A History of the Parishes of Chipping Warden and Edgcote by Janet Budge B.A. A Master's Dissertation, submitted in partial fulfilment • of the requirements for the award of the Master of Arts degree of the Loughborough University of Technology September 1992 Supervisor: Prof. Michael Reed, M.A. Department of Information and Library Studies ©J. Budge, 1992 ----- ----------------------------------------- Abstract The parishes of Chipping Warden and Edgcote lie in the Midland region of England, within the county of Northamptonshire. This work looks at the origins of settlement and the development of the village communities towards those of today. Archeological and documentary evidence of early settlement is studied as is the ancestry of the local gentry. Features of Chipping Warden which were important during the medieval period, such as its thriving market, are traced back to their origins, and the involvement of Edgcote in the Wars of the Roses of the fIfteenth century is similarly explored. The development of both the Church of England and the Methodist faith is scrutinised within the bounds of the parishes, the architecture of the local churches playing a significant part in their histories. The new phenomenon of compulsory education within the parishes and its development during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is examined. Though predominantly a farming community there has been a growth in industry during the past five decades following the Second World War in which Chipping Warden aerodrome played a significant part Finally the traditions and way of life of the village communities within living memory are explored and a comparison made between times past and present. (i) List of Contents Page List of Figures iii List of Plates iv Acknowledgements v Preface vi Chapter 1 Origins and Communications 1 Chapter 2 Archaeology and Landscape 7 Chapter3 The History of Chipping Warden 21 Chapter 4 The History of Edgcote 33 Chapter 5 The Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul, Chipping Warden 40 Chapter 6 The Parish Church of St James, Edgcote 47 Chapter 7 Chapel and School 52 Chapter 8 War and Change 59 Chapter 9 The Parishes at Leisure 65 Chapter 10 Past and Present 72 Bibliography 76 (H) List of Figures Page Figure 1 Nonhamptonshire: natural regions 1 Figure 2 Iron Age fort with windmill mound 8 Figure 3 Roman bath house 12 Figure 4 Traditional looped palstave axe and nonhem type socketed axe 13 Figure 5 The deserted medieval village of Trafford 14 Figure 6 The deserted medieval village of Edgcote 18 (iii) ------ - --- List of Plates Page Plate I Iron Age fort windmill mound 9 Plate 2 Site of Roman villa at Blackgrounds 11 Plate 3 Well Cottage and old chapel building 27 Plate 4 Old market steps with manor house in background 28 Plate 5 Mounting block or gallows stone 29 Plate 6 Edgcote House 37 Plate 7 The parish church of St Peter and St Paul, Chipping Warden 40 Plate 8 The parish church of St Jarnes, Edgcote 47 Plate 9 The Weslyan chapel 55 Plate 10 The village school, former hospital unit of the RAF squadron based in Chipping Warden during the Second World War 55 Plate 11 Farm at Calves Close Spinney, former NAAFI and theatre 60 Plate 12 Example of housing at Arbury Banks 61 Plate 13 Example of housing at Alien's Orchard 62 Plate 14 Example of housing at The Close 62 Plate 15 Speculo's Cottage shop 63 Plate 16 The village shop today 64 Plate 17 The Griffm public house 69 Plate 18 The Rose and Crown public house 69 Plate 19 The old elm tree on Rainbow Corner 71 Plate 20 The English village -little changed over the centuries 75 Plates nos 4,15,18,19 and 20 - photographs cow-tesy ofThe Packer Collection, Centre for Oxfordshire Studies, Central Ubrary, Oxford. All other photographs cow-tesy of Mr Alan Maclde, Edgcote. (iv) Acknowledgements During the course of my work I have received help and advice from numerous sources and would like to thank the following: The staff of the Local Studies Library, Northampton; Northamptonshire Record Office; William Salt Library, Stafford; Pilkington Library, Loughborough University; Banbury Public Library. The many villagers of Chipping Warden and Edgcote who contributed their knowledge and encouragement Particular thanks go to: Mr D Clarke, Director of Hook Norton Brewery Company Ltd, for access to the deeds of the Rose and Crown, Chipping Warden. Mr I Cranley, for information regarding Chipping Warden aerodrome, taken from correspondence with the Ministry of Defence. Mr John Gilbert, the Estates Surveyor of the Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries plc, for information relating to The Griffin, Chipping Warden, and photocopies of relevant deeds. Mr and Mrs David Jones of Chipping Warden whose scrapbooks and various documents relating to the village and whose help and advice was invaluable. Mrs King, present headteacher of Chipping Warden Primary School who kindly allowed me free access to the school log books. Mr R Livesay, for the loan of the booklet The Parish History o/Chipping Warden and Edgcote, written by Mrs Moyna Morris in the 1950s. Mr Alan Mackie for various photographs of Chipping Warden and Edgcote. Mrs Inez Ronaldson who loaned scrapbooks of cuttings taken from local newspapers. Mrs Hazel Stagg and Mrs Stanbridge for their help and information relating to the Weslyan Chapel. Christine Worth for undertaking the clerical work, and for much appreciated flexibility regarding the meeting of deadlines. Last, but not least, my tutor Professor Michael Reed of the Department of Information and Library Studies, Loughborough University, without whose guidance the work would not be here today. (v) Preface It is only having embarked upon a local history study of this scale that the author realises the depth of investigation which is necessary and the attention to detail that is desirable. Thus this study may only skim the surface of what is a long and complex history, and for this I apologise, but hope that the work may be of use to some, and of interest to many. (vi) Chapter One Origins and Communications Located centrally in the British Isles, Northamptonshire lies within the great belt of scarplands formed by the Jurassic Age, stretching from Yorkshire to Dorset (I). The high ground in the west of the county, known as the Northamptonshire Heights, descends gradually towards the east, the underlying rock strata also following this line of descent In the south-west of the county a series of ridges and hills which rise at times to over 500 feet is interspersed with deeply carved valleys formed by the river Cherwell and its tributaries and this more undulating landscape is known as the Wolds, on the edge of which lie the parishes of Chipping Warden and Edgcote (see Figure 1). o - zoorr zoo- -+ooR Of'll'r 400tt o 5 " Figure 1. Northamptonshire: natural regions. Taken from: Steane, John. The Northamptonshire Landscape. The making of the English landscape series. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1974. Because the underlying geological fonnations are Middle Lias rock, which is part of the Jurassic succession, the local stone produced is Upper Marlstone and an abundance of springs are to be found in the area where the Middle Lias band meets that of the Upper and Lower Lias rocks. Chipping Warden and Edgcote lie along a line of spring villages which stretches from Staverton to Kings Sotton. The Upper Marlstone rock forms two different types of soil; the Marlstone clay and the Marlstone brashy loam which is a rich, reddish-brown, medium to heavy soil, and ideal for both pasture and arable fanning (2). This pattern of early settlement was encouraged in the Wolds by a number of natural advantages, not least of which was the River Cherwell. The river and its banks would provide settlers with fish, eels and wildfowl in addition to a constant supply of fresh water, and good pastureland was to be found on the floodplain of the river to provide cattlefeed and a consequent supply of dairy products. The grass found in large areas of the Wolds is the Agrosti with ryegrass type, ideal for dairy or sheep fanning. In the area today, Leicesters and Hampshires are reared for meat, and Lincolns for wool, whilst cattle bred includes Welsh Blacks, Herefords and Jerseys. Beyond this band of rich grazing land a damp, lush soil suitable for crops is to be found, and sufficiently far enough away from the flood plain of the river to enable the building of homes and fanns. Evidence taken from the Domesday Book suggests that the south-west region of Northamptonshire because of the high proportion of plough-teams per thousand acres was, agriCulturally, the more dominant part of the county and the region today remains an important part of Northamptonshire's agricultural wealth (3) .. Today the main crop grown in this area is wheat with some barley, oats and potatoes. In addition field beans are grown for cattle feed, as is barley to feed what is known locally as 'barley beef, or very young cattle. Also grown are linseed for oil and rape for butter and cooking oil whilst some of this crop is retained and dried to provide further cattle feed. Further away still from the river-banks the woodland would provide a plentiful supply of timber, and scrub for the rough grazing of pigs and sheep. The sporadic spinneys of the twentieth century have led scholars to believe that there was once almost total forest cover in this area around the sixth century AD, and that it was during the following five hundred years that patterns of settlement began to develop. Small tnlckways appeared, some of which are retained as tracks or roads today and this may possibly account for the concentrated network of country lanes and tracks which is evident in the south-west of Northamptonshire today (4).