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Cassington is a small village of some 800 inhabitants, situated on the gravel
strata between the ancient forest of Wychwood and the Thames. Saxon settlers
cleared away the woodland which formerly covered this area. Evidence of an
earlier Bronze Age settlement was found when excavating for gravel in 1942/3.
Cassington is recorded in the Domesday survey of 1086 as Cersetone (ie tun where
cress grows), with its hamlets of Worton to the north, and Somerford (now lost)
to the south.
For centuries, the village was agricultural, with several farms, large and
small, but during the 20th century the emphasis shifted from agriculture; the
building of the bypass, the proximity of Oxford with its motor industry and the
prospect of better paid jobs, and of course the motor car itself, largely
changed the life of the inhabitants. Council houses were built, and later more
building took place on the outskirts of the village. However, the centre of the
village is still the village green, unchanged through the centuries, with
attractive old cottages and the 18th century Red Lion public house, the large
former vicarage, now privately owned, the Victorian former primary school, and
the beautiful village cross, a memorial to those who gave their lives in two
World Wars. It was commissioned in 1919 by the then vicar, who lost three sons
in the first war, and was designed by Mr F. D. Howard of Oxford. The two
figures, of Christ and the Madonna, were sculpted by Mr Alex Miller of Chipping
Campden.
The most interesting building is undoubtedly the ancient Norman church of St
Peter, built as a private chapel by Geoffrey de Clinton, Chamberlain and
Treasurer to King Henry I. The Cartulary of Eynsham Abbey records that the
church was consecrated by Bishop Bloet in 1123. Four of the original
consecration crosses are still visible. The magnificent Norman arches remain,
unchanged, a tribute to the dedication and skill of the men who built them
centuries ago. Recently, the remains of a Doom painting over the chancel arch
were uncovered, showing evidence of the exceptional quality of the paint used,
now, alas, faded. The church retains many of the original bench pews, 15th
century, said to be among the oldest in the country.
There are several old houses in the village, the largest being the farmhouse
which stands on the site of the manor house of the de Clintons, still retaining
its moat and a rectangular dove house. It is known as Reynolds Farm, after the
family who owned property in Cassington and Eynsham in the 15th and 16th
centuries. They were Roman Catholics, and during the religious troubles of the
16th century Cassington became a refuge for recusants from neighbouring Oxford.
Later, during the Civil War, men who had been deprived of their posts because of
their royalist sympathies gathered at Cassington. Antony Wood, the diarist, came
in 1653 to ‘shake off a fit of the ague in the pure country air’! He also
learned to ring on the peal of six bells then newly installed.
Bell ringing has always been one of Cassington’s activities. Until recent years
it had a team of bellringers well known throughout the diocese, members of the
Diocesan Guild; unfortunately, enthusiasm has declined somewhat during the past
few years.
Cassington Mill on the Evenlode, mentioned in the Domesday Book, continued to
grind corn into this century. The last miller lives in the village. The
buildings still stand, and in the surrounding field is a flourishing caravan
site, bringing many visitors during the summer season.
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