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The village of Clanfield lies on the flat expanses of the Upper Thames Valley,
not far from Radcot Bridge. Clanfield was mentioned in Domesday Book as having
14 villagers, 13 smallholders and four slaves. There is a much ploughed-over
barrow on the outskirts, which must mark the grave of one of its earlier
inhabitants. Perhaps the most interesting approach is from the south over Radcot
Bridge. Here in the meadows on your right you will see Friars Court, built on
the site of a previous building that belonged to the Knights Hospitallers. Part
of the moat and fragments of early masonry remain. Here lives a farmer who is
also a pioneer conservationist. He and his wife have planted trees and shrubs,
created a lake for wild fowl and a farm trail for visitors.
The church is dedicated to St Stephen and on its 14th century tower is a statue
of the saint, holding in his hands the stones of his martyrdom. Above the Norman
doorway is an early mass dial. Near to the church stands Chestlyon Farm, where
once lived a wealthy family of that name. The present house dates from the 16th
century, but it has at one corner what could have been a small Norman chapel.
The village has a Methodist chapel, still in use. Methodism once flourished in
Clanfield. Camp meetings were held on the green, where the preacher would
address the crowd from an old farm wagon. These early evangelists were often
pelted with rotten eggs. There is a story of one such preacher, a Clanfield man,
who while marching at the head of the procession towards the chapel, was jeered
at by the local lads. ‘Thee bist afraid to preach now’ they yelled, whereupon
the old man stopped in his tracks, carefully removed a clean red spotted
handkerchief from his top pocket, laid it on the ground (to save his Sunday
corduroys) and knelt down and prayed for their conversion!
A stream runs through the village towards the Thames, its banks in spring bright
with daffodils. This stream is crossed in several places by perfect little stone
arched bridges, which cannot be properly appreciated unless you walk along ‘the
causeway’ under the weeping willows. This path may be part of the ancient
trackway that led from Clanfield to Radcot. It would have been above the flood
plain, very necessary when in the old days the Thames frequently flooded in
winter. The old records tell us that it had to be kept clear, which was
something not always adhered to, as more than once a local scallywag was fined
for dumping a load of manure on it!
There are two village greens, and ‘the causeway’ links them. One is overlooked
by the Plough and the Tavern, the two village inns, and also by a group of
attractive cottages. Here too, the village cross once stood.
In 1758, when the inhabitants were ‘all husbandmen and labourers’ and the number
of houses around 40, a report went to the Diocese of Oxford that ‘there are too
many who absent themselves from public worship on the Lord’s Day, and those,
chiefly servants employing themselves in Fishing and Fowling, and such like
exercises.. .‘. In 1826 there were 102 houses and the inhabitants numbered 490.
Today the population stands at around 800.
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