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Over the centuries the name of the village has changed no less than 13 times.
The ‘old ‘uns’ used to refer to it as Ensam, spelt Ensham, its last spelling
before the present one which has been in use for most of the 20th century and is
not likely to be changed again.
A Benedictine abbey was founded here in 1005 and became very wealthy, owning
land throughout Oxfordshire. The abbey was surrendered to Henry VIII in 1539.
The ruins stood for a couple of centuries and then, as they began to
deteriorate, the land became a quarry. The only remains now are carved pieces of
stone built into many of the cottages and garden walls. Perhaps the villagers
were encouraged to cart it away and build their own dwellings, some which still
remain today.
The abbey also owned the flour and corn mill, the yearly rent payable by the
miller being ten shillings and 450 eels. Many years later it became a paper mill
supplying fine paper for the bible presses, and it was there that experiments
were carried out to make paper from grass. During the early part of the 20th
century it became a glue, rag and flock mill. Rags were turned into cheap flock
mattresses. This all came to an end in the late 1920s, but the old mill
buildings had a further use. The rubble from them was used as ballast when the
nearby A40 was built in 1935. The lovely mill house still remains.
One fly in the ointment for the people of Eynsham, and of course further afield,
is the toll bridge at Swinford, which has been here since the 18th century.
Apparently one day King George III was travelling through to Burford, but at
that time there was nothing but a ford across the Thames. The river was high,
and the King’s coach and horses almost foundered in the river. It was because of
this that the owner Lord Abingdon was granted, by Act of Parliament, the right
to build a bridge and charge a toll on everything that passed over, the takings
to be tax free for ever. This of course still holds today. But the owners have
to keep both the bridge and roadway over it in good repair. Now only mechanical
vehicles are charged to drive over.
Eynsham villagers were, and still are, proud of their Morris dancers. There has
been a side here on and off for 125 years. They are known as The Eynsham Morris,
their dances differ from any other group and are renowned for their speed and
vigour. Before the First World War the dancers used to perform at all the big
houses at Christmas time, including Blenheim Palace. One of the members of the
Eynsham Morris was called ‘Feathers’ Russell, because he always wore pheasants’
feathers in his hat. He was a tall and very good looking man. He must have
impressed the Duke of Marlborough, because he commissioned a painter, William
Nicholson, to paint a portrait of Feathers in his Morris dancing outfit. The
portrait called ‘Chairing the Dancer’ now hangs in Cecil Sharpe House in London.
War broke up the Morris men, but in 1980 Keith Green, a member of an old Eynsham
family, formed a new group. Now they dance all over Great Britain and are often
invited abroad to dance at big festivals. A delightful song called The Eynsham
Poaching Song is often sung at their gatherings.
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