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The villages of Sunningwell and Bayworth, lying on the south-western slopes of
Boars Hill, three and a half miles from the city of Oxford, were in Saxon times
the original site of the Abbey of Abingdon. Historically part of Berkshire, of
which Abingdon was once the county town, the area became part of the county of
Oxfordshire and under the control of the Vale of the White Horse District
Council after local government reorganisation in 1974.
The Stert stream, which rises in the vicinity of Boars Hill, flows through the
two villages and eventually joins the river Thames at Abingdon Bridge. Legend
has it that the stream first appeared as a miraculous spring in answer to the
prayers of a Saxon noble named Aben when he was dying of thirst. In memory of
this saintly man it was decided to build the abbey at the site of the miracle.
However, any work completed on one day was found demolished the next, so the
abbey was eventually sited at the mouth of the stream. The stream to this day
causes much trouble at times by excessive flooding during its journey through
the villages to the Thames.
At the dissolution of the abbey in 1538, the prior became rector of Sunningwell.
John Jewel, a noted Bishop of Salisbury, was rector here in 1551. It was he who,
to provide shelter for baptismal parties at the church, had the heptagonal porch
built, in a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance styles unique in English church
architecture. He also gave the church its finely carved Elizabethan altar table.
Another rector of Sunningwell was Samuel Fell, the famous Dean of Christ Church,
who was in the village from 1625 to 1649, and with his family lies buried in the
chancel of the church. His illustrious son Dr John Fell was born in the village.
Sunningwell church is an interesting example of medieval building, with its
mixture of Norman, Tudor and Jacobean styles and artefacts. Tablets on the south
wall of the chancel dated 1688 commemorate the Baskerville family, who were
lords of the manors of Sunningwell and Bayworth from the late 16th to the 18th
century. The glass mosaic floor of the chancel is 19th century and depicts
Revelations Chapter 4. The walls of the nave are 13th century although the
windows were reglassed early in the 20th century. The distinctive poppy heads of
the pews are 15th century, and the font is also 15th century. It is said that
Roger Bacon conducted his scientific experiments into magnifying glass and
gunpowder in a room in the original tower.
The manor house at Bayworth, built and occupied by the Baskerville family, was
almost a ruin by 1722. During a dig on the site local secondary school pupils
found a number of old wine bottles which came from the Crown Tavern in Abingdon,
and this find was thought to indicate the cause of the fall of the house of
Baskerville! Materials from the old house were put to good use, for when the
present Manor Farmhouse was built 200 years ago beams and woodwork from the old
manor were used. The Manor Farmhouse is occupied today by Mr R. G. Deane, whose
family has farmed in the area for some 500 years.
Sunningwell still has its manor house, built by Benedictine monks; it was
occupied by the abbot and used as a hospice and resthouse, the monks themselves
living in cells in the grounds. After the Dissolution, Elizabeth I frequently
stayed there when collecting monies from her Treasurer, who also lived in the
neighbourhood. A former owner, Mrs Una Duval, was a companion of the redoubtable
Mrs Pankhurst in the Womens Suffrage Movement.
Today Sunningwell parish is part of the joint benefice of Sunningwell and Radley.
In 1972 a new school was built in Dark Lane to replace the original church
school which had stood for some 100 years next to the village pond. The original
premises now house the very popular Sunning-well School of Art.
The village pub, the Flowing Well, was originally the home of a bachelor rector
of the parish, and is named after the source of the stream which flows into the
pond opposite the church, and from which Sunning-well gets its name.
Cricket is played on a recreation ground presented to the village during the
First World War, and a new pavilion was built some years ago by the efforts of
villagers.
The parish of Sunningwell and Bayworth used to be mainly agricultural,
consisting of five farms, Blagrove, Beaulieu, Church, Long Furlong and Manor
Farm. These have now amalgamated and the majority of the working population of
the area finds employment in the industries and businesses of Oxford, or travels
even further afield.
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