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Gardner's Directory of Oxfordshire, 1852

Bampton Town and Parish

Bampton with Weald, or Bampton in the Bush, is a parish situated on the southern border of Oxfordshire, in the hundred to which it gives name, and comprises the market town of Bampton and the hamlets of Aston, Brighthampton, Chimney, Coate, Lew, Rushy, Shifford and Weald. The entire parish contains 10,250 acres, and its population in 1841 was 2,734 souls. The parish is divided into four manors. Some of the hamlets of which the parish is composed are far apart, and at a distance of some miles from the central township. The parish therefore, though compact, extends over a very large expanse of country, it being 6 miles from its most eastern hamlet Brighthampton to the western boundary, and 4 miles from the Isis or Thames which flows along the south side of the parish to Lew, the northern hamlet. The land in Chimney, Shifford, and Rushy by the river bank is very low and frequently subject to inundations; and generally speaking the district is very flat, with the exception of Lew, which is situated on a portion of a low chain of hills, stretching for a few miles on either side.

About equi-distant from the Isis and the rising ground above mentioned is the town of Bampton, which contends for the distinction of being one of the oldest in England, antiquarians claiming for it - arguing from its etymology - if not an ancient British, most certainly an anglo Saxon origin. The existence of Lew barrow gives additional weight to the opinions of those who consider Bampton to be a town of the primitive inhabitants of the country. The name itself - (Beamdune, as appearing in ancient chronicles: Benton in Doomsday book; further altered to Bampton) - signifies in Anglo Saxon language, Tree Hill. It is highly probable that, like most marshy districts often under water, a large forest flourished on the flats around Bampton, which justified its designation of the tree-town, and doubtless gave rise to its title of "Bampton in the Bush," which even to the present day, distinguishes it from towns of a similar name in various parts of the country.

Historical Notes. - Bampton is not famous in history. Few events have occurred to disturb its monotonous quiet; and regarding these few, information is but meagre, relying principally upon brief notices in the ancient chronicles, such as the following, from the Anglo-Saxon record, "A.D. 614. This year Cynegils and Ceuichelm (the king of Wessex and his son), fought at Beamdune, and slew two thousand and sixty-five Welchmen." King Alfred the Great, who was born at Wantage, in Berkshire, not far from this place, held an assemblage of thanes, &c., now called a 'Parliament,' once during his reign at Shifford, on the Isis; a spot is still shown as the site of the meeting. In this vicinity a conflict took place in the reign of Richard II., between Robert de Vere, earl of Oxford, and several of the nobility, who envied his high favour with the crown. The earl was vanquished, but saved his life by plunging in the Isis and swimming into an obscure part of the opposite shore. During the struggle between king Charles and his parliament, Oxfordshire was the principal scene of strife, and it was not to be expected that even this neighbourhood should escape wholly from the horrors of civil war. A battle between the rival forces is narrated to have taken place at Aston. The only other event which has seriously affected the inhabitants, was one which worked a great revolution in the aspect of the country, and the customs of the inhabitants. This is equally important in a social sense, as any political catastrophe that ever disturbed the equanimity of the good townspeople: the open fields around Bampton were inclosed in 1812.

Manors. - At the time of the Doomsday survey, the soke of two hundreds belonged to the manor of Bampton. The parish now comprises four manors: Bampton manor, manor of Bampton deanery, and the manors of Shifford and Aston. The Bampton manor was in the hands of the Conqueror at the great survey, and was subsequently bestowed upon the earl of Boulogne. On again becoming royal property, in the reign of Henry III., it was granted to William de Valence; his son dying without issue, the manor descended to Elizabeth daughter of John Comyn, who afterwards married Richard lord Talbot, in the time of Edward III. In the reign of Henry V., the manor became the property of the renowned Sir John Talbot; and is still partly in the hands of the Shrewsbury family, the earl holding one-third, and the representatives of the late Thomas Denton, Esq, two-thirds. Bampton Deanery Manor was granted in 1046, by Leofric, bishop, to the dean and chapter of Exeter, by whom it is still held; the present lord being F. Whitaker, Esq., by lease from that body.

The Deanery is a name given to an ancient building now used as a farm house, probably once the abode of one of the deans of Exeter.

The parish, as we have shown above, is of great extent. The nature of the soil is varied, but generally very productive. There is a good deal of pasture, especially in the Aston and Cote district, where the land is still unenclosed, and the commons are of considerable extent. The mode of farming adopted in those places therefore essentially differs from that which prevails in other parts of the parish; and owing to the facilities afforded for pasturage, there are a great number of persons earning a living by the keeping of cows.

THE TOWN OF BAMPTON

Is situated about 6 miles N.E. from Farringdon in Berkshire; 14 miles W. from Oxford; 6 miles S.W. from Witney; 7 miles S.E. from Burford; and 71 miles N.W. from London. The population of the township in 1841 was 778; and it contains 4,970 acres. The amount of assessed property is £7,661. and the rateable value of this township with Weald, is £6,678. The town consists of three streets meeting in the market place.

For the purposes of the poor law, Bampton and Weald are rated together; Aston and Coate have a single rate; and Lew, Shifford, and Brighthampton have each a separate assessment. All these however pay tithes to the vicars of Bampton, and until recently (with the exception of Shifford) had no other accommodation for public worship, save that afforded by the mother church of Bampton.

"The circumstance of bestowing a name on a hundred" writes Mr. Brewer, is no assurance of the former consequence of a place; since we find a heath, a brook or a tree of particular character, sometimes chosen for that purpose. Bampton however appears to have been a town of some traffic and eminence before the conquest; for that it paid, at the time of the Norman survey fifty shillings for a market; and, for pannage and the salterns of Wic and other customary dues of the vassals, nine pounds and thirteen shillings." In the market place stands a neat little structure supported on pillars called the Town Hall, which was erected a few years since by subscription at an expense of £300. Bampton is not incorporated; but there is a board of inspectors appointed under the Watching and Lighting act.

Tradition speaks of a considerable commerce in gloves being carried on here; so great indeed as to rival the far famed Woodstock in this kind of manufacture. No signs of this happy state of things are now visible. The preparation of leather is also mentioned as having once been of 'some account'; but foul odours from tanpits no longer offend the nostrils of passengers along Bampton streets. The streets are ignorant of the illuminating properties of gas; but a plan of lighting the town with a mineral spirit scarcely inferior to gas, has lately been adopted with complete success; and the lives and property of the inhabitants are under the guardian care of a single policeman.

The Market-day is Wednesday but the market has almost fallen into disuse. a fair is held on the 26th of August and following day; the first day is for the sale of horses and cattle, of which there is always a large show; and the second is devoted to pleasure seekers. The attendance is generally good, and the business doe considerable.

A little westward of the church are some remains of a castle, which is said to have been built by king John, though, in general character it appears not to be older than the reign of Edward the second or third. Aylmer de Valence, earl of Pembroke had permission of king Edward II. to make a castle of his house at Bampton, and these are doubtless the remains of that fortress. They are now formed into two farm-houses, called the Ham court and Castle farm, and the most perfect part of the remains consist of an interesting upper room with a fine groined roof, reached by a spiral staircase; and part of a battlemented wall.

The Church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a fine handsome cruciform structure, having a peal of 6 bells, and good chimes, which play four tunes in the day. The tower, supported by four pointed arches, is surmounted by a lofty spire. There are some very ancient monuments in the church. Skelton, in his 'beauties of Oxfordshire,' speaking of this building says: "The great antiquity of this church is clearly attested by considerable portions of Norman architecture observable in various parts of the structure. These remains are however so intermingled with architecture of subsequent ages, that in this building alone, we have examples of almost every period, from the conquest to the reign of king George III."

The living is a vicarage, divided into three portions, to which the dean and chapter of Exeter present. The present incumbents are Rev. Cranley Lancelot Kirby, Rev. Dacres Adams, M.A, and Rev. Ralph Barnes, MA The first and last named are non-resident, holding other preferments, and the duties of their office are performed by curates. At the inclosure, in 1812, three estates were set apart for the vicars, and Bampton, Weald, and Lew, became tithe-free. Brighthampton tithes produce about £120. per annum, the commutation not being yet completed. The following sums have been apportioned in lieu of tithes: Aston and Coate, £550.; Chimney, £107. 10s.; and Shifford Old and New, £127. There is also a payment of £100. received from Clanfield, and smaller sums payable from Standlake and elsewhere. The total income from all these sources amounts to between £1,500. And £2,000. Per annum.

Upon the death of any of the present vicars, a new ecclesiastical arrangement will take place; Aston, Lew, and Bampton, (with their dependencies,) being constituted separate parishes.

The Baptist denomination of dissenters have a very neat and commodious place of worship here; and like several of the chapels belonging to the same sect in this district, it is endowed. The present minister is the Rev. J. Jackson, of Aston.

The Grammar School which is an old picturesque building, was founded by Robert Vesey, Esq., of Chimney, in 1670, who left £300. for the instruction of all boys living in the parishes of Bampton and Yelford. The endowment was further augmented by a gift of £100. from John Palmer, in 1650. The rents, exclusive of the school house, now yield about £30. The master is the Rev. Francis Biddulph. There is only one pupil we believe, instructed there at the present time, (December, 1851). This is owing to the system of education prescribed by the charter, which is not in accordance with the wants of such a population as that of Bampton.

The National School, which is numerously attended, is supported partly by endowment, and partly by subscriptions. The rents of the Shilton estate, and the income of Mary Dewe's charity, are applied to this school, as well as the dividend from Mary Croft's gift.

Petty Sessions for the Bampton hundred are held here fortnightly, at the town-hall, the magistrates usually attending are F. Whittaker, Esq., and Rev. Dacres Adams.

The Deanery Manor House is a large modern building near the church, occupied by F. Whittaker, Esq.

EMINENT MEN.

The celebrated poet, John Phillips, the son of Dr. Stephen Phillips, archdeacon of Salop, was born in this town on the 30th of December, 1676, and after the preliminary process of juvenile education, was sent to Winchester, where he was distinguished by the superiority of his exercises, and at school endeared himself to all his companions and superiors; it is related of him, that he seldom mingled in the play of other boys, but retired to his chamber, and indulged in the study of the poets and of the ancient and modern classics, particularly Milton. In 1694, he was removed to Christ church, Oxford, where he finished all his university acquirements: but Milton - the immortal Milton - continued to be his uninterrupted day dream. It is said there was not an allusion on 'Paradise lost' drawn from any hint either in 'Homer' or 'Virgil' to which he could not immediately refer. While at Oxford, he was honored with the friendship of Mr. Edmund South, author of the tragedy of 'Phaedra and Hippolitus;' and also with that of the most polite and favored of the gentlemen of the university. His first poem was published in 1703, entitled 'the splendid shilling,' which has the merit of an original design. His next poem, called 'Blenheim,' which he wrote as a rival to Addison's poem on the same subject, was published in 1705, and procured him the patronage of Mr. Henry Saint John, afterwards lord Bolingbroke. Independent of poetry, Phillips was an excellent botanist; in 1706, he produced his third poem on 'Cyder,' founded on the model of Virgil's Georgics, a book not only of entertainment, but of science; and soon after a Latin 'ode to Henry St John Require,' said to be the poet's masterpiece. "It is gay and eloquent," says Dr. Johnson, "and exhibits several artful accommodations of classic expressions to new purposes." At the time of his illness, Phillips was meditating a poem to be called 'the last day;' when death put an end to so solemn and majestic a finale of genius. He died at Hereford of a lingering consumption Feb. 15, 1708, in the 33rd year of his age, and was buried in the cathedral of that city. Sir Simon Harcourt, afterwards lord chancellor, erected a monument to his memory in Westminster abbey, the epitaph upon which was written by Doctor Atterbury. Phillips was a gentleman of a modest and amiable disposition, and "always praised without contradiction," says Dr. Johnson, as a man modest, blameless, and pious; "who bore an arrow for time without discontent, and tedious painful maladies without impatience; beloved by those who knew him, but not ambitious to be known."

The Rev. Dr. Giles, late fellow of Corpus christi college, Oxford, and one of the present curates of Bampton, is the author of the following works: Hebrew Records, 8vo. published in 1847; Life &c., of Thomas á Becket, 2 vols. 8vo. Published in 1846; The Life and Times of Alfred the Great, 8vo. Published in 1849; Patres Ecclesiœ Anglicanœ, 35 vols. 8vo,. published from 1837 to 1848; histories of Bampton and Witney; and a series of Monastic Chronicles and Mediœval Writings, now in progress.

HAMLETS.

ASTON, the principal hamlet, is about two miles from Bampton, on the road to Standlake. The rateable value is £3,126.; amount of assessed property, £3,496; and the population in 1841 was 523 souls.

The manor of Aston was granted before 1249 to Hubert Pagges. It was for many generations in the hands of the Horde family, from whom it passed to H. Hippesley, Esq., of Lamboevin place, Berkshire, the present possessor. It is held of the superior manor of Bampton, by the presentation of a sword and by the payment of 1s. 6d. This sum is paid annually at Cole house, where the manor courts are held.

A Church was erected here in 1839, by subscription and grants from various sources. The building is cruciform in shape, commodious in size, but exceedingly plain in construction. The tower is very low, and intended for a spire. A native of this place, left a sum of money which is to accumulate until sufficient is realized to build a steeple. Mr. Fox left by will £4. per annum, to aid in the maintenance of the structure for ever. The style of architecture is early English.

There is a British School in the village, sometimes used as a Baptist Chapel. Near it is the residence of the minister, the Rev. J. Jackson.

COTE OR COATE, unite with Aston, is about half-a-mile east of that place, and consists of about 30 houses. The population in 1841 was 204 souls.

Cote Chapel is the meeting house of a numerous and respectable body of dissenters of the Baptist denomination, and is endowed with a house for the minister, and an annual stipend. A burial ground is attached.

Cote House, (the Manor house) formerly the seat of the Hordes, now the property of H. Hippesley, Esq., is the residence of Mr. Richard Townley. It was probably built in the reign of Elizabeth of James I. The interior has been dismantled to enrich the new mansion of the proprietor at Lambown.

CHIMNEY, near the river, consists only of two farms. It is generally inundated during the winter. It has a separate rate, the assessment being £560. It contains 620 acres.

BRIGHTHAMPTON, is another hamlet, near Standlake, with no object of interest to note. The rateable value is £684. Number of acres, 410.

LEW, is situated on a rising ground, two miles on the road to Witney, and the rateable value is £1,340. Number of acres 1,500.

The first stone of Lew Church, which is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was laid May 1st, 1841, the site being granted by Jonathan Arnott, Esq. It is a very beautiful building, though compressed in size. It possesses a stone altar. In the centre lancet right of the east window, is a curious design in coloured glass illustrative of the Holy Trinity.

There is a small Baptist Chapel here.

Shifford is a chapelry about 2 miles from Aston, and consists of two farms which are called severally old and new Shifford. The rateable value is £900.; number of acres 880.

It is asserted that Shifford was once a very considerable place; as it is, it consists of two farm houses and a few cottages.

It was here king Alfred held one of the first parliaments held in England. In a M.S. in the Cottonian library this circumstance is thus translated:- "There sate at Shifford many thanes, many bishops, and many learned men, wise earls, and awful knights; there was earl Elfrick, very learned in the law; and Alfred, England's herdsmen, England's darling; he was King of England, he taught them that could hear him how they should live."

There is a small Chapel of Ease here, in which the vicars of Bampton alternately officiate.

The manor of 'Scipford' was the property of Edward Crouchback, son of Henry III., And from him descended at length to John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, and to his son Henry IV. The manor was afterwards granted by Henry VIII. to lord North. It is now the property of Greville Harcourt, Esq., but in consequence of the decrease of population, &c., the manor has fallen into abeyance.

THE CHARITIES of Bampton parish, as abstracted from the parliamentary reports published in 1839:-

Robert Vessey, of Chimney, by will dated 12th January, 1638, left £300. For the establishment of a grammar school; and John Palmer, of Bampton, gave, in 1650, the sum of £100. For the use of the said school.

Mary Frederick, Elizabeth Snell, and Susannah Frederick, gave in 1784, the sum of £400., 4 per cent. bank annuities, since increased to £418. 17s. 6d., the interest to be applied to the teaching of reading, writing, and arithmetic, in the said school.

Mary Croft, by will dated March 1717, bequeathed £100., since increased to £135. 7s. 3d., in the 4 per cent. Bank annuities, the interest to be given to the use of the master of the free school. This gift is applied to the National school.

Susannah Frederick, bequeathed in 1793, £300. stock, the dividends arising from it to be appropriated to the use of the sunday schools. The income is now applied to the use of the National school.

Dorothy Loder, bequeathed £300.; Dr. Edward Cotton one of the vicars of Bampton £50; and Richard Coxeter of Bampton £10.; with which sums land in Shilton (now consisting of 28 acres and some cottages, &c.) called the Shilton estate, was purchased. The rents and profits of this estate, is applied in aid of the National school.

Mary Dewe, by will dated September 1763, gave the sum of £200., The interest to be applied for the use of the poor of Bampton. The interest of this money has accumulated to the sum of £500.; And the profits of the same are also applied in aid of the National school.

John Holloway, by will dated Feb. 1726, bequeathed £200. For the use of the poor of Bampton; to which was added £100. by Dr. William Osborne; £50. By the Rev. Edward Cotton; £50. By Tobias Sadler; and smaller sums by others, in all £400. With this sum the Brookfast furlong and Upper Moor close, containing together 10 acres, was purchased, and the rents are applied to the relief of the poor.

John Palmer, of Bampton, by will dated Oct. 1650, bequeathed to the use of the poor of the townships of Bampton and Weald, the sum of £100., To which other sums were afterwards added by several parties, and the whole applied to the purchase of land. The estate now consists of Lower Moor close, containing about 9½ acres, and the rent is carried to the general charity account.

Julian Walter, widow, by will dated 1st May, 1656, bequeathed an estate now consisting of a farm house, garden, &c., a small paddock, a close of pasture land, containing about 1½ acre, and about 18 statute acres. The rents and profits are carried to the general charity account.

Leonard Wilmot left a rent charge of £2. per annum, to the poor of Bampton parish.

George Thompson left two rent charges of £3. each per annum, which sums are carried to the general charity account.

Elizabeth Snell, by will in 1787, left £200., With which £268. 3 per cent. consols was purchased, and the dividends, are distributed among the poor of Bampton.

Susannah Frederick, bequeathed £200. lent on bond to Ann Leybourne, of Westwell, widow, the interest to be laid out annually upon the poor. Mrs. Leybourne, died without having paid the £200. And left no property to satisfy the debt. Her son, however, lieutenant General Popham, with great liberality paid the amount, though he was under no liability, having derived no property from his mother.

The Church lands consist of about eight acres.

Thomas Horde by will dated 15th January, 1712, charged certain lands in Aston and Coate, with the payment of £40. Per annum, viz: £24. To be paid to the prisoners of the county gaol of Oxford, and £10. To be laid out by the churchwardens and overseers in providing 10 woollen coats, and 10 pair of stockings for men, and 10 coarse woollen waistcoats and canvas shifts, and 10 pair of stockings for women, on Michaelmas-day, to be given to poor persons of Aston and Coate and the remaining £6. to be paid for teaching poor children, in the manner therein particularly described.

Thomas Fox left to the poor of Aston and Coate, a rent-charge of 10s. yearly, to be paid by the owner of Hucket close.

The sum of £2. per annum is received from Weal's charity, which is distributed amongst the poor of Brighthampton.

Bampton & Weald Townships Directory

POST AND MONEY ORDER OFFICE, MARKET-PLACE;
Mr. George Holloway, Postmaster.