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Walk mostly, and latterly exclusively, under the management Shutford Circular walk of the Wrench family. Their handwoven livery plush was 8 exported to many of the royal courts of Europe as well as and village trail to Africa and the Far East and won a number of awards at The Shutford Circular Walk follows footpaths and international exhibitions. bridleways to the south and west of the village, including a section of ancient road past Madmarston Hill. It offers fine By the 1960’s with the demise of its traditional occupations views over the surrounding countryside and neighbouring the village was in decline with many properties derelict, villages. This 4.5 mile/7 km walk starts from the village pub no school, no permanent vicar and for a while no pub. (George and Dragon) but there is no designated parking area Attempts to draw attention to its plight by entering the best at the pub or within Shutford so walkers are asked to show kept village competition in 1969 and advertising the village consideration for residents and other road users when parking for sale in an American newspaper in 1970 gradually bore on village streets. fruit. Abandoned houses were rebuilt or renovated and new Shutford The circular walk is clearly waymarked but it helps to follow the ones erected bringing new people and with them new life information in this leaflet as you go.Before setting out on to the village. Circular walk 17 your walk, please check the council’s website for updates

M Warwick LEAMINGTON 40 A361 SPA in the leaflet text or along the route - M1 15 Plus optional village trail 14 NORTHAMPTON www.cherwell.gov.uk/circularwalks A46 13 A423 16

Stratford- A5 upon-Avon 15A 12 15 A361 A3400 The Shutford Village Trail offers a short 1 mile/1.6 km walk A43

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M around this once world renowned village (for the weaving of 4 M 0 A422 1 Approximate walk time plush), pinpointing some of its more interesting features and A5 2. .5 hours Shutford Silverstone Milton A429 11 A422 3 Keynes A3400 14 A4 giving an insight into its history. The route is steep in places ay

ossew 13 F B4035 Brackley and so would be difficult for pushchairs and wheelchairs. Many Buckingham To M40 A4421 S A361 A4260 A43 D Evesham of the buildings described are private dwellings. Please respect L O

W 10 A4421

S B4030 Chipping the privacy of residents by viewing from a polite distance. T Norton O A4

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I A41 A361

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Woodstock 40

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X O A40 Witney A40 About Shutford A40 OXFORD A34 8 The area around Shutford has 8 been settled since ancient times though the village itself is probably of Saxon origin. For centuries it was a mainly Getting there The Shutford Circular Walk starts at the George and agricultural community though Dragon Public House. To find it on a mapping website or associated trades of brewing, using satellite navigation, the grid reference is SP352377 malting, spinning, weaving, hat and the post code is OX15 6PG. and stocking making are known By Train: The nearest station is Banbury which links to to have existed too. In 1701 many of the buildings were Bicester and Oxford to the south and Birmingham to the destroyed by fire but by 1774 it had become one of the north. A taxi would then be required as the bus service largest villages in the area with 71 houses. through Shutford is very irregular. Circular walk: Shutford became known around the world as a centre By Car: Shutford is five miles west of Banbury. Take the Distance 4.5 miles Time 2. 5 -3 hours for the weaving of plush, the top grade of which is a Shutford Road from Lower off the B4035 luxurious silk fabric. Beginning as a cottage industry in the (Shipston on Stour Road) Village trail: 17th century, manufacture continued here until 1947 Distance Time 1 1 mile 1 hour JB 04406. 10/2020 Distance 4.5miles/ 7km Walk 8 Circular walk Approximate walk time 2. 5 -3 hours OctoberShutford 2020 edition* Start outside the George and Dragon pub, walk up Church Lane and through

e the gate at the top. Shutford n a

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y v To Banbury Bus I See step by step guide for Shutford Shelter detailed route description Village Hall Clump Crow Bank Cemetery Pub Dog Pool Manor House

Apollo beaky Woodington Spinney Barton close Hill meadow bank o T A FIRSt Cairn’s Well Little STITCh Round Jester’s Barn maiD field Shutford Beacon (Lake) Hill The Shutford Beacon on Heathnell Farmington Farm Jester’s Hill was erected Spinney second to commemorate the LIME KILN maiD field dirty Jester’s Hill 50th anniversary of stiles VE DAY.

tcut r MILLERS

Sho GROUND back to Shutford Blenheim Farm Twenty Leyes Madmarston Footpath to Roman Road ( Salt Way) Hill Upper Lea Key Farm Route

Other paths Bridleway to Swalclife Permissive paths Points of interest A Pub

*Please check www.cherwell.go.uk/circularwalks to ensure you have the latest version of this map including any temporary alterations 2 9 After crossing the road, go through the bridlegate and 10 Follow the track to the field then follow the field edge as it edge ahead. Then walk in Preperation step descends, crosses a watercourse the general direction of Wear appropriate clothing and strong, by step and then ascends. Bear right the Shutford circular walk comfortable footwear. Trousers, strong between two hedges (follow waymark, following the boots or wellingtons are recommended Shutford the bridleway rather than the tractor tyre tracks through as parts of the route are often wet and muddy. footpath), a stretch that can be the crops as best you can. Carry water and take a mobile phone if you have one Circular walk very muddy. Follow the track for Head straight across the * approx 350 metres and then field towards the large oak but bear in mind that coverage can be patchy in rural August 2018 edition Keeping the large oak trees 2 descend. Once on the level, tree. Once across the field, areas. If you are walking alone it’s sensible, as a simple on your right, follow the ignore the track to the left and find the opening in the precaution, to let someone know where you are and 1 outside the George footpath (rather than the Start carry straight on. Then ignore hedge next to the oak tree when you expect to return. and Dragon pub, walk up bridleway) and bear left the track to the right, eventually (where there is a post and Church Lane and through across Manor Field towards passing a lake on your left circular walk waymark) and the gate at the top. the stile set in the hedge (hidden from view on the other walk through it. Turn right, ahead. (Look back to see the side of the hedge). On reaching keeping the wooded area on Things to remember Manor House behind you). a gatepost with two waymarks  3 Cross the stile, bear left across your right, and continue to Much of the route is across cultivated and grazing land. If fixed to it, follow the direction walk close to the trees and the field and head towards Continue to follow the circular you bring your dog with you, keep it under close control 4 of the Shutford Circular Walk along the field edge. the plantation in the far walk waymarks and turn right and on a lead through stocked fields. However, current Permissive Footpath waymark corner. Walk between the two through the gate/gateway. advice recommends you should not walk between a cow which takes you right at this areas of trees, then bear left Follow the track along the and her calf and, if you are threatened by cattle, you should point and not straight on. 12 Go straight through the and follow the track to the bottom of the field (with the opening and, keeping to the let the dog off the lead. next gate, near Jester’s Barn. hedge on your right). At the Continue walking along the field edge with the hedge You may come across temporary fencing not mentioned next gate the track changes 11 field edge as it bears round to on your left, pass through a in the leaflet as farmers will use this in different places to 5 Keep following the track to sides so that the hedge is on the right until you reach a path gap between fields. Carry your left. manage their livestock throughout the year. Provision for Upper Lea Farm (on your right going left. Here turn left and straight on and follow the is Madmarston Hill) passing path between the hedge walkers to get through this fencing safely should always be After the farm buildings go then follow the tractor tyre made – please let us know if this is not the case. the first barn to your right. 6 tracks into the cropped area and some newer planting. through a wooden fieldgate  Bear right and follow the and walk parallel to the field This stretch is wide enough Ground nesting birds can be disturbed by dogs, particularly on your left and into an old but is very overgrown which track, keeping the fence edge and hedgerow on your in the Spring, so please keep them under close control. and the rest of the farm orchard. Turn right and walk obscures the uneven terrain; right, around the bottom of the Respect plants and animals and take your litter home. to the gate at the far end the fence to your right is buildings to your left. hill. The path through the crops (note the ridge and furrow barbed wire; and there is a Remember that the countryside is a working place - leave is the footpath, not the field groundform) low branch partially blocking crops, buildings, machinery and livestock well alone. Leave edge. Keep walking and, as you Go through two gates, a the route. Please be aware of gates and property as you find them and please keep to 7 Turn right and follow the emerge from the crops, you will stretch which is very muddy 8 these hazards. Roman Road. After approx 100 see an opening and waymark in the line of the path. even in dry weather. The metres, keep straight ahead the hedge over to the left ahead. Take great care when crossing or walking along the roads. second gate is difficult to onto a bridleway. Keep going open and involves lifting a Park your car responsibly. Do not obstruct gateways, straight on for 1.5km ignoring Seasonal tips The route back to the village narrow lanes and village facilities. Consider leaving valuables metal chain over the left-hand any tracks and turns to left and 13 The route can be overgrown from here is on roads with no at home. gatepost. Take care as there right. Keep straight on towards with nettles, grass and pavements so take care. Turn is barbed wire at the back of and through a metal gate and crops in spring/summer left and continue to the road the postfollow the permissive do not follow the surfaced obscuring the terrain and junction. Turn right to go back to track ahead (rather than the track as it turns left. Continue signs. Stretches of the route Shutford and the starting point footpath which bears left) to follow the bridleway straight can be waterlogged in the (George and Dragon) along the between two fields to its ahead until you reach a winter or after heavy rain, High Street, passing the pond junction with the Roman bridlegate and the Shutford/ particularly around gates. known as Dog Pool on your right. Road ( Church is Sibford Road*. visible from this point). *Shortcut: Here, the less energetic can turn right and then *Please check www.cherwell.go.uk/circularwalks to ensure you have the Shutford Clump follow the road back to Shutford. latest version of this map including any temporary alterations 3 The Shutford Beacon on Jester’s Hill was erected to commemorate the e Roman Road Shutford n 50th anniversary of VE DAY. a

L Is the local name for this track but it was originally a y v To Banbury ShutfordBus I pre-Roman Salt Way, part of the main road from London to Shelter Droitwich, which was a centre for salt production. Shutford Circular walk Village Hall Madmarston Hill Clump Crow Bank Cemetery Pub Dog Pool Manor House A late iron age hill camp, is the earliest known settlement in Points of interest the (Banbury) hundred. It was probably occupied from the Dog Pool 2nd century B.C. until the 1st century A.D. when it appears beaky Originally known as Frog Pool! to have been deserted, except for a brief period in the 4th Apollo Barton close Woodington Spinney Field Names meadow century. The site was extensively excavated in 1957-58. Hill Several of the fields along this walk bank A o Sibford T have interesting names. SomeFIRSt like ‘Meadow Bank’ andRound ‘Lime Kiln’ are Jester’s Barn Cairn’s Well Little STITCh Hill maiD field (Lake) self explanatory whilst others are words which were once Ridge and Furrow Heathnell part of the rural language and are no longer in common Is usually associated with medieval open field farming, Farmington Farm Spinney usage. For example ‘Beakysecond Close’: A close was a piece where each farmer would be allocated a certain number of Jester’s Hill of land enclosed from anmaiD open field field or commondirty by an strips in a communal field. Its main purpose was probably to LIME KILN stiles individual farmer. ‘Twenty Leyes’: A ley field was grassland. improve the drainage and as an insurance against the bad ‘Millers Ground’: The word ground described a piece of land seasons. In floods the crops on the ridges would survive and distant from the farmstead or manor that owned it. ‘Little in droughts the furrows would stay damper. Stitch’: A small nook of land. tcut r MILLERS

Sho GROUND Dog Pool back to Shutford Blenheim Farm Twenty Site of Romano - British Settlement Leyes Jester’s Hill and Shutford Beacon Madmarston It lies close to what is now known as Swalcliffe Lea and was Named after a local family. William Jester’s grave stone can Footpath to Roman Road ( Salt Way) Hill Upper Lea one of the largest Roman occupation sites in the county, be seen in Shutford churchyard. Sibfords Farmcovering 50 acres. The site was occupied throughout the Acknowledgements Roman period and possibly earlier. The settlement which was quite large in the 1st century A.D. seems to have This leaflet was originally researched and written by the Shutford Conservation Group with the approval of Bridleway declined in the second but flourished again in the late third to Swalclife and fourth centuries. Shutford Parish Council. Photography by Claire Winfield. Thanks to the landowners whose co-operation has From the 14th to the 17th centuries a medieval hamlet helped to make the walk possible. called the Lea stood on the site all traces of which have now disappeared. The site was excavated by the Oxford Community Services University Archaeological Society in 1958. A villa in the field Council to the south east of the township site and immediately to House, Bodicote the east of Lower Lea farmhouse was excavated in 2000. Banbury, Oxon, OX15 4AA Telephone: 01295 221980 Email: [email protected] Jester’s Hill www.cherwell.gov.uk/circularwalks 4 Distance 1 mile/1.6km Approximate walk time 1 hour Walk 8 Village trail OctoberShutford 2020 edition* The Tyte

Old Manor House

s H Methodist Key Cook’ ill Cambrai Chapel Route Lower End The Green 13 Other paths – Shutford Village Trail map Weavers Shop Points of interest The Gates of “Cambrai” M ne al La thouse Start The George Cambrai: A city in France which gave its name to the Old School and Dragon faces the first major tank battle. Surmounted by the Tree Plush Mill Site House crossroads. Parts of the of Life, supported by a Tank of the Second Battalion, building are believed salient, and a Lion from the crest of the British to date back to the Limbless Ex-Servicemen’s Association, sejant. Quaker Meeting House 13th century and it is rumoured that a tunnel Above, the tower of the Church of St Martin’s and once connected it with Banbury Cross, recording a family of monumental Chapel the Church behind. masons. To the left and right, the Thistle of Scotland and the Rose of in gold leaf and the crest of Cottages Shutford Ivy Lane See Village trail step by the clan Maclean. step guide for details On the extreme left, a replica of the original sign of village of the features and the George and Dragon and underneath a plaque t e of the New Inn. On the extreme right, the sign of e r history on this trail t S Village Hall the Lamb and Flag and underneath a plaque of the t s Old Brewhouse e Weavers Arms. All record the four hostelries that W Old Post Office existed in the village and to which the family were connected at some time. et High Stre George and Dragon Pub The Blacksmith and his mate at work are typical of at least four generations of smiths. In the centre, the carriers cart of William Coles and the St. Martin’s wagon of William Gibbs. The line of Scrolls represents the waves and shows the family connections with the Church Lane Church Church Shutford Manor Royal Navy and Merchant Navy.

*Please check www.cherwell.go.uk/circularwalks to ensure you have the latest version of this map including any temporary alterations 5 6 Chapel Cottages are built 12 Turn right and walk a short step on the site of the former 7 The buildings on the right way up Malthouse Lane Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, mask what was the site for to see on the left: The Old 13 Return down the hill into by step almost certainly given to the over 200 years of Wrench’s School House, built by local Lower End, passing on the village by mill owner William Plush Mill, once the only subscription organised by the corner: the former Primitive Shutford Wrench in the mid 19th maker of handwoven livery vicar in 1868. At one time Methodist Chapel, now also a century. Continue along plush in the world. The there were 60, mostly part- private house. Village trail West Street. industry existed in Shutford time pupils. Originally a church * before 1747 and despite a school it was later taken over October 2020 edition fire which virtually destroyed by the local authority and the mill in 1913 the factory eventually closed in 1962. It is The village trail walk begins outside the George and Dragon pub continued in production until now a private house. 14 on the corner of High Street and Church Lane. It is advisable to 8 Facing you at the end of 1947 when difficulties with follow the walk in a clockwise direction as described so that you West Street is: The Old Manor the supply of raw materials come down Cook’s Hill instead of up it. House of the former West and labour combined with ill health forced the family to Shutford parish. It was at 15 one time a public house, The sell up. Turn around and walk 1 The George and Weavers Arms, much used back along Lower End Start Reminders of the industry Dragon faces the crossroads. when the home weavers, and into Ivy Lane. You remain in the house names Parts of the building are St. Martin’s Church dates having brought their cloth will pass on your right: The 2 along this row. believed to date back to from the 12th century with into the mill to be measured, former Quaker Meeting the 13th century and it is additions made throughout were paid. House which is one of the rumoured that a tunnel the Middle Ages. A leaflet oldest houses in Shutford. It Continue along Lower End once connected it with giving more detailed was licensed in 1690 as a until you reach, on your left: the Church behind. information is available inside meeting house for this and The Tyte, a natural spring the Church but of particular 9 The area in front of the Old the neighbouring villages, where the woven plush was note are the traces of early Manor House is the official the area at that time being a brought to be rinsed after wall paintings. Quaker stronghold (There is 3 Visible behind the Church is Village Green where fairs dyeing. part of Shutford Manor, the were held in former times. still a Quaker meeting House It was then taken back to the main house of the former East and Quaker school in nearby mill on handcarts or on a float Shutford parish. Built by Sir ). Meetings Walk along High Street, drawn by a Shetland pony Richard Fiennes, the MP for 4 here ended in 1804 when passing on the right: The Old in the same direction as this Banbury, between 1580 and numbers declined, though Brewhouse, a former public walk, the wet material being 1600. A distinguishing feature the surrounding land was house once known as The 10 Continue down Cook’s too heavy to push back up is the tall staircase tower. used for burials until 1851. New Inn. Hill. On your right is: The Cook’s Hill. Although the Fiennes family It has been a private house Weaver’s Shop which once Continue down Cook’s Hill. never lived at the Manor it 11 since the late 19th century. housed a dozen or so hand On your left is: Cambrai, the is said that just before the Continue along Ivy Lane looms supplementing home of the Gibbs family, outbreak of the Civil War the until you get back to the the production of the village blacksmiths for many Parliamentarian Lord Saye 5 The thatched cottage on the George and Dragon. home weavers in this years whose works include and Sele drilled soldiers in corner was once the village and surrounding villages. the Church gateway and the upper storey of the house Post Office.The position of Certainly in existence before the Village Hall railings. The (then one large room). For the the old Post Box is detectable 1815 this was the only plaques and finials on the best view of the Manor turn under the right hand window. visible evidence of a factory gates commemorate the tank back and look as you cross Turn right along West St. in Shutford apart from the battle of Cambrai as well as Manor Field at the start of the tall mill chimney rising local and family history. See Circular Walk. behind the cottages on page 5 for more details. Walk West Street. 8 *Please check www.cherwell.go.uk/circularwalks to ensure you have the latest version of this map including any temporary alterations 6