Northmoor, Oxfordshire
| Northmoor | |
| Oxfordshire | |
|---|---|
 St Denys' parish church | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SP420028 |
| Location: | 51°43’23"N, 1°23’31"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 377 (2011) |
| Post town: | Witney |
| Postcode: | OX29 |
| Dialling code: | 01865 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | West Oxfordshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Witney |
| Website: | www.northmoor.org.uk |
Northmoor is a village in south-western Oxfordshire, in the meadows that fringe the River Thames about six miles west of Oxford and almost the same distance south-east of Witney. The Thames which bounds the parish to the east and south, is half a mile from the village. The River Windrush, a mile to the west, enters the Thames close by.
This is a little place. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 377. As The village nevertheless has a pub, the Red Lion,[1] and a village hall. The nearest village store and post office are a mile and a half away in Standlake.
In the 11th century, the name of the village was recorded simply as More or Moor. The prefix 'North' was added by the 13th century, distinguishing the village from Southmoor, across the Thames in Berkshire.[2]
Parish church
In 1059 King Edward the Confessor granted land at Northmoor to St Denis Abbey in Paris.[3] Northmoor was made a separate parish in the 12th century, and the parish church of St Denys was then built.[4] Nothing survives of this original building except the font, which is Norman.[5]
The earliest part of the present church, on the same site, is the Early Gothic chancel, which was built in the 13th century.[5] The chancel's east window is a set of three lancets and it has another lancet in its south wall.[5] The present nave and north and south transepts were built early in the 14th century.[5] The bell tower over the west bay of the nave was added in the 15th century.[5]
The tower has a ring of six bells.
The Gothic Revival architect Clapton Crabb Rolfe carried out a sensitive restoration of building in 1887.[4] St Denys' is now a Grade I listed building.[6]
History
Rectory Farm was built in the 16th century, and a date-stone over the entrance records alterations in 1629.[7] The farm also has a half-timbered granary on stone stooks and a timber-framed dovecote, both from the 16th or 17th century.[7] The granary was extended in the 18th century and is a Grade II* listed building.[8] There used to be a flash lock on the Thames on the southern edge of the parish at Hart's Weir, also known as Ridge's Weir. In 1879 Hart's Weir Footbridge was built at the site, and in 1896 the weir and flash lock were replaced with a pound lock, Northmoor Lock, southeast of the village.
Northmoor used to have two pubs. One, the Dun Cow, ceased trading in 1991.[9] The remaining pub is the Red Lion. In January 2014 the brewery offered it for sale for redevelopment as private housing,[10] but a group of villagers bought the pub.[11]
There is a proposal to excavate 200 acres of Northmoor parish for gravel extraction.[12]
Pictures
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Northmoor, Oxfordshire) |
Early English piscina (left) and sedilia in the chancel of St Denys' parish church
Norman baptismal font in St Denys' parish church
Timber-framed granary at Rectory Farm
The Red Lion public house
Outside links
- Northmoor Parish Council and Community
- 360° Panorama of Church interiors
- "Northmoor". Old Oxfordshire Postcards. Stephanie Jenkins. http://www.oxfordhistory.org.uk/old_oxfordshire/northmoor.html.
References
- ↑ Red Lion at Northmoor
- ↑ Crossley & Currie 1996, pp. 150–156.
- ↑ Crossley & Currie 1996, pp. 156–158.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Crossley & Currie 1996, pp. 166–70.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, p. 722.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1048936: Church of St Denys (Grade I listing)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, p. 723.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1048940: Rectory Farm, barn north north east of farmhouse (Grade II* listing)
- ↑ Gray, Christopher (7 August 2014). "The Red Lion is a roaring success". Oxford Mail (Newsquest). http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/11394848.The_Red_Lion_is_a_roaring_success/.
- ↑ Richardson, Dave (22 October 2014). "Red Lion roars again at heart of community in Northmoor". Oxford Mail (Newsquest). http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/11549164.Red_Lion_roars_again_at_heart_of_community_in_Northmoor/.
- ↑ Robinson, Dan (1 May 2014). "Top restaurant talents take charge at community's pub". Oxford Mail (Newsquest). http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/11183230.Top_restaurant_talents_take_charge_at_community___s_pub/.
- ↑ Stonehenge Farm
- A History of the County of Oxford - Volume 13 pp 150-171: Northmoor: Introduction (Victoria County History)
- Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, 1974 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09639-2
