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Chadlington was first mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 as Cedelintone. It
is said to have been named after St Chad, who came from Northumberland and lived
in the area for a while.
Chadlington is reputed to have two ghosts. College Farm was once farmed by Mr
Gardner, whose ghost is said to have walked the passages carrying a red
handkerchief. The other ghost is an old gentleman wearing carpet slippers who
walks across the upstairs hall of Langston House.
There is another story relating to College Farm. Many years ago the farmhouse
was broken into and a robbery took place. The robber escaped with his booty, but
because he was disturbed dropped his hat. This clue was used in quite an
original way and resulted in his eventual capture a man could be recognised by
his hat in the 18th century! The Chadlington robbers hat was taken to a fair at
Chipping Norton and put on top of a stick. When someone from Duns Tew came along
and said without thinking That is so and sos hat from our place, the game was
up and the robber caught and dealt with.
Langston House, a large imposing house in the east end of Chadlington, was
originally built by Squire Langston MP as a rectory for the Rev Carpenter who
paid a nominal sum of 1 per annum rent. About 50 years ago it was occupied by
Colonel and Mrs Schofield. Mrs Schofield used to ride around the village on a
large tricycle with her two pug dogs in a basket on the back. She would also try
to keep the verges clean and picked up any rubbish, only to throw it over the
wall into the nearest garden she was passing!
Sir Henry Rawlinson, the diplomat and expert on Assyria, was born in the manor
house in 1810 and was the owner of the horse Coronation, which was trained in
Chadlington and won the Derby in 1841. One villagers grandmother in her young
days was a stillroom maid at the house and used to tell how she sometimes went
to Chipping Norton on a donkey led by one of the stable lads. The roads were
made of white stone and were very dusty. The manor house is now a country hotel.
Squire Langston also built the reading room, which was used originally as a
school. In addition, from 184050 there was a private school at the Baptist
chapel. Children used to enjoy the annual village fair on Easter Monday when
processions of horse-drawn vehicles came to the village with their roundabouts,
swinging boats, coconut shies etc. The procession, led by the village drum and
fife band, went first to a service in the parish church, and this was followed
by a dinner in the Malt Shovel for the band.
Many of the family names in Chadlington go back through many generations and one
story is told that you can always tell a real Townsend because they always
bat or bowl with their left hand!
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