> Marshalls Home
Although not a large stream, Chalgrove Brook was once powerful enough to turn
five mills, as is revealed in the Domesday Book. Meandering across the fields
to the south of the village, it flows on through Stadhampton and then to
Chislehampton where it joins the river Thame, a tributary of the Thames. During
the 19th century a sluice gate was constructed at the eastern end of the village
and from the original stream (the back brook) water was diverted to run
alongside what is now the High Street. This artificially created loop (the front
brook) has become an attractive feature in Chalgrove.
Flooding was apparently a regular occurrence and is strong in the memories of
Chalgrove folk. Written accounts, dating from the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, indicate that stilts were popular among the young as a means of
getting about in such conditions. However, even stilts were rendered useless
when, in January 1881, the temperature dropped sharply overnight and the
floodwater turned into a thick sheet of ice.
The effects of flooding were exacerbated by the fact that Chalgrove village is
situated in a dip. A former occupier of Cromwell Cottage recalls melting snow
water running off Belson’s meadow into her garden and under the back door. It
was then necessary to open the front door to let the water run out, which it
did, into Chapel Lane and down to the flooded High Street. The damage to
property and attendant disruption of family life are of course most unpleasant
aspects of natural disasters. A Chalgrove farmer’s note book records that in
1879 22 houses were seriously flooded in the lower part of the village.
If excessive amounts of water could play havoc with everyday life then so could
an extreme lack of it. In 1921 a severe drought reduced the stream to a trickle
and for a long time the mill wheel never turned. As an emergency measure a steam
threshing engine, borrowed from a local farmer, was connected to machinery
inside the mill in order to grind the corn. More recently, in 1976, another
drought left the stream bed dry in places and surrounding land became hard,
cracked and almost impossible to cultivate. An interesting by-product of the
last mentioned drought was the discovery, by aerial reconnaissance, of filled-in
moats and earthworks next to the back brook. Apparently such features are more
easily identified in hot, dry conditions. Subsequent archaeological excavation
at this location revealed the remains of an impressive medieval moated manor.
The brook is also a source of entertainment. Generations of boys have learned
their fishing skills here and, even now with a greatly reduced flow, it is
possible for a lad to surprise Mum and Dad with a lively trout. In the early
1970s an enjoyable, but sadly short lived, custom known as the Chalgrove Brook
Race was an annual event. The race was contested by several teams over a three
quarter mile course from the top arch to the Lamb public house. Teams ran in
relays carrying a ball and had to scramble under or over each of the 40 or so
bridges.
The importance of the brook to Chalgrove should not be underestimated. Its
presence was undoubtedly the reason for early, possibly pre-Roman settlement
here. The stream provided water, motive power for mills and probably a good
number of fish. Even today the intrusion of massive housing development cannot
take away the pleasing aspect of the High Street and its brookside cottages.
Yes, the brook has shaped Chalgrove’s character and, as the old saying goes,
‘You don’t belong to Chalgrove until you have fallen in it!’
Click here
for a quote and to instruct your survey online
> Marshalls Home