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One of the most westerly villages in Oxfordshire, Shrivenham nestles in the Vale
of the White Horse on the route from Swindon to Oxford. A bypass, built in 1984,
ensures that Shrivenhams rural atmosphere is preserved. Elm Tree House, a
gracious house built in the style of Inigo Jones, a village school built in 1863
and many lovely thatched cottages border the wide tree-lined main street. In Tom
Browns Schooldays, Thomas Hughes hero set forth to Rugby school from
Shrivenham station (now defunct).
Recent archaeological excavations near Shrivenham, just before the construction
of the bypass, revealed flint implements of the late Neolithic and early Bronze
Age and also domestic debris from Iron Age settlements. Twenty four coins of
the 3rd century reign of Allectus were discovered in an old well in Shrivenham
in 1905.
St Andrews church is impressively large for a small village, with parts dating
back to the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. Its many unusual features include the
central tower, 18 large clear windows, Tuscan-like tapering columns, magnificent
brass chandeliers and hanging pyx. There are many memorials to the Barrington
family, important landowners locally in previous decades.
The ancient manor of Beckett, mentioned in the Domesday survey as Becote, was
acquired by King John in 1204. One of the four Shrivenham manors, Fowersmill was
held by the de Becotes in 1367 in service of coming before the King whenever he
passed Fowersmill Bridge and offering two white capons saying, See here, Sir,
these two capons you shall have at some other time but not now!. Obviously, to
have two white leghorns flapping round in ones coach was not conducive to a
pleasant journey! The manor later belonged to the Barrington family and now, the
house and grounds belong to the Royal Military College of Science.
Shrivenham possesses one of the finest village halls in the county, the Memorial
Hall, presented by Charlotte, Countess Barrington and opened by Princess
Beatrice in 1925 as a memorial to villagers killed in the First World War. Six
houses for ex-servicemen border the adjoining recreation ground, which is large
enough for a football and cricket pitch. In August, Shrivenham village fete is
held here. The hall is a splendid edifice for a small village. The roof covering
is Cotswold stone tiles supported by a massive hammerbeam roof of very large oak
members, possibly the last of the great timber roofs to be built in the country.
Fred Gramophone Knapp was an eccentric village character. After seeking his
fortune in America, he returned to Shrivenham to make very large garden plant
bowls in concrete, and he also cast a man to stand in the garden. A lorry driver
approached this realistic figure at dusk, to ask the way! Fred could recite a
long poem which he had composed about some poor souls foot trouble and he also
had the family history of Lord Barrington committed to memory. Considered one of
the long-headed of the village, he was often in demand as a letter reader or
writer.
Freds son Harold farmed the village farm and would accidentally let the rain
out into the street. This creature chased anything in sight and women dived into
the nearest shop at the rams approach. Harold would follow, waving his arms but
enjoying every minute of it! He heard that the Duke of Edinburgh was visiting
locally and painted RAF roundels in red and blue on the wings of several of his
geese and paraded them in the street. He insisted on doing his own thatching
with the resultant cottage looking like a rick and always managing to grow a
lovely bright green crop of grass on it!
The definitive book about the history of Shrivenham was written by the Rev
Edward F. Hill, MA in 1928. Frequently quoted, this volume is the most
sought-after book in Shrivenham. Canon Hill Gardens, a beautiful short road of
modern houses curving round a tree-shaded village pond, immortalises the name of
this highly-esteemed former vicar of Shrivenham.
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