Stanford in the Vale

Stanford in the Vale
Berkshire
Cottages in Stanford in the Vale
Location
Grid reference:	SU342935
Location:	51°37’59"N, 1°29’56"W
Data
Population:	1,881  (2001)
Post town:	Faringdon
Postcode:	SN7
Dialling code:	01367
Local Government
Council:	Vale of White Horse
Parliamentary constituency:	Wantage
Website:	Stanford in the Vale

Stanford in the Vale is a large village in north-western Berkshire, lying within the Vale of White Horse, from which it takes its name, close to the higher stretches of the River Ock. It is just off the road from Faringdon to Wantage (the A417), about 3½ miles south-east of the former and 5 miles north-west of the latter.

A pretty village and a local centre in the Vale, Stanford in the Vale is surrounded by farms and also quarries, whre the local corallian limestone and sands and gravels are extracted. A small business park lies between Stanford and Shellingford, set apart from the village.

At Stanford the Ock is a gentle stream, and it is here that the other brooks run down to the Vale to swell it. The Holywell Brook joins the Ock just south of Stanford in the Vale at Sheepcroft Farm, and lower down the streams increase, the Stutfield Brook joining at Stanford Park Farm and others soon after below the parish bounds.

Churches

St Denys's

The parish church, St Denys, is at the heart of the village and dominates Church Green. The village has two churches:

• Church of England: St Denys, which dominates Church Green
• United Reformed Church: Stanford in the Vale United Reformed Church

History

Stanford in the Vale takes its name from the ancient crossing of the River Ock, which flows into the River Thames at Abingdon; the name "Stanford" means a stoney ford. It is assumed that this ford carried the main road between Faringdon and Wantage over the River Ock, where the bridge now spans the river once served where the bridge now spans the river, near Stanford Mill. An alternative theory is that it was a crossing of Frogmore Brook.

In mediæval times, the village rivalled Abingdon as a market centre, having the unusual feature of two village greens. During 1644 and 1645, the English Civil War came to Faringdon and Radcot (a strategic river crossing over the Thames). According to local legend Cromwell's cavalry was billeted in the village.

In August 2005 a fire broke out in a cottage on the green and swiftly spread along the row of thatched cottages, engulfing their roofs, which brought Stanford in the Vale to national attention.

Sergeant Eddie Young from Dalton Barracks won a bronze medal from the Royal Humane Society for spotting the fire while driving past, alerting the residents and helping several elderly residents to safety. He then cleared cars out of the way, co-ordinated traffic and helped to salvage as many possessions as possible from the burning homes. Within 30 minutes had spread across all the thatched roofs. 15 people were forced to leave their homes and villagers provided beds for those who were left homeless by the fire.

In the following months, the cottages were restored.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Stanford in the Vale)

• Village website
• faringdon-online: The Civil War in Faringdon

References

Books

• Page, W.H.; Ditchfield, P.H., eds (1924). A History of the County of Berkshire, Volume 4. Victoria County History. pp. 478–485. 
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966). Berkshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 226–227.