Berinsfield
| Berinsfield | |
| Oxfordshire | |
|---|---|
 St Mary & St Berin, Berinsfield | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SU572962 |
| Location: | 51°39’43"N, 1°10’26"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 2,806 (2011) |
| Post town: | Wallingford |
| Postcode: | OX10 |
| Dialling code: | 01865 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | South Oxfordshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Henley |
Berinsfield is a village created after the Second World War in south-eastern Oxfordshire, about seven miles south-east of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 2,806.
History
Palaeolithic and Roman artefacts were found during 20th century excavations to build the village. The Roman road between Dorchester-on-Thames and Alchester runs through the centre of Berinsfield. An Anglo-Saxon cemetery was also found at Berinsfield.[1] The village is on the site of RAF Mount Farm, a satellite of RAF Benson, initially used to train bomber pilots. It was later taken over by the United States Army Air Forces, who used it as a reconnaissance base. From here stars including Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour and Glenn Miller took off to entertain the troops in Europe. Miller performed for the US service personnel at the base in December 1944 before his fateful flight from RAF Twinwood Farm which disappeared en route to Paris.
After Second World War the disused airbase was occupied by squatters,[2][3] some of whom stayed for over a decade until, in 1957, the Air Ministry sold the airfield for civilian use. The local council decided to build a new council estate[4] to be named after Birinus or Berin, a local saint. The word 'field' was added because the Americans called their base an airfield.[2] Many new residents at that time lived in the former Royal Air Force huts until brick-built houses were constructed on the site. Berinsfield is the first village to be built on virgin land for more than 200 years. It was designed by the architect and town planner William Holford in 1960.[5] The Church of England parish church of St Mary and St Berin was designed by Rev. Harold Best, vicar of Dorchester, and built in 1962.[6]
Pictures
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Berinsfield) |
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Part of Fane Drive -
Houses in Berinsfield
References
- ↑ Boyle et al. 1995, p. xvi
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Berinsfield the Community". Berinsfield Parish Council. https://www.berinsfield-pc.gov.uk/Berinsfield-Parish-Council/berinsfield_the_community-14955.aspx.
- ↑ Ward, Colin (1 September 2004). "The hidden history of housing". History and Policy. http://www.historyandpolicy.org/policy-papers/papers/the-hidden-history-of-housing. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
- ↑ Lobel 1962, pp. 39–62.
- ↑ Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, p. 451.
- ↑ Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, p. 452.
- Boyle, A; Dodd, A; Miles, D; Mudd, A (1995). Two Oxfordshire Anglo-Saxon Cemeteries: Berinsfield and Didcot. Thames Valley Landscape Series. 8. Oxford: Oxford University School of Archaeology. ISBN 0-947816-86-0.
- A History of the County of Oxford - Volume 7 pp 39-64: Parishes: Dorchester (Victoria County History)
- Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, 1974 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09639-2