a kitchen range. Therev)as a sink but we had a bucketunderneath to catch the utastewhich we eilrytiedinto a drairt otttsidethe back door near to tha eartlt loo. Tlrcsarior girls.from Contbewalked via Hawes Hill to the hall for cookeryclasses. We went to inJattt schooLLtntil seven or eiglt and then on to Church Harrboroug,ltscltool until we werefourteert. Wecould leaveschool at l4 years, sonrctinrcsat thirteenif we could read and write and had attendedschoolfairly regularly.

Young people living in the parish are well served by schools and colleges, both in the private and maintained (state) sectors.

Pre-School

There are several Nursery Schools or Playgroups in the parish. Two well- establishedschools operate in the PlayingFields Pavilion and in a buildingin the Manor School groundsrespectively - the latter being independentof the Manor School. There is also, currently,another private nursery off the Main Road not far from the railwav station.

Primary Education 'Little The Church of En-elandInfants School,or School' on the Main Road, takes receptionchildren at the age of five (sometimes'rising fives'). The building datesfrom 1879and retains many original features. Indeed, the building is often used by primary children in their historicalresearches. The number of children on roll varies from approximately20 to 30 through the year when children are admitted on reachingthe age of five (or just prior to this). After a few termsat the Little School,children progress to the Manor CountySchool.

The Manor Schoolis situatedbehind the main paradeof shopsin the village. The originalpart of the schoolwas built in 1960(until thenthe schoolwas locatedin ChurchHanborough next to the Church),with a new infant wing being addedin

15 1972. There are several temporary buildings (some have been there for 30 years!). Some of these temporary buildings are very cramped and new accommodationis urgently needed. Tlrereare cllmentlysix classesranging from infants to lower juniors and upper juniors. The school is well provided with equipment including up-to-datebooks and computers,although recent funding cuts havedrastically affected the purchaseof such articles.

The two schoolsshare many resources(including their Headteacher)and the two governing bodies normally meet together. There is an active and supportive Friends of the Manor Association which helps with fund-raising as well as providing a forum for discussion. Every year the Friends organise a highly enjoyable fete in the summer and a fun run in the spring. All the classeshave parentshelping in the classroom. There are strong links with the Rector and the MethodistMinister who regularlytake assemblies.

SecondaryEducation

The local maintained secondarv school is Bartholomew School at -='-fthf Eynsharn, approxima tely 4 miles away. In 1995 there were 187 pupils from the parish of Hanboroughattending the school. A familiar sight for all motorists passingthrough the villages in the morning are the groups of eager school children waiting for their bus to take them to school. Late buses(5 pm) operateon Tuesdays,Wednesdays and Thursdaysto allow pupils to take part in after school activities such as clubs and sports.

The original school was founded in 1700 by money left by a certain John 'poot Bartholomew for 24 boys'. The teacher'ssalary was then f 10 per year! The presentestablishment was openedin 1958 and is now a successfullymixed comprehensivewith approximately780 pupils in the school, including a thriving sixth form.

There is an active parent-teachersassociation called the Bartholomew School Associationwhich organisesa wide variety of activities and eventsincluding a major school fair in the summer. The school is also the venue for many adult educationand eveningclasses ranging from beginner'sItalian to men's keep fit.

I6 Further Education

Approximately 60 studentsattend F.E. colleges for collrses such as General 'A'Level National VocationalQualifications (GNVQs), combinationsand BTech. The two main establishmentsare the West Oxfordshire Technical College flMOTC) in Witney and the Oxford Collegeof FurtherEducation at the Oxpensin Oxford. A few studentstravel to Oxford Brookes University in Headingtonfor specialisedstudies and degreecourses.

Private Schools

A number of children (between 10 and 2O) attend private schools, mainly in Oxford. Theseinclude MagdalenCollege School and St Edward's Schoolfor secondaryboys, Oxford High and HeadingtonHigh Schoolsfor secondarygirls .lI and the Dragon Schoolfor youngerchildren.

Sorne Views from the Manor School

Children at the Manor School were askedto do their own 'mini-appraisal'. Here aresome of theirfindinss:

All children asked say that they like living in Church or Long Hanborough.

Younger children picked out the Post Office and play area in particular: "l like the Post Office as I can btty sweets". "I like the swings". ' ' Older children said that the people were friendly: "You catxtrust thenl". "ltfeels safe here".

Some children appreciated the surrounding countryside and that they could use footpaths to walk from one area to another: "We can go to Church Hanborough without goittg on the road".

Some children wanted a swimming pool and a cinema (but appreciated that these might spoil the peace of the villages) and wanted the skate-board area to be renovated. Many were concerned about vandalism.

Shrub and ffee areas, such as in Glyme Way, should be maintained and play in them discouraged. The shrtrb area of Hurdeswell with its clearly defined areas for play, walking and planting was a good example and should be copied elsewhere.

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18 EMPLOYMENT AND INDUSTRY

Employment

Half the populaceis employed;a further third is either at school or retired, while about lO% are self-employed. Of the employed, the employment is equally divided between construction, manufacturing, education and other public services. Almost half the work force is professionalor manageriallyskilled.

19% of respondentswork within the parish; 39% work outside the parish but within 10 miles of home. The remaining 42% work more than 10 miles from home. Nearly half would like their work to be locally based.

Approximately a quarterof village peopleare involved in some sort of voluntary work.

Industry

Manual work in the forrn of agriculture,gloving, quarrying and associatedwork formerly dominated Hanborough's economy. Today, with the arrival of the Main Road and Lower Road businessparks, still with sites to be filled, and sundry other light industrial and office locations dotted around the parish, the emphasis is centred more on skills involving technology. Computing, cartography, printing, design,metallurgy, plastics and engineeringare but a few of the newer industriesattracted here in recenttimes.

Theparish e.rtettded to thesecond Freeland turn andtherefore the house called 'The Kilns',adjacent to theShepherd's Hall publichouse, was in Hanborough. Therewere brick work w,itlttwo kilnsand the clay cantefrom North Leiglt Corrtrrtort.There issonte ev'idertce of brickworksin 1783and certainlyin 1851. Tlrc bricks were called Sardstocksand Land Drains were ako nnde there. Horses were usedfor transport and every day lime would be taken to the gas works and the cart v)ould nmke the return journey carrying coke for the .furnaces-Thel' ,lturu eventualLy closed in I9ll.

Some of the longer-standing companies in the parish are: Oxford Scientific Films, Joslin's Stonemason, Fieldfare Nurseries and Upper Norton Jersey Cream Company Ltd. A recently-established water bottling plant is located in Swan I-ane.

It may be of interest to know that the present occupants of the business parks are as follows:

19 Hanborough BusinessPark - Main Road

BuchananLighting Exitech Ltd Lovell JohnsLtd AdvancedLaser Research Bishop'sMove PlunkettFoundation Audio Video Systerns TrainingAssociates Raven Computers BUPA Poseidon DMS DatabaseServices Dijon Design Datacare Storm Fire Protection Pfeiffer & Co SlaterPlastics Softlink Europe Food Hygiene Bureau ScientificStudio Walker Collett JM ShannanStevenson Ltd Wyko Ewb Bearings Dale InternationalLtd ES TechnologyLtd Oxford Training Gravure Graphics

Blenheim Office Park - Lower Road

Miller Craig Cocking Club AssistLtd Oxford Cryosystems SoftpressSystems Ltd PM Consultants Wolfram ResearchEurope Ltd Isis Training Services AshtechEurope Ltd

Men, horsesand vehiclesin Lay! euarry in about Ig90

IPlrcto supplied by Oxfordshire Photographic Arclive, DLA, OCCJ

20 MEMORIES

Wages

Prior to tlte 1947Agricuhural Act thefarnter paid his workerswhat he thought they were worth - the averagefor a cownnn would have been about 35 shiLlingsfor a seveil day week,he would have a free cottage and about two pints of nilk a day. Ott tlils he may u,ell have kept a wife and five or six children. A building.forettmttearned about f3 a weekbLtt would not havea cottageor nilk.

The u,lnle u,agebilL for a .fantt entployirtgJiv'e nten and two boys would be underf25 a week. Machinery

The first contbirrcdhorvester in the village was bought by Mr Wastie of Millwood Fann. He boLrghtit at the agricultural show which was held on the old slrow grourd betweenKidlittgton and Bladon. It was an International Conbirte artd the 1,earutas 1943. They did, howeve4have a second hand tractor which was bought.frontCurtis and Horn, the agricultural nterchants.It wa-sLtsua.l .for .farns such as MilLwood Farrtt to have about six horses and entployahout sevett nrctt. Tltreshing This was a real eventin the village. Tlrc thresherwould conrcunder contract to thefanner with a steatnengine and the threshirtginrylentents. Thefarmer lrud to protide proper coalfor the enginesand enoughto take the thresheron to the ne.xtfarilr. Most of the village wonld turn out for the days of the threshingarnrcd witlt sticksand terriers to kill the nice and rats that had been livirtgin tlte ricks(stacks o.f'sheaves of'cortt). Rick building was a great art. Theshaaves were built up, with the ears of corn inwards. Whenthe rick wasfinished it was thatchedto keep it dry. Thepegs for the tlrutclrcrutere cut.from ltazel woodgrowtt locally. After the conr v)ctscut and lrlt by the binder in sheavesin thefield it was stacked irt groups qf .five. The procasswos called "slncking up". The name was different irt other parts of the count^rr.

If thefield w,aseilryty of "sltocks"tlrc village people knew that they could go irrto thefield and "gleon" (collectany looseheads of cornfor fowl, which most villagers kept). If the.fannerleft o "slrock"in the nriddleof thefield it was an indicatiorttlmt the locals could not go irtto thefield and "glean". Crops

Sugar beet was grow,ttlocally from approxiumtely 1933 and not much after 1942. During the war pennits had to be issuedfor nnst crops and certainly for sugor beet. Irish gangs catne to thirt the crop out and eventuallyafter it was dug up, tlrc gongs returned to cltt off the tops. The sugar beet was sent by horseand cart to the railway artd thertby train to Kiddenninster. Inter it was sent on a high-sidedvehicle. The pulp (the residueafter the sugar has been extracted)wos eventuallyreturned as fodder for cattle - it would have been nixed vvithsonrcthing like.flaked nmize. IrorunongerfieLd,which is at the back of the Georgeand Dragon, wctsa good.fieldfor sugar beet.

2l THE ENVIRONMBNT

The erosion of the countryside due to the ever increasing demands for housing, roads and industry has not prevented the parish of Hanborough from remaining essentiallya rural area. Some featureswill never change;the river Evenlode will continue to flow round half the parish boundary and the quality of the soil will never improve.

Other factors are more transitory. The Blenheim estatecontrols by far the largest acreagebut by the end of 1995,there was not a single Blenheim tenant farmer living in the parish and there were fewer than ten people employed in agriculture and allied tradeslocally.

The changein land stewardshipand the impact of sophisticatedmachinery has changed the face of the countryside. Not a single cow was milked here in 1995 and not a working horse -t- ..rrld to be found. The current pattern of a simple -\' s arable rotation combined with sheepand grass for conservation is governed by economic expediencies. There are, however, more than 30 horses and ponies kept in the parish for riding. The pendulum could well swing back the other way. Gone are the days when cottagers kept fowl and a pig in a sty at the bottom of the garden,and grew most of their own vegetables.

The areaof woodland,predominantly owned by Blenheim, has changedlittle in over a century but the outline of the landscapewas changeddramatically when Dutch elm diseasedestroyed all mature hedgerowelms in the 1970s- and it is still killing trees twenty years later.

"The coutttrysidearottnd and in the village is beautiful. Thereare woods,ftelds, the river and the allotrnents" Manor SchoolPupil

There is no doubt that we all appteciatethe countryside around our two villages, and enjoy is rnany aspects. There is strong support for the parish tree planting programme (65%) and for the need for wild flower preservation (65%). The value of the ChurchRoad footway is alsoclear (80%).

22 The parish is fortunate in having eighteendefinitive footpaths and bridleways more than seven miles long in all. This gives a wide scope of accessacross a varied and interesting countryside. Some are well maintained, signed and providedwith excellentgates and styles. 76% liked thema lot.

"We like thefootpaths so that we can go to ChurchHanborough and other local placeswithout having to go on the roads" Manor School Pupil

And yet the extent to which these footpaths are used is not clear. Many 'footpaths' 'footways' 'pavements'. interpreted to mean or This in itself reflects the changingtimes. It seemsthat walking for pleasureor by needis on the wane. Only 33% walk anywheredaily and 20% hadly or never walk anywhereat all. Unfortunately,there is vandalismand litter, causedby a very few, which spoils the enjoymentof others.

Both the war memorial and its potentially attractive garden and the Church Hanboroughconservation area are highly rated(5o% and 5 7% respectively).

Views were soughtas to what could bestbe done to make roads, lanes and the local countryside better. Answers overwhelmingly confirmed a desire for good husbandry and cleanliness. Considered most important are the removal of Iitter (71%) andthe needto keeproadside verges mown (57%). Only a minority (17%) felt that it was very important to allow verges to grow to encoLlragewild life. The need to stop verge damage, to signpost paths and bridlewaysand repair gatesand bridges were all considered important.

Finally and encouragingwere the many people willing to help with environ- mentalimprovement schemes and with 'clean-updays'.

Would volunteerfor environmentalimprovement schernes Yes 269 lSVo No 1235 82% 'clean-up Would volunteerfor Hanboroughday'twice eachyear Yes 564 38% No 927 62%

So it is clear that we appreciateour countryside,and that we wish it to be clean and caredfor. Perhapsmost important of all is that amongstus there are many who are preparedto help keep it that way. However,when all has beensaid and done "Man may influencethe environment,but Naturewill have the last word".

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The natural history of the parish has been written by Joan Tompkins who, for several yeafs, has recorded the flowering plants she has seen on local walks, and Gerald Thompson who is a zoologist, entornologist and forester. Since Mr Thompson is disabled and cannot explore the parish, it was agreed that his three acre gatden, wl'rich he has tended for 38 years, would provide a reasonable sample of the parish fauna.

FAUNA OF OX CLOSE GARDEN

Mammals

Muntjac Deer, Muntiuctts reevesi. Our smallest deer is a frequent visitor, probably coming from the population in Pinsley Wood. It browses on young trees which have to be protectedwith wire guardsand it nips the buds off lilies.

Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes. An occasional visitor sometimes seen but often is recent presenceis revealed by the distinctive and persistent smell of urine.

Stoat, Nustela erminea. Seen more often than the Weasel from which it is distinguished by its larger size and black tip to the tail. A lone stoat may indulge in sheer joi-de-vivre by running around and leaping and twisting in the air. A stoat has been seen to clirnb a tree to 24 feet to enter an empty nest box erected for a Tawny Owl. Rabbits,voles, mice and birds'eggs are the usual prey.

Weasel,Mttstela nivalis. Usually seeu singly but occasionallyas a pair. Weasels are small enough to pursue nrice and voles in their tunnels; they also eat birds' eggsand nestlingsand climb well.

Common Shreu Sorexaruneus. Shrewsare all catnivorous feeding rnainly on insects and spiders;they are easy to distinguishfrom voles by theirpointed snouts.

Pygmy Shrew,Sorex minutus. Distinctlysmaller thanthe CommonShrew and lessabundant. ConunonShrew

Field Vole, Microtis agrestis. This vole may become abundantin long grass which providescover for a network of rLtnwayson the ground. Ox Closegarden has little long grassand the Field Vole is relatively scarce. Raptorial birds such as the Barn Owl and Kestrelfeed mainly on this species.

25 Bank Vole, Clethrionomysglareolzs. This speciesis distinguishedfrom the Field Vole by having larger eyesand earsand a longer tail. It is essentiallya woodland animal and like most voles is active day and night and throughout the winter.

Wood Mouse, Apodernussylvaticus. The most common mouse in gardens and woodland. Nocturnal in habit (note the large eyes)and it can be very destructive in greenhouseswhere it nips the stems of seedlingsas they emergein the spring. This year, 1995, the writer was compelled to use traps - chocolate is an inesistible bait - and caught 30 mice in a month.

Hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus. Most gatdens of any size will contain a hedgehogand frequently bread and milk is supplied by caring householdersThis is bad practicesince hedgehogscannot digest cow's milk. Water and dog food would be appreciated.

Mole, Talpaeuropaea. Moles live a solitaty life each in its own tunnel system which it constantly extends using the spade-like front feet. Under prolonged drought moles must suffer starvation since earthworms, the main food, burrow down to depthsof severalfeet to reachmoist soil. Mole

Common Rat, Rattus norvegicus. This ubiquitous and unwelcome visitor ftequently takes up residencein the large compost bins in Ox Close garden. The only remedyis poison.

House Mouse, Mus musculus. Predominantlyan indoor mousethe House Mouse has only been found in the roof-spaceat Ox Close.

Nearby dwellers associatedwith the River Evenlode are the American Minlg the Otter and the Water Vole. Badgersare also presentin the parish.

Birds The following 28 specieshave nestedin Ox Close garden at least once during the years 1957-95. Experiencehas shown that the favourite nesting sites are large shnrbs of Snowberry,evergreen Berberis, Box, Honeysuckle, Bramble, Pyracanthaand hedgesof Holly, Beech and Thuya.

The speciesare: Blackbird, Songthrush,Mistle Thrush, Starling, House Sparrow, Hedge Sparrow, Dunnock, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Brown Wren, Goldcrest,Robin, GardenWarbler, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove (an invader from the Balkans which first nested in Britain in

26 1955), Mallard, Pheasant, Magpie, Sparrowhawlg Chiffchaff, Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Wagtail and Swallow.

A ftrrther 16 species including the Green, Spotted and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers have visited the garden, while a further 11 species have been seen in adjacent fields. Woodpecker

Reptiles The Grass Snake, Slow Worm and Common Lizatd are visitors or gardendwellers.

Amphibia The CommonFrog, CommonToad and SmoothNewt are present.

Butterflies 22 specieshave been recordedin the garden:this is abouttwo-fifths of the British fauna. Those seen are: Marbled White, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Brimstone, OrangeTip, Red Admiral (originally called the Red Admirable), White Admiral, Comma, Small Cotttma Butterflv Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady, Peacoclg Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper,Small Heath, Small Copper,Holly Blue, CommonBlue, GreenHairstreak, Ringlet and Large Skipper.

Moths This is a restrictedlist of 2O or so moths which have been found in the garden and are noteworthy for their striking colouration,potential as pests or becausethey exhibit unusual features.

They are: Poplar Hawkmoth, Eyed Hawkmoth, Hummingbird Hawkmoth (a day flying immigrant which probesflowers for nectarwith its long tongue while hovering), PussMoth, GardenTiger, Yellow Underwing, Yellow-tail Moth, Alder Moth, Winter Moth (the species gardeners band their trees against),Cinnabar, Silver ! Magpie Moth, Drinker, Humming Bird Hawk Moth Red Underwing, CabbageMoth (the caterpillar destroys the heart of cabbages),Buff Ermine, Buff Tip, Ghost Swift Moth, Common Swift Moth. WavedUmber and PlumeMoth.

Flies Flies are distinguished from other insects by having only one pair of wings. There are more than 5000 speciesin Britain. A few of the many kinds found {ii*""'- \:,) \ in Ox Close gardeninclude the Bluebottle that enters I \ Crarrc Fly the house in summer seekins meat on which to lav its Oxford Scientific Films

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28 eggs, the Greenbottle, the House-fly, a serious distributor of germs that contaminatefood and the Cleg, one of the most obnoxious of flies that flies silently and bites humanswith lingering effect. More beneficialto gardenersare the Hoverflies whoselarvae often prey on aphids.

Beetles This is the largestinsect order with over a quarterof a million speciesin the world. More than 4000 speciesoccur in Britain. The larvaemay be serious pests such as Weevils in grain stores. By contrast Ladybirds destroy aphids and are the gardener'sfriend. Dung beetlesand burying beetlesare of enorrnous importancein countrieswith inadequatesewage systems.

Many different beetlesare found in the gardenand most areactive at night.

Dragonflies Severalkinds of dragonfliesfrequent r,.!!i the garden including the large green and blue \iu/r Aeshna cyanea and the equally large Aeshna grandis.

Hyrnenoptera The Common Wasp and the German Wasp are common and nest underground. Dragortfly Less common is the Norwegian Wasp with its nqst suspendedfrom a branch in a tree or shrub. The Hornet is not uncommon and has nested in the roof of the garden shed. The green, red and purple Cuckoo Wasp is parasitic in the nestsof beesand wasps.

Two speciesof bumblebeeare very common, Bombuslapidarius, black with a red tail, and Bontbasterrestris, black with yellow bands. The queenis very large and is usuallythe first br-rmblebeeout of hibernationin the spring.

Orthoptera These are representedby the Common Field Grasshopperand the GreatBush Cricket.

Hemiptera Of thesethe following true bugs are important gardenpests: White Fly, Black Bean Aphis, CabbageAphis, PeachAphis andWoolly Aphis.

Nemiptera An important ally is the GreenLacewing. Its larvae are active and voraciouspredators of aphidsof which 400 may be destroyedby one larva during its development.

Spiders Some six speciesof spider are fairly common. One is the House Spider which is large, brown, hairy and long-leggedand often invadesthe bath in autumn.

Soil and Litter Animals The three kinds of earthworrnare important to the gardenerwhereas the GardenSnail and the GardenSlug are often too cornmon for the gardener's comfort. Others in this broad category are the Brown

29 Centipedeand Woodlouse,useful in breaking down leaf litter and decaying wood. Most millipedes do little harm to plants but the Spotted Snake Millipede is destructiveto root crops.

FLORA OF THT',GARDDN

Trees 29 species of trees grow in the garden including Aldeq Ash, Beech, Chestnut Elm, Hawthorn, Lime, Rowan, Sycamote, Walnu! Weeping Willow and Yew.

A further 27 exotic speciesoccur including the False Acacia (Robinia), Western Red Cedaq Pencil Cedar, JapaneseMaple, Snake-bark Maple, Western Balsam Poplar,Swedish Whitebeam and Wellingtonia(S e quo iadendron gi gante um).

Shrubs At least25 speciesof shrtrbsare present.

Wild Flowers

In the general area of Hanborough over a period of several years 297 species of wild flower have been identified, 78 of which occur in Ox Close and 2I3 of which occur in the parish. The list includes such comforting names as Angelica, Bedstraw, Campion, Catsear, Comfrey, Cranesbill, Fat Hen, Good King Henry, Herb Robert, Hawkweed Ox Tongue, Shepherd's Purse,Toadflax, Traveller's Joy and Valerian. The Morel Fungus

Footnotes Early morning and evening walkers sometimessee Roe deer on the fringes of the woods nearMillwood End. This article is very much a pr6cis of the far more detailed and highly informative piece prepared by Gerald Thompson and Joan Tompkins. It is hoped that eventually the full length version will be available as a separatebooklet.

Slow Worm

[see page 27]

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^q-*.'. ,*,:.._,i GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY AND PRE-HISTORY

Geology and Topography

How many of us wonder how the familiar landscape of our parish came to be as it is? What great natural forces in the remote past shaped these features?

Why, for instance, does our modest Evenlode stream flow gently at the bottom of a wide steep-sided valley; how is it that some of our garden soils are light and gravelly, and others obstinate, sticky clay? To answer these questions we need to take a closer look at the geology of the region.

The ground beneath our feet in Hanborough is composed of two very different kinds of material, known to geologistsas "Solid" and "Drift". The solid geology is the "bedrock", belonging to the Jurassicperiod (c. 180-130million years ago). Dudng this period Oxfordshire lay beneath the sea and thus accumulated marine sedimentswhich were later uplifted to form land.

In Hanborough these deposits comprise either yellow limestones, which can be seen on the slopes of the Evenlode valley and in the Hanboror"rghrailway cutting, or Oxford Clay, a fine blue-grey mudstone covering the plateau away from the valley. Both formations contain the fossils of marine organisrns such as sea shells, ammonites, or fish teeth. Corals are conunon in the limestones. Most of the stone-built houses in the village were qllarried from the local limestone, the most prominent working being Brown's Quarry, (now the site of the Crystal Spring Bottling Plant). In Pinsley Wood, a large depression marks the spot where stone was cut fot the building of the Parish Church. Someof the older housesin the village still haveroofing of the now worked-out StonesfieldSlate, a very hardlimestone capable of beingsplit into thin layers. As the nameimplies, this rock camemainly from the Stonesfieldarea. There were once miles of limestonewalls marking field boundariesin the parish,but few remain today.

Much of the Oxford Clay is overlain by the Drift material, which has been depositedwithin the last half million years,during the Ice Age. The topography of today is largely the result of forcesat work during the Ice Age, which not only laid down the Drift but alsocut into the Solidgeology.

34 The Ice Age, or Quaternaryas geologistsprefer to call it, actually comprised numerousfluctr,rations between long bitterly cold periodsand weathersomewhat warner than today. During the coldestperiods, vegetation ceased to grow and the landscapebecame a barren surface of silts, sands, gravels and stones. Although the icecapsthemselves never reached further south than the headwaters of the Evenlode,the Hanborougharea became part of an enortnousoutwash zone where the formidable power of rushing meltwater loaded with glacial debris would have createda sceneof utter chaos. The remnantsof this debrissurviving today are but a small fraction of the volume of material that must have been washed down by an ancient Evenlode swollen to fill the whole valley and overspillingit.

The oldest of the Drift deposits,termed the Northern Drift, may be seen in the fields west of the village. Their characteristics are large brown water- worn pebbles which have been carried by the action of ice and water from tl're Midlands. Occasionally,stones are seen whoseorigin is as far away as Scotland. This materialmay be up to half a million yearsold, and its widespreaddistribution in the Evenlodevalley indicatesthat at this time the Evenlodewas the main river in the Upper Thamesbasin, while the presentThames was but a tributary!

The next depositto have survivedis the so-called"Hanborough Terrace", a thick bed of peagravels underlying most of the village of I-ong Hanborough.It is composedof more local stonessuch as the Cotswold limestones.The fact that it lies on top of the hill, up to 30 metresabove the valley floor, and yet is thoughtto be a river deposit,is ftirther evidence that our Evenlode remaineda much larger river in the Thames drainagesystem at this time, between400,000 and 300,000years ago. (Geologistsare not agreedon the complex questionof the dateof the terrace,but it is now generally acceptedthat it was depositedunder cold conditions).

Thesegravels were extensivelyquarried in the past,and the old pit face may still be seenon the west side of Church Road betweenLong Hanboroughand Church Hanborough. Many of the domesticgravel drives and pathwaysin Hanborough are composedof this material.

At a later date, perhapsaround 200,000 years ago, another gravel terrace was depositedby the Evenlodeat a lower elevationon the valley sides. This is the "summertown-Radley Terrace" which lies mainly in the south of the parish towardsEvnsham.

35 Finally, the valley floor itself, which is usually flat, is composedof the most recent geological deposit of all, a soft river silt called alluvium. This is the product of successivelocal river flooding over the past 10,000years, after the end of the Ice Age.

The complex geology describedabove has to be trnderstoodin order to appreciate the present-daytopography. Hanboroughparish is boundedon the north and east sides by the river Evenlode, a tributary of the Thames. At the northeastcorner of the parish the Evenlode is joined by the river Glyme, which has been dammed artificially in Blenheim Park to form the lake. Southof this confluence,the river passesthrough a broad valley with gently sloping sides,until it flows into the Thames near Cassington. West of the junction with the Glyme, however, the Evenlodevalley has cut a much steepersided valley with a nanower floor, known to geomorphologists as the "Evenlode Gorge". Through this gorge the river swings dramatically from side to side in a series of meandersstretching back to Stonesfield. The formation of thesemeanders may be relatedto the suddendrop in dischargeat the end of the Ice Age, but the exactprocess is ill understood.

The remainder of the parish comprisesa plateau sloping gently southwardsfrom its highestpoint, some 107metres above sea level, nearNorth Leigh Common.

Prehistory to the Norman Conquest

Hanboroughis exceptionally fortunate in having yielded evidenceof human life from a very remote period, in the form of a Palaeolithic flint handaxe.It was dug out of Duke's Pit on the north side of Witney Road, close to where Millwood Vale now stands, by Jack Whitley in )cm 1938. This implementwas retrieved from near the base of the Hanborough Terrace in the course of gravel extraction. Its position indicates that it had been transportedin the gravels, rather than dropped on the land surface before the gravels were deposited. But as it is in very sharp condition, it probably had not been transportedfar from is place of manufacture. The implementmay be seenin the University Museum.

36 The hominid who made this implement probably roamed the vicinity some 300,000 to 400,000 years ago (once again the exact date is unresolved). He was not fully human, but belonged to an earlier species of mankind, probably Homo Erectus, one of the first hominid species to spread from the original African homeland. His brain size was only three-quarters the size of ours, and he would probably have walked upright but with some ape-like characteristics, such as a very strong brow ridge and receding forehead. Despite his smaller brain, he had the intelligence to acquire flint resources (the nearest flint rock is some 20 miles from here) and to shape a nodule into a tolerably good, near syrnmetric tool, something which most modern residentsof Hanborough would be unable to do!

Our distant ancestor shared the barren landscape with some big game, the bones and teeth of which were recovered from the same gravels. These included sttaight-tusked mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, wild horse and giant deer. The handaxe is, incidentally, one of the oldest to be found in Britain.

Man was certainly present in the area at the time when the next relic of the pas! the Summertown-Radley Tenace, was deposited near City Farm. We can be sure of this because man-made implemens have been for-rnd in remnanb of this same tenace material at sites beyond the parish, e.g. at Stanton Harcourt. But when these gravels were quarried at City Farm in the 1960s,no implements were reported from them.

Once again, we take a long leap forward before there is more evidence of human activity. During the latter part of this interval, Britain was gripped by another ice age of great length, cLrlminatirrgin an almost complete freezeupfrom c. 25,000 to 13,000 years ago. During this cold period it is unlikely that there would have been any human presence, but as the warmer weather gradually returned to southern Britain from about 12,000 years ago, so vegetation, then animals, and finally humans ventured back. By now they were ftrlly modern in appearance. These Mesolithic peoples are known to have lived in the area from finds of their flint tools in other parts of Oxfordshire, although finds have not specifically been made in the parish.

The late Mesolithic period mergesimperceptiblyinto the Neolithic, the first age of sedentary farming and pottery, from about 4000 BC. Here, we have newly- discoveredevidence of occupation on our doorstep. A local farmer, Mr Hubert Busby, has retrieveda number of flint artefactsand debrisfrom two differentsites in the village. Perhapsthe most interestingis a collection of Fitrely worked LeafA rrowhead.fiotn everyday tools found near the top of Swan Myrtle Fann, Neolithicperiod

37 Hill in the soil of the ploughedfield. Pride of place in the collectiongoes to a beautifully made leaf-shapedamowhead, so thin it is translucent. Among the other finds are scrapers,blades, waste flakes and cores (a core is the remaining piece of flint when no more flakes can be struck from it). The style of these pieces suggeststhat there may have been a settlementor a tempo/"lry camp of early Neolithic peopleat this point.

Occasional finds of Neolithic flint material may be made anywhere in the Oxfordshire countryside, but a study conducted recently in the Evenlode valley between Stonesfield and Long Hanborough has revealed a series of village settlements located in successive arcs of the meanders of the river. The arrowheads,blades, awls, scrapersand cores from thesesites indicate prolonged occupation from before 3000 BC to after 2000 BC. The presence of hammer- stonesand "potboilers" (piecesof flint with crazed surfacesindicating they have been heatedon a fire and plunged into cold water) help to identify the sites as domestic. The crudepottery of thesepeople was not fireproof and it is suggested that this is the way they warmed their water. One of the most interestingfinds was a fragment of a polished axe, perhapsused for felling small trees.We can picture a rural scenewith clustersof small thatchedhuts, surroundedby plots of wheat, with a stockadeto keep cattle. Away from the clearing, much of the landscapeis still forested, and here, in what is now Hanborough village, the settlershunt their prey - deer,wild ox, and boar.

Superficially we might have felt quite at home with thesevillage folk. We might even recognisesome of the words they spoke. But probe deeper and you would find a culture very remote from ours, for these people were of the same generationwho beganthe building of Stonehengeand devotedsubstantial time to elaboratereligious and burial rituals.

Evidence of such rituals practised by their successors,the people of the Bronze Age, has been found in two places within the parish. By this time, in the second millenniurn BC, a network of toutewayswas becomingestablished in the southof Britain, and it is possiblethat the seriesof six Bronze Age ring ditchesexcavated near City Farm was located alongside one such route. One of the ring ditches was a doublecircle and has beeninterpreted as a hengemonument or ceremonial site. These featuresare no longer visible today,but a Bronze Age ring ditch of impressive size may still be seen between the Evenlode and the railway embankmentnot far from SwanBridge.

The Bronze Age site at City farm continued to be occupied into the Iron Age, for remains of an iron smelting workshop of the third or second centuries BC have been found there.

38 By the time of the Roman conquestof Britain in the mid-first century AD, there was certainly a settlementon the site of the presentvillage of Long Hanborough. This is indicated from the discovery,during gravel extraction in 1959, of two kilns for firing pottery,at Tuckwell's pit, on the west side of Church Road. The kilns were constrlrctedusing the latest Roman techniquewhich enableda much more precisecontrol of the temperature,and are similar to ones of first century datefound in the Nenevalley and in Essex.

We know nothing more of the Roman village, or what happenedto it after the Romans left. However, the remains of a substantialRoman villa at Northleigh only a mile west of the parishmeans that Hanboroughmight have beenpart of a largecountry estate,perhaps owned by a retiredarmy general.

There is one more stop in time before the Norman Conquest.On Lower Road, close to the Bronze Age ring ditches and Iron Age smelting plant, the L964 excavationsfolrnd a small grollp of early Anglo-Saxonburials. The sacrednature of this site may thus havestretched over some2500 years.

Of course,we can only report on what has beenfound so far. Undoubtedlymore remains to be discovered,but it is remarkablethat within this small parish we already have evidenceof the presenceof man in practically every age over the last 400,000years.

Terry Hardaker Breckon&Breckon

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39 HEALTH

Long Hanborough Prirnary N4edicalCare Facilities

The late Dr Derrick Bolsover effectively started the Long Hanborough medical servicesin 1948 when be built Millwood House in Millwood End, setting aside one roorn for the provision of medical seryices. Despite the later constructionof a garden shed (with a bell on the errdof a rope) which acted as a waiting room, by the middle 1960s purpose-built accommodation was needed and the present surgery was completed in 1969 and substantially extended in 1983. A further extensionis likely in 1996.

The surgeryacts as a basefor liealthvisiting, community nursing and midwifery servicesand dispensesdrugs on site. Physiotherapyand counsellingservices are also provided and a chiropodyassessment service is availableat the Eynsham Medical Centre,the larger of the two surgeriesnrn by the practiceof seven doctors. The practiceholds its own budget,or fund, to purchasesome of the secondaryhealth selices.

A total of 12,394patients are servedby the practiceof whom 4,977 attendthe Long HanboroughSurgery. 2,253 of these patientsare from the parish of Hanborough.

40 Responsesto the Questionnaire

A small minority of the parishfind difficulty in using the healthservices, whereas some90% find thoseservices easily accessible.

The large majority of people using the servicesof the doctor, district nurse or healthvisitor consideredthem good or reasonable.

More than4O% felt that therewas a needfor both a long-termresidential home in Hanboroushand more sheltered housins accommodation.

Just over half would be preparedto take part in a good neighbourscheme at least occasionally,but only 6% would be preparedto take part once a week. 'Care The cun'ent governmentpolicy of in the Community'needs the time of carersand volunteersto be harnessedfor the policy to work. It is difficult to see from the aboveresponse how suchpolicy might be implemented.

The provision of dropped kerbs causedmost problems for the disabled,but a great deal of recent work has improved the matter,accessibility is consideredin the main to be good or reasonable.

Mi chael lly an PH.T..RAPHY

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RETAIL AND OTHER SERVICBS

For its size Hanborough is well served by a range of basic retail and other services. Howeveq the car and supermarketcompetition in recent times have reduced Kay's Pantry from an excellent delicatessento a sandwich bar, and caused the demise of the Spar grocery shop. The advent of Sainsbury's supermarketin Witney may put even greaterpressure on local traders. '8 A Co-op till 8', a post office and newsagentcum stationer-confectioner- tobacconist-NationalLottery outlet, a cycle shop with an Ali Baba's cave of wares,a greengrocerand florist, a butcher,two hair salons,an antiqueshop and a photographercomprise our obvionsretailers.

The servicesof three petrol stations,each iucorporatinga generalrepair garage and all three having some fonn of shop, are available. Two car agenciesare either linked or are in close proximity to two of the garages.We have five pubs servinga variety of food.

Thereis a well stockednursery offering a rangeof gardenproducts.

The medicalpractice has its own convenientdispensary.

A range of services includes heating and plumbing, painting and decorating, garden machinery repair, taxis, electrical installation and repairs, the installation and replacementof windows, doors, porches and conservatories,machinery hire, photography,printing and copying, carpentryand a mobile library.

42 Hanboroughis so convenientlysitr-rated in relation to Oxford, Woodstockand the Cotswolds as to be of interest to tourists. Consequentlya number of bed and breakfast establishmentsoffer accommodation,which is also used by the developingbusiness park.

Very significantnumbers of residentssay that they use our shopsregularly, either daily or weekly. For example, well over 5O% use the post office-newsagents daily. Broadly the samepercentage say that they usethe cycle shop weekly.

As would be expected,our main use of the post office is for postal sewices,S4% of users,bttt 60% pay their vehicle tax, TV licencesand other bills there.

It seemsthat we use our gat'agesequally on an occasionalbasis and that we use our pubs with the samefrequency. In fact we will only admit to being abstemious for none of our pubs has other than single percentagefigures in the 'often' categoryof users.

By far the chief reasongiven for shoppingin the village was to buy 'last minute' items, 78%, though the next reasonin importancewas that some of us "like to supportour local shops",54%, followedclosely by "it savestime", 49%.

The main reasonsfor shoppingout of the parish were that there was more choice, 86%,and that goods were cheaper, 57 %.

About half thoseshopping outside the parish choseWitney, a quarterKidlington and 18% Oxford city centre.

43 A very substantialpart of the parish, well over 607o,wants no additional shops and servicesprovided. Of the minority wanting changethe lists they produced included thesesuggestions: a take-away,either Chineseor occidental,a fish and chip shop,a chiropodist,a chemist,a dentist,a video shop,a baker,a delicatessen (come back Kay's), a bank or building societyor cashdispenser, a sportsshop, a swimming pool, public toilets, a health food shop, a bookmakers,a coffee/tea shop,a laundry,a bus serviceto Sainsbury's,a fishing tackle shop,a dry cleaner, a wine merchant,a library eveningclasses, and an ironmonger.

In the light of Hanboroughhaving lost half its shopsin the past 25 years there may be a struggleahead to keep thoseremaining, let aloneto add to them.

The Co-op shop irt Hanborougltv,as purpose-built in 1912. Abottt a.nacre of land v,aspttrclmsedfrotn the Duke ofMarlborottgh. Miss Alice and Miss Ethel Wastiekept the Post Office in ChttrchHanborough about 80 years ago and tlrcir parents lived at Mylors, the housejust south of the Hand and Shears. The blaclcnith's shop was on the corner of the road to Contbe. Adjacent to it was another shop - a general store rurt by Annie Brooks. This shop sold everythingJrom Jbod to parffin and .from knicker elastic to Wnt. The young peopleof the villageJbund thisshop the tilostinterestittg one.

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A list of existingclubs and organisations is givenat AppendixB.

Villagers were asked about their leisure interestsand whether they would be preparedto help organiseand run any socialactivities.

The most popular outdoor sports for the 1003 respondentswere walking or jogging (73%) and cycling (35%), followedby tennis(19%), football (137o)and cricket (9%). The most popularindoor sport, 879 respondents,was swimming (63%),followed by keepfit or aerobics(24%). Badminton,squash or volley ball were also popular (22%) and many enjoyed pub games like darts and skittles 05%), billiards, pool or snooker (14%). There were many varied interests amongvillagers - ice or roller skating,athletics, bowls, hockey,table tennis,yoga and golf.

Social activities showed even more variety and no particular leisure activity was favourite, although the most popular leisnre pursuits for the 324 respondentswere connectedwith music, drama,choral ot dance(22%). Many peoplebelonged to the EvergreensClub (20%) and to the Women'sInstitute or National Women's Register(L9%) and the Luncheon Club was also well supported(13%).

Some villagers said they would be preparedto help organise and run social activities. A youth club woLrldbe supportedby 37 people. There was also keen support for helping to run the nursery school and playgtoup (46 people), and Cubs, Brownies, Guidesand Scouts(33 people). There was also support for the ArurualShow and Feteif this were to be revived. There was a reasonableamount of interest in forming more clubs, especiallya historical society, conservation/ environment group, computer club, beer and wine appreciation circle, and gardening club. One suggestionwas for a Good Life Club, to cover several interest groups, each of which would meet once or twice a year, as this might have a better chanceof successthan forming a number of small groupsmeeting every month. One personproposed a schemeto help peoplefrom EasternEurope with tmining, and one suggestedtwinning with a French village. Some people gave their nameson the information sheetand will be contactedwhere there is enoughinterest in forming a new club.

The majority of the 1534 respondentsthought that the village hall and public meetingfacilities were adequatefor the needsof Hanborough(64%). There was, however,a minority who were not contentwith the existing facilities and a large number who had no opinion, which rnight indicate that they never used the facilities. Those who were not happy with the existingfacilities were very vocal

46 with their commentsand complaints. Many peoplesuggested that thereshould be a largervillage hall, with meetingrooms, a stagefor dramaproductions and storagespace. This might mealr redesigningor rebuildingto provide a larger venue for social activities. Sotne thought there should be better central organisation,and one personsaid that Hanboroughwas large enough to have a community centre with a paid part-time receptionistto coordinateactivities and bookings. One young person was very bitter becausehis or her lSth birthday party had been booked at the British Legion [now Recreation] Hall but the booking had been cancelledat short notice. Some people were unaware of activities which already existed and complained that there was a lack of information about what happenedin the village. There was some criticism that the Pavilion was used too much for indoor bowls, cricket and football and was not availablefor other socialactivities. Though indoor bowls was very popularin the village,there was a strongfeeling that the bowls club was now monopolising the village hall so that facilitieswere not availablefor others. Anothercommenr was that when cricket was on peopleshould still be allowedto hire the Pavilion as it had beenbuilt by our grandparentsfor everyone,not just for the cricketers.

Many people thought facilities for teenagersshourld be improved, and that a meetingplace should be providedand sportsand socialactivities encouraged. A good youth cltrb and a hall for young peopleto meet was mentionedfrequentlS and a new approachto youth facilities was advocated.The questionof a meeting place and professionalhelp to start a youth club would have to be addressedfirst, but if these problems could be solved there would probably be a reasonable amollntof supportin the village.

47 TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

GeneralSituation

Public transportin Hanboroughis, comparedwith many other Oxfordshire villages,relatively good. This doesnot meanit is actuallygood, because only a small proportion of the populationfind it satisfactoryenough to use on a regular basis and therefore have to rely upon private transport. The public transport facilities consistof two bus servicesoperated by ThamesTransit, the No. 11 Oxford/Witneybus service providing a generallyhourly serviceuntil about6 pm, and the No. 42 Witney/Woodstockservice providing an approximately two- hourlyservice. The No. 1l serviceis providedcommercially, i.e. withoLrtpublic subsidy,but the No. 42 hasa very low patronageand dependsfor its continued existenceupon a heavysubsidy frotn tlie CountyCouncil. Its futr.rreseems safe whilst the presentcontract lasts but, if currentgovelnment restrictions on local authorityspending persist, this servicecould suffer heavy cuts in frequency.

Hanboroughis also well servedby the ThamesTrains Cotswold Line giving direct accessto Oxford and London Paddingtonin the south eastand to Hereford in the west. Howeverthe station is abouta mile to the eastof Long Hanborough. This reducesthe accessibilityby local residentsof what would otherwisebe a very attractiveservice. A majority of usersare residentsof communitiesfurther away ranging from Witney to Woodstock,for whom Hanboroughis seento be a viable park and ride facility for cornmutingto Oxford.

The Survey

The survey showed that only 8% of people often experiencedtransport difficulties in getting out of Hanborough, 26% occasionally,br"rt 66% never experienceddifficulty. This is probablydue to the high availabilityof private transportas ottly 15%of Hanboroughhouseholds had no car at the l99l census. A minority of peopleshared cars for variousplllposes but 55% nevershared their vehicles. Only l0% of respondentsshared their vehicles for travellingto work.

Respondentswere askedif they woLrldbe preparedto take part in a schemeto shareprivate vehicle use,but only about 12% answeredthis question,implying that 88% werc unpreparedto take part. However,because cars and vans are the mode of transportto work for nearly 800 respondents,the removal of abouta 100 vehicles at peak travel times by shadng could help the general environment. Those offering to sharewere askedto separatelygive their name and addressso

48 that potential sharers could be pLrt in contact with each other. Only a small number of the total i20 respondentsdid. This low proportion is probably because car sharing irnplies giving up the perceived independenceof using your own car. When this report is published it is hoped that publicity will enable more car sharing arrangementsto be set up.

However, whilst the questionnaires were being processed the local organiser of 'Caring Community' that organises a local voluntary car scheme reported that volunteer numbers were falling and that demand for help was exceeding the supply of drivers. The names of questionnaire respondentsprepared to help were passed on to the local organiser.

People were asked about their use of public transport. The charts below show the proportionate use of bus and train services.

Bus Use Tiain Use Occasionsper month Occasions per month

The large majority chunk of the above chartsrepresents people who nevet use public transport. Of the minority users,the largestsegments represent 503 people who use the bus less than five times a month and 305 people who use the train less than five times a month. Only 55 peoplesaid they usedthe bus more than2O times a month and only 15 said they usedthe train more than 20 times a month. Informal obselations of rail use from Hanboroughsuggests that Hanborough residentsrepresent only about a quarterto one third of total users. However in the 18 months since the survey a significant increasein the use of Hanborough stationhas beenobserved.

One of the main detenerrtsto Lrseof the train is the mile distancefrom the centre of Long Hanborough. However,having an'ivedat the station,the travelleris very isolated and if a train is late tliere is at presentno telephoneor other form of communicationto contactthe rail authorities,taxi operators,family or business. The problem is that BT will not at presentprovide a public payphonewithout a substantialguarantee of use. Peoplewere askedif they thought a phone should be provided - 84% said only if it is paid for by BT. This is not surprisingin view of the low rail use. However, the 16% who were preparedfor a phone to be paid for from Parish Council Tax represented180 people. This suggeststhat more peoplemight be persuadedto usethe train if a phonecould be installed.

49 The Future

National and local policies suggestthat there will generally be pressLlrestowards increased public transportatiorratrd a reductiotr itr private vehicle use. In Hanborough the sufvey suggeststhat commurtingto work forms the largestuse of private cars. This is the very area that local policies are starting to try to discourage. For the majority of Hanborough's car commuters there is no viable public transport alternative and in the case of the buses, the present peak hour commuter service is filled to capacity. If a srvitch is to be made to public transport then more services will have to be provided. However, the bus operatorsare not ptepared to provide additional peak hour services becausethis would mean unusedvehicles at off peak times. The county council cannot afford to fund this use and rvlien it rvas asked some years ago it refused on principle. The prospectsfor improving local public transportselices do not therefore look good. As the majority of people Llsecars, it may be that more efficient use of local cars could be etrcouragedby fonns of car sharing. Nevertheless.despite the small proportion prepared to consider car sharing, it may be possible to expand this more socially aware use of transport and make some contribution towards a more efficient use of road and energy resources. It should however be noted that travel to work pattems are very varied with reported liome to work travel spreading throughout the county and beyond. PLrblic Transport could never economicallycater for all of the varying routesLrsed by residentsof Hanborough.

j.J a.

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50 IIANBOROUGH HERALD

The HanboroughHerald is the parish'sown magazine. It is publishedmonthly (except January) and aims to cover parish news, alrnouncementsand any material that is of relevanceor of interestto all or someof the peopleof the parish.It was first publishedin the early 1980's and is deliveredto all homes within walking distancein the parish.The few homesoutside the delivery areacan collect copies from the Post Office. All work on its preparationand distribution is undertaken by volunteersand the printing costs,less contributionsfrom local organisations, are bornevia the parishcouncil from the parishcouncil tax.

In view of this public expensethe committeedecided to try and found out how well it was read. To the question"Do you read the HanboroughHerald?",the answerswere: "Every issue"77% (ot 1234readers), "Every 2 to 3 issues",19%, "Lessfrequently",4% and "Nevet",0% (in fact 4 which is too low to registeras a whole percentagenumber). The overall responseto this questionwas 1,593out of a potential 1,809.Bearing in mind the total number of people who were eligible to answer(anyone aged 11 or over), this responsewas extremelyhigh and shows that the HanboroughHerald has a very high readershipin the parish. We also know that many of the sparecopies (about 100 out of a print run of 1,100)are read by people from outside the parish. We also know from the many complimentaryremarks made on the questionnairesthat the HanboroughHerald is valued very highly by many peopleand seemsto be one small item of public expenditurethat meets with, generally,public approval.

The following questionwas also asked:

Do you think HanboroughHerald should include more items on: (a list of typical editorialmatter)?

The summarisedanswers were as follows: Total % Eventsin Hanborough 551 53 ParishCouncil Activities 463 44 Peopleof Hanborough 463 44 History of Hanborough 534 51 HanboroughEnvironmental Issues 476 46 Other Items (suggestionsgiven) 37 4

The HanboroughHeralcl dependsupon the support of a relatively small band of people. For it to be fresh and lively it needs a variety of contributors with differing styles. Many events are covered by people connectedwith the many

51 Hanboroughorganisations. A few people are also preparedto report on parish council activities (and only a few are neededfor this coverage).This coversthe first two types of article on the above list. There is, however, only occasional coverage of other types of article. The committee hopes that there will be volunteers amongst the parish who might be preparedto cover some of the other types of article suggestedabove, even if on an occasionalbasis only.

Bearing in mind the present small band of volunteers, people were asked if they would be preparedto help. L27 peoplesaid "Yes" and I,260 said "No". When askedwhat areasof help could be given the answerswere as follows:

Total 7o -- Writing Articles JI 26 Editing I9 l3 Art Work t2 9 Typing 23 l6 Publicity 8 6 Distribution 82 58 Advertising I I

It seems therefore that there are more people prepared to help make the HanboroughHerald to continueand be an evenbigger successthan it is already!

HanboroughParislt MagazineJuly 1897 Wehove now two Cricket Clubs in our v,illuge,an old-establishedone at ChurchHanborough atd u trev)one.fbr the yoLutgnrcn started within the last two rttorrths,by Mr Barrct.tt,and called the "Christ Church Cricket Club" - . . . . Janttarj,saw^ the beginningofthree good things- the Parish Library, the Band of Hope and tlrc Parish Mugazhte. . . .

. In September(1896) the Queert'sreign surpassedin length those of all her predecessorson the throne. . . . 'Diantond . On June22nd (l897) we celehratethe Qneenl Jubilee 'Church' JubileeDat-. . . At 11.30there was a cricketnmtch -'Lortg'v. Hanborough . . . *-hich ended in a victory for the latter by IO wickets. . . spectators, nunhering nearly 500, were il::ostenthusiastic. At 4 pm a.ll adjourned.fortea, in additiotrto wlriclt the adults wereprovided with cold beef and ham - . . all the children v)erepresenred with a Jubilee nrug, buns and oranSes.-.-

. . . (Frorn Bethnal Green Mildmay Hospital) . . . an appeal to myfriends irt Hanborough. I know nnny of them have lavendargrowing irt their garders, and I want to ask them to spore sonrc to distribute in the East End of London 'sweet annng the sick, itt the hospitals. . . a little bog qf lavendar'givesgreat delight to thesesuff'erers . . . .

52 RELIGION

The questionswere intendedto be inclusiverather than exclusiveand answering them was in any casea voluntary matter. One personwrote: "I dislike questions aboutmy religion".

Which Religion?

L476 peopleresponded to this question:77% regardedthemselves as Christian, while 12% calledthemselves Agnostic and 8 % Atheist.

Which C hristian Denomination?

958 people responded as follows: Anglican 58%, Methodist28%, Roman Catholic 8% and Baptist 3%. The other denominationswere 2Voor less.

Why are Church Buildings Important?

ll98 said why church buildingswere important: 65% as an historic building, 64% for baptisms,weddings and funerals,52% as a village assetand 36% for Sundayworship.

Reasonsfor Not Attending Church

849 gavetheir reasonsfor not attendingchurch: 33% becauseit was irrelevantto their fives, 29% becauseof lack of time, 26% becauseof unbelief,79% because the serviceswere boring, 14% becausethe chr"rrchwas ftrll of hypocrites. Other commentsincluded: "Beins a Christiandoes not demandattendance at church".

The Methodist Church

Long Hanborough Methodist Church datesfrom 1895,making 1995a yearof centenary celebrations. The minister lives in Long Hanboroughbut also has oversightof six other churches,mainly in the Evenlodevalley. Sundayseryices are held at 10.30am and 6 pm. In the

53 mornings,the Junior Churchmeets at the sametime, offering gradedactivities for childrenof 3 yearsthrough to yor-rngpeople of 14plus. The first Sundaymorning in each month is a family service and the fonrth Sundayevening is united with ChristChurch, using alternate venues.

Many activities take place during the week. Youth cltrbs are rlln for 7-t1 year olds on Mondays,and 11 upwardson Tuesdays.The Women's Fellowship meet on Thursday afternoons. Once a month on Friday mornings, coffee and tea is 'come servedso that villagerscan and meeteach other', hencethe name CAMEO. A House Fellowship is held once a fortnight and, in the summer months, the ChapelWalks are a popular Bank Holiday activity. Community activities on the premisesinclude ThbleTennis Club, Line Dancing,Village Voicesand Brownies.

The Anglican Church

The Anglican parish of Hanboroughis over 800 yearsold. The parish church is dedicatedto St Peter and St Paul and was built in Norman times with later additions. In the last century, Christ Church was built at Long Hanboroughto serve its growing population. It has been altered over the years, most notably with the additionof a kitchenand toilet facilitiesand in the removalof the pews to allow social eventsto takeplace.

The parish of Hanborough is joined with that of Freeland in a United Benefice and the pattern of servicesand eventsis spread across both villages. The church enjoys a good relationshipwith is Methodistfriends.

The church maintains the historic Christian faith and gospel. It believesit to be true and very relevant to the world we live in today. In its services and other activities it is seeking to draw nearer to Christ, deepenits understandingof him and of what he has done for us and to servehim more faithfully. The Churchwould love you to join in this.

A wide varietyof servicesare held, at 8 am, 9.45 am,6 pm and 7.30pm. Sunday Schoolmeets at9.45 am in Chdst Church. Servicedetails are in the Hanborough Herald. There are several groups meeting mid-week, including Bible studS Fellowshipand CoffeeMomings. The Lunch Club, mn jointly with the Methodists, is held in Christ Church every two weeks. More information and a letter frorn the Rectorare in a newsletterwhich has a monthly circulationof just over 200.

54 HANBOROUGH - LOCALGOVERNMENT AND ITS REPRESENTATION

Within the context of the Cotswold Euro-Constituencyand the Witney ParliamentaryConstituency (currently represented by Lord Plumb of Coleshill, MEP, and Douglas Hurd, MP, respectively),Hanborough is served by a fairly complex network of local goveffrmentorganisations. The multiplicity of organisationsis often the factot that causesmost confusionamongst people.

Oxfordshire County Council

At the highestlevel Hanboroughis servedby OxfordshireCounty Council based at Oxford. Its servicescover more than half a million populationand is often seenas remote. It is currently attemptingto becomebetter connected with local communitiesby developingan'angements with parishcouncils. Its servicesare however usedby everyoneand forrn by far the major part of the Council Tax for Hanborough. They include education(primary and secondaryschools and a variety of miscellaneous education functions), social services (homes for children,the elderlyand people with learningdifficulties, as well as a wide range of servicesin support of care in the community such as home care, day centres and grants to voluntary organisations)and libraries and museums. It also providesservices of a more strategicnature such as the currentplanning function of revising the County Structure Plan up to the year 2011, highways and transportation(including road safetyand strbsidiesfor uncorunercialbut socially desirablebus seryices),trading standards and the fire service.

A number of other independentbodies, of which the Thames Valley Police Atrthorityis the majorname, provide services over an evenwider area.

Hanborough is representedon tlre County Council, as part of a larger area includingBladon, Freeland and North Leigh,by PegMcWilliam.

West Oxfordshire District Council

West Oxfordshire District Council is one of five district councils within Oxfordshireproviding the middle level of local goveffrmentservices and is based at Witney. Yonr Council Tax is collectedby the District Council, although the larger portion is then redistributedto tlie County Council and minor portions to the Parish Council and tl'rePolice Authority. Its servicesare of a more local nafire, such as housing, planning, building control and environmentalhealth

55 services (including refuse collection and the provision of bulk refuse skips through its contractor). It also provides leisureservices such as swimming pools and a leisure centre at Witney.

Hanborough is represented on the District Council by two councillors (also representingneighbouring Freeland Parish), currently Dickie Dawes and Colin James.

Hanborough Parish Council

At the very local level Hanborough is served by is Parish Council. Its functions are relatively minor compared with the much larger County and District Councils, and include allotments, the cemetery and churchyards and various green spaces LoNG HANBOROUCTt Alr-oTr,1€N7.5 maintenance.Probably its major function is to act as a mouthpiecefor local people. In particular,with its statutoryright to be consultedon planningmatters by the District Council, it performsa very valuablepart of the local democraticprocess.

It is composedof twelve councillorswho collectively form a wide local sounding board and first referencepoint for many Iocal problems. For further details of your local councillors as at the date of this publication,see Appendix C to this report.

Hanborough Tree Planting Group

This is a committeeof the ParishCouncil and was formed in 1978. The aim of the group is to improve the natural environment and soften the landscapeby the annual planting of trees within the parish. Over the years many hundredsof trees have been planted by a small group of willing volunteers. Anyone wishing to become involved in future planting schemes should contact either John Lewis-Barned,chairman of the group,telephone 01993-881756, or John Judge, telephone01993 882278.

56 Publicity of Parish Council Services

Peoplewere asked"How well doesthe parish council publiciseits decisionsand activities?" l5I3 answeredthis questionswith 4% sayinggood, 3O%reasonable, 43% poor and23% with no opinion. The ParishCouncil was advisedof the trend of replies before all questionnaireshad beenanalysed, early in 1995,and agreed with a proposalthat a HanhorottghHerald comespondentbe invited to report on its monthly meetings,and this hasnow beenimplemented.

The Questionnaire Police

People were asked how they regardedthe coverageof Hanborough by the Police. Only 6% saw this as "good", but 37% saw it as "reasonable". However, a further 37% tltoughtpolice cover was "poor" with thefinal 2I% havingno opinion.

Hanborongh has had three NeighbourhoodWatch schemesthat were set up almost ten years ago. These cover Millwood End, Main Road and Church Hanborough. Only 29% said their homes were in a Neighbourhood Watch schemeand 47 % said not, whilst 24% did not know either way. In the light of a significantproportion of peoplebeing dissatisfiedwith police coverage,would now be the time to consideran expansionof NeighbourhoodWatch schemesto assistthe limited policecoverage?

Highways and Traffic

The questionnaite allowed people to make their own unptompted comments on any matter that concemedthem. It is most noticeablethat throughoutthe parish there is a strong expressionof the need for traffic calming measures. In fact it is the single most important causefor comment by villagers whether they be in Church Hanborough or Long Hanbotough. Amongst the many suggestions were the following - speed limits; weight restrictions; speed cameras;speed humps (or other speedcontrol measures);pedestrian crossings near shops and chnrch in Long Hanborough; footwaylstreet lighting in Church Hanborough; footway in ChurchHanborough; 50 mph speedlimit on Lower Road (rat run!); advancewarning in Lower Road of emerging traffic from Church Hanborough (from Bladon direction);more mini roundaboutsat junctions;careless highway parking.

57 Dog Fouling The second expressedconcern was on dog fouling whether on the highway or recreation areas. There are in fact local byelaws prohibiting the fouling of footways and grassareas (where maintained). However, to be successfulowners who are observedallowing their dogs to foul such areasneed to be reportedto West Oxfordshire District Council. Unfornrnatelyin small communities,people are not 'shop'someone usuallyprepared to they may know. So what is the answer?

Views on Public Services People were asked their opinions on a number of local public services. The responses(in percentageterms) are set out below:

Good Reasonable Poor No Opinion

Road Maintenance 13 55 26 6 RoadCleaning I7 59 T7 VergeMaintenance 7 49 37 1 I RefuseCollection 83 I4 L 2 StreetLighting 58 29 9 4 Litter Bin Provision 24 32 36 8 TelephoneKiosk Reliability 7 L9 11 62

Peoplewere askedif they would be preparedto pay a sliglrtly higher parish council tax to meet someof the needsof the parish. 1458people answered, with 37% scyng yes,39%saying no, and 24% expressingno opinion. However,a significantnumbr of respondentsadded comments to the effect that their answerwould really depend on how the exffa tax revenllewould be spentand a numbermade suggestions where they would like to see exna ftrnding used. It is usually assumedthat most people would like to seelower taxesbut the questionnaireproduced an evenbalance. It may be that, after several years of cuts in local governmentexpendinrre imposed by cenffal government,people are beginning to realise the relationshipbetween lower taxesand the often resultantlower standardof public services.

STEPHENI.wrLEY (4,\ ELECTRICIAN \U Clippers Additions - Alterations- Rewiring Surveys- SecuriryLighting Cookers- Showers- TblephonePoints UNISEX HAIRDRESSING No job too snnll

90 Main Road, Long Hanborough I l QUEEN ELEANOR COURT Oxon OX8 8JY CHURCHILL WAY Tel: (01993)881409 LONG HANBOROUGH. OXON Fax: (01993)882778 Tel:(01993) 881513

58 IMPRESSIONS OF HANBOROUGH

We often heat differing views on what a particular place is like, some complimentary?others not. The committee thereforedecided to ask people to give their views by selectirlgone, or more, descriptivephrases from a list that they thoughtbest described their impressionof Hanborough.

64% of respondentsconsider Hanborough to be a "good place",while 59% tlttr1r-it a "convenientplace to live". About a third of us considerit a "tranquil place". Of the 11% who consider Hanborough to be a "boring place", by far the greater number fall into the 11 to 2I agerange with rather more femalesthan males of this opinion. Doesthis suggestthat there is a lack of facilitiesfor our youngerfolk?

9% considerHanborough to be a "placechanged beyond all recognition"andT% think of it as a "place of leisure". 6% think of it as an "expensiveplace to live" and 5 % find it to be a "lonely place"! The latter 5 % consistsof about 80 people. More than half were in tl'te 22 to 59 age group. In other minority age groups, femaleswere more numerous,but in the caseof the over 60s this is probablyjust a reflection of female longevity. However,if 80 peoplefeel lonely, doesthis say somethingabout our senseof community? In view of the large number of organisationsfound by the sluvey to be active in Hanborough,could it meanthat they are badly advertised?

Only 2% considerHanborough to be a "working place"or a "placefor a second home".

NOWUNDER NEW OI^/NERSHIP Vivienne & David Collis would like to thank you for giving us a warm welcome to NATTSNAL the village WE OFFER LOTTERY A}\IEFF/CIEMI OUTLET HOMEDELIVEI

59 Appendix A

HOW THE VILLAGB APPRAISAL QUESTIONNAIRE WAS CONDUCTED

Soon after the project was staftedit was decidedthat Hanboroughwas too big a parish to analyse the questionnaireresults manually. It was therefore decided to purchase a custom computer software suite written by the Countryside and Community Research Unit of Gloucestershire Rural Community Council. Experienceproved this to be the correctdecision.

The software provided a suite of several hundred standard questions and questions that could be tailoted to local needs. After numerous committee meetings,several drafts, and consultationswith as many interestedorganisations as practical, a questionnairewas preparedthat was, mostly, capableof analysisby computer. The computer prepared questions were 'closed' questions, i.e. questionswhere the respondentchooses one, or more, answersfrom a given range. It was, however,thought that in some instancesthese would not allow peopleto ftrlly expresstheir views. Thereforea small numberof 'open'questions were included, where respondentscould write exactly what they wished. The answersto thesequestions had to be analysedcompletely manually in the light of the actualresponse.

It was also decidedat an early stagethat simply distributing the questionnaires and askingpeople to return them would not producethe volume of responsesthat could be seen to be genuinely representativeof people'sviews. Such methods often produceonly a 2O%to 30% response,but the committeewas aiming to get an 8O% response. To help achieve this target a programme of pre-delivery publicity through the Hanborough Herald was combined with a comprehensive collection procedute. The parish was therefore divided into areas each with a volunteer coordinator. Each area coordinator organiseda team of local volunteer distributor/collectors,altogether about 70 people. The distributor called at each home and explainedthe purposeof the questiomaireand arrangeda convenient collectiontime and date. This processmaximised the responserate.

The questionnaireswere distributedover July, August and September1994, and collected up to November 1994. 774 questionnaireswere returned out of just over a thousand homes in the parish, so the 80% target was largely achieved. 2,098 people were identified as living in the 774 homes, with 1,809 people eligible to answerthe personalquestions (people aged 11 or over). Not everyone I I 60 answeredall the questions. Up to Christmas 1994 the committee was fully engagedanalysing the 'open' answers.In January1995 the task of processingthe 774 questionnairesby computer started. This was dependentupon the small number of people living in the parish with personal computers and who had volunteeredto help. About two-thirds was complete by midsummer and these partial results gave the committee a general view of the results that enabled preparation of the report to commence. The analysis was completed in September and, whilst quality control checks identified some particular processingerrors that neededcorrection, the final results were not significantly different from the preliminaryfigures.

Much of the questionnaireresults are incorporatedin the report, partly as bold figures and charts, and partly as descriptivetext. However, most readerswill have little interestin the fine detail and thereforethe full resuls are not within this publication. Anyone who wishesto seethe ftrll total resultscan be supplied with them. It should also be noted that, becausethe resnlts are also held in computer format, they are capable of further analysis, so that any particular answertotal can be analysedover a rangeof options. Any personor organisation wishingto do this shouldcontact Andrew Wilkins on 01993-882036.

Shem-Dry EPERIENCED(CELLENCE! (\ wEAneYoun LOCAL :ARPETAND UPHOLSTERY CLEINING SPECIALISTS \ DIRTBUSTER\J We are now settingstandards that cannotbe betteredby any riual company and ourfast grouing repuution ouerthe last threeyears makes us the automaticchoke of major compania, househol.dsand insurancecompanics.

LET US RESTOFEYOUR SOFT FURNISHINGSAND SAVE POUNDSIN CC,S-TLYREPI.ACEMENT JUNE&MIKEFRANKUM NOW ISO 9002ACCHED,IT-EDI Brltlsh standard Independently AV/ARDFINALISTS 1992 awardedhonoui frirquality assurancsof work Whatdo we ofer? . Carpetcleaning . Upholstery cleaning . Curtainscleaned in situ . Oriental rugs Normally dry in 4/ 6 hours Normally dry in 60 minutes . Leather & vinyl cleaning Restorescolours and textures No shrinkage . Flood & fire damage No shinkage No din attractins residues . Carpet & upholstery Removesmost sains and Staysclean like new protectors embedded soils 100%safe - non-toxic . PH. balancedfor longer life Effective on all cames Pet odour removal 100% safe- non-tofc kaves carpetssoft-and . Stain removal Flameproofing and protection lustrous . Anti-static treatment servlce No harsh chemicals- fully . Flameproofing environmentally friendly . De-odourising . OVER3OOO HAPPY AND Deep cleans . Guaranteed SATISFIEDCUSTOMERS satisfaction G0MMrRGlrl&D0ME$T|G-GAllmEoil-0800 6| 4441

61 AppendixB

Clubsand Organisationswithin the Parishof Hanborough

Nameof Organisationfollowed by contactname and telephone number (Local 01993STD code)

Thisinformation is assupplied to theAppraisal Comnrittee at January1996 but maynot becomplete. N.l1iq4-W-9.r.:_l-r$-.g11:{:-9:-':,:r::i:lc-l"lql,-- i :\yll!Ruth Spencer I 882564 LongLongHanboroughNursery HanboroughNursery SchoolSchool-for3 - for3 --5agegroup- 5 agegroup - Jeanne i 882136 iiJeanneHall I i*t1:1_!.I111q:*{-li1t-c-l:I]]]1ill9_ltjlrlle-l*19:j:tlp-r-_ ..i...,.-.-*- -1--- Long HanboroughPlaygroup - MeersMonday - Friday. s. r, - i JayMacBurnie j SATSSZ I

HanboroughPlaying Fields Association - Co-ordinating i tuturyDavies (Sec.); Pavilion j SStOZe ::-q:::1T1 HanboroughWelfare Trust - Disrriburesclraritable tunds ro i JohnEdwards SS1O0O iI i r/f^+L^,{:-+Methodist After A+^- E:-1^+.Eights House LI^,,.^ Fellowship E^ll^.-,.L;^ - Meets f,/^^i^ i Wendyur^-,1,, Maddison \t^,{,{:.^- I qa1?4,4881364

Methodist Young Church - Meets10.30 am each Sunday. Justturn up on Sunday Classesfor Beginners(3--l 1'rs). Prinrary & Juniors(5-10 yrs). LazerGroup (ll-13 yrs).Igng*:tf , sry_tt45jl__---____._

I Mothers'Union j 882TT2 ....j. I a Rainbow Guides - The1'oungest section of Guiding i tult:Annie Reynolds 882237 l{*gv--G:r{:t:lF::-us-::l-:::ti"tel-9{{ile. . j *--+I D:ri::Plrgll I i;i;iD; $*rg-:n: -9*{i:lg I:l l"-Ie-i: ; ""'fI SingingTogether lor 0's to 5's - Forcarers arrd children - i AlisonFeast or 1 882897 rneets2 - 3 prnMondal,s atMethodist Church Halt i Zoe Dobson 84T237 St. JohnAmbulance i-9lMgl-u*o-19.$-L9-l..::-T.t St. John Ambulance Badgers(6 - l0.r'earsolds) i TinaJuler St. JohnArnbulance Cadets (10 - 16vear olds) HelenRainsley 6 I MarlboroughCrescent Hanborough Community Association- Co-ordinating RobinStockton 882361 organisationfor TheRecreation Hall HallBookings- SueGough 882682 Hanborough& FreelandScout Group - Meelsat the Mike Joiner 882369 RecreationHall, Fridays 7.00 - 9.45 ptn Hanborough Sports - Co-ordinatingorganisation for usersof TerryGlossop 881923 theMulti-Sports Area at PlayingFields Hanborough Table Tennis Club - McetsTuesday evenings at RobinDawkins 882307 RecreationHall and Wednesdayevenings at Methodist Schoolroom The PrincessRoyal Trust for Carers- Co-ordinatesthe i StephenBraybrooke Tucker 8825I 8 needsof carcrsof peoplervitlt difficulties.offcring practicaland :*91i9-T1*rp-fe-11,o-q:llr-:l:ill$lti::1$lt-elq HanboroughToddler Group 1atig_on s{!! Gwyhn Mason Hanborough Women's Institute - Mcetssecond Thursdav of ChristineRihan eachmonth at theRecreation Hall Women's Fellowship (MethodistChurch) - Meels2.30 pnr : CynthiaFloyd r907 eachThursday at theMethodist Hall frornFebruary to Juneand Septernberto Decernber

63 AppendixC

ElectedRepresentatives for the Parishof flanborough

As at January1996

Name,contact address and telephone number (Local 01993 STD Codeunless stated otherwise)

Member for the EuropeanUnion Lord Plumb.DL. MEP TheCotsu'old Europcan Constituencv Office. Montrose (0t242) House,Wellington Strcet, Cheltenham, Glos. GL50 IXY 522958

Member of Parliament Rt. Hon.Douglas Hurd, CH, CBE,MP Ehnfield,New Yatt Road,Witney, or Houseof 702302 Commons,Westrninster, London SWIA 0AA

OxfordshireCounty Corrncil PesMcWilliarn 3 ChapelLane, North Leigh,Witney 881429

West OxfordshireDistrict Council DickieDawes TheKilns, Witney Road, Freeland, Witney 883770 ColinJames PinsleyOrchard, N4ain Road, Long Hanborough 88I 395

HanboroughParish Council PeterBrittin (Chairman) 7 GlyrneWay, Long Hanborough 88I 980 Alan Clarke 28 RooseveltRoad, Long Hanborough 882252 JohnEdwards 6 IsisClose, Long Hanborough 88I 060 PennyFranklin 77 Main Road,Long Hanborough 882631 JackGarner 59 ChurchillWay, Long Hanborough 881631 Mike Gibbard 149Main Road, Long Hanborough 88I 564 SueGibson 57 AbelwoodRoad, Long Hanborough 882132 David Greenway I WitneyRoad, Long Hanborough 883032 JeanneHall 36 WitneyRoad, Long Hanborough 882136 Arthur Keen 65 MarlboroughCrescent, Long Hanborough 881478 JohnLewis-Barned RectoryFarrnhouse, Church Hanborough 88l 756 Eric Young 36 Hurdeswell,Long Hanborough 88I 648

THECYCLE SHOP & GENERALSTORES 7la MainBoad, Long Hanborough. TeL 01993 881020 Chauffeurs Tryus for: Eleciricalltems, CB Radio, Hardware, lronmongery TAXI.PRIVATE HIRE & WEDDINGS FancyGoods, Slationery & Postage Stamps, Confectionery Photographic+ 24hour Film Developing Service gfts"%g??gilt}nu ChemistLines, Gardening, Footware &Accessories tr%.MICHAELWILEY 90 MAIN ROAD, LONG HANBOROUGH, OXON OX8 8JY Tools,Pet Food & Bedding,Telephones & Equipment Long or short distancesundertaken - Parceldeliveries ln ourworkshop: We cover most types of cyclerepairs, including I)rivcr only supplicdfor customcrvehicle wheelbuilding etc. Wecarry a largerange of cycle spares and - AlsoP.S.V. or H.G.V. Portsand Airports ,. accessories,allat very competitive prices. =-.4;.q$..- Travel Tbkensacceptcd . n Our help & adviceis.free lburs il requircd - --- Open9.00 5.30daily; Sun, 10-12; Closed for Lunch 1-2 pm Over 40 yearsdriving expcricncc 1r- .

64 Hartborough Statiott irt its heyday

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Our modern fleet of "Thrbo" trains provide regular and reliable services linking the Cotswolds with Worceste& Ordord and London.

Whether you're visiting friends or relatives, spending the day shopping' of seeing ? show, next time try Thames Thains it could shange youf mind about t11ryslling.

For more information please Phone Ordord01865 722333

g ThamesTroins ---':*41-1

iiiljnn gwr