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Situated in the Vale of the White Horse, Uffington is dominated by the beautiful
13th century church known as The Cathedral of the Vale. It is a large
cruciform building with an octagonal tower, and has eleven of the original
twelve consecration crosses, the most complete series to be seen anywhere in
England. The iron chandelier which hangs in the church was made by the local
blacksmith in memory of the master craftsman, churchwarden and chorister, from
whom he learned his trade. St Marys has a modern font with a cover designed and
made some years ago, by a local carpenter.
In the early 10th century the village was granted to the Abbey of Abingdon and
it was mentioned in the Domesday survey of 1086. In 1620 it passed through
marriage into the Craven family and until 1959 most of the land was held by the
Craven estate.
Uffington was a thriving agricultural community. The Wilts and Berks canal, used
as a means of carrying cargoes, contributed to its prosperity. Coal, wheat,
bricks (made at the villages three kilns) and salt were all transported by
horse-drawn barge; the salt house still remains at the wharf farm. The opening
of the Great Western Railway caused the death of the canal. The railway provided
transport and employment, but with the closure of the station in 1964 work
became limited, as it did on the farms after mechanisation. Today, as in the
majority of villages, most people commute to work. Since the Second World War a
number of houses have been built and so the population has increased
considerably.
The Scouring of the White Horse and Tom Browns Schooldays both have their
origins in this area. The games and merriment held on the hill, rolling of
cheeses into the manger, the backsword play and the beer that flowed were all
stories told by the old uns of the day, and recorded by Thomas Hughes. In Tom
Browns Schooldays he gives a colourful picture of Veast held in the field
behind the present school. He describes cheapjacks and penny shows, men in white
smocks and women in red capes. People came from miles around to join in the fun.
Strangely, history does repeat itself and people by the thousand still descend
on the village each year for the well known White Horse Show.
In 1972 the Thomas Hughes memorial hail was built and is in constant use by the
numerous organisations. The 17th century reading room known as Tom Browns
School is now a museum where remains of Roman pottery can be seen, found during
the building of Craven Common housing estate. Having both a sports field
donated by the Craven estate and a recreation ground, Uffington people are
fortunate in being able to enjoy many sporting activities.
A character from the past called Snobby was the last of the shoe makers. A
model of his thatched cottage complete with sewing machine, can be seen at the
Pendon museum at Long Wittenham. He was a reputed drinker and the story goes
that when he ran off in the middle of the night, villagers had to go to his
house to retrieve their shoes.
There are still a number of chalkstone and thatch cottages in the village,
although many of the old homesteads have been enlarged and modernised. Upper
Common was once a joy to behold with its old cottages, country gardens, and wild
flowers in spring and summer growing by the footpath. Now it is used by traffic
and sadly there are no wayside flowers to be seen. However, the stream flowing
round the village adds to its natural beauty, and there are many pleasant walks.
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