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The village of Wendlebury lies in the north of the county, two and a half miles
to the south of the market town of Bicester. There has been a settlement on or
around this site since before Roman times. The remains of the Roman town of
Alchester are just to the north of the village. The older houses are constructed
from local stone, some of which may have been removed from the Roman ruins.
The village lies on the old Oxford to Bicester road, which was made a turnpike
road in 1793 (in the 13th century the road south from Alchester was known as Buggestreet).
The village was bypassed in 1949 by the A421 trunk road. The aspect of the
village has been changed recently as the M40 London to Birmingham motorway is
under construction, bringing with it changes in the local population.
The only pub still open for business is the Red Lion, which stands in the centre
of the village opposite the stream. This early 18th century building has been
used over the years as the manorial court, the blacksmiths and a coaching inn.
It is now owned by the Oxford brewers, Halls. The other pub, called the Plough,
lay at the south of the village opposite where the village ball now stands. It
is now a private home.
Until the late 19th century there were at least five farm houses and most of the
men living in the village were employed on the farms. Many of the wives and
children helped in the fields during the harvest and sheep-shearing time. The
stream also provided income, the cress was harvested and sold in the local
markets. All of the farm houses are now private homes, including the barns which
formed College Farm, once owned by Christ Church College of Oxford.
The manor house in Church Lane is 17th century with an 18th century frontage.
This has been divided over the years, with once as many as three houses. The
smaller house at one end served the village as the washhouse and in the yard can
still be seen the cobblestones that formed the draining area for the coppers.
The old rectory is perhaps the largest building in the village, this has now
been converted into flats. The field at its front, which is where Rectory Close
now stands, used to be the playing field for the village where cricket matches
were played and the May fair held.
The church of St Giles lies at the top of Church Lane. It is believed that it
was built in the early 13th century. It has had a very chequered history, due
mainly to the fact that it is sited on unstable foundations and a clay subsoil.
By the middle of the 18th century it was evident that the church was about to
collapse and, after morning service on Tuesday 24th March, 1761 the assembled
churchgoers started to pull it down. The restored and rebuilt church opened
again just over a year later, the cost to the parishioners was 400.
Unfortunately the problems had not been solved and by 1900 the tower was in such
a poor state that the parishioners feared to attend church, as large lumps of
masonry were liable to fall at any time. To add to the churchs distress, during
the winter a severe storm blew in the east window and great snow drifts
partially filled the church. A great deal of the church was again rebuilt and
the tower removed. The cost this time was 1,400. Three bells from the original
tower, one of which is badly cracked, stand at the back of the church and on the
wall, behind the Norman font, is a picture of the church as it was with its
tower. Just outside the door of the church are the remains of the village
stocks.
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