> Marshalls Home
Over the centuries the
name of the village has changed numerous times - some say 42. The
first recorded name was Egonesham used in 571 when Cuthwolf, the
king of the West Saxons, captured Eynsham from the Britons.
The village was listed as Eynsham in 1390 and then reverted to
Eylnesham. Old villergers 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 (under pressure from the Post Office) 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 of
which still remain today.
The old Abbey fish ponds have been restored and a heritage trail
around the Abbey grounds established.
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 Kings
coach and horses almost foundered in the river. It was because of
this that an Act of Parliament was granted to the owner Lord
Abingdon, giving the right to build a bridge and charge a toll on
everything that passed over - the takings to be tax-free forever.
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
pheasant’s 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.
There are numerous false Acacia trees in the village introduced in
the 1800's by William Cobbett (of rural Rides fame). He made a
fortune from promoting the tree claiming the wood was very good for
pegs to fix ships timbers. Unfortunately, by the time the trees
matured, ships were being constructed in steel.
Cobbett has a friend in Eynsham, John Swann, who owned the papermill
and who lived in The Gable, Newland Street, until his death in 1807.
Eynsham expanded post war and now has a population of around 5,000.
Click here
for a quote and to instruct your survey online
> Marshalls Home