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Ipsden lies in South
Oxfordshire, a part of the county surrounded by a deep bend
in the river Thames. It is in the foothills of the Chilterns, and is really a
collection of scattered hamlets, rather than a village.
Its 13th century church stands on one of the approach roads to the village, and
despite the ravages of the years, still has examples of early wall paintings
within, and a very attractive brick and flint exterior. ‘The Street’ could be
described as the centre of the village, running from the post office and stores
at one end, past the Old Post House and Old Vicarage, down to Ipsden Farm with
its huge tithe barn, onto the A4074 Reading road.
The Church of England Aided village school had been in existence for over 100
years, but finally closed its doors in July 1989, due to a continued decline in
numbers.
Ipsden has had its share of characters and ghosts — only to be expected with a
history which pre-dates Roman settlements in the area. Some of these have their
names intertwined with village life, such as Janet Lindsey, a former
postmistress whose name lives on in Janet’s Grove, while Ben Remnant, killed in
action, gives his name to Ben’s Cottages at Newtown.
Stones and monuments abound. Two stones in the hedgerow opposite the school
commemorate two farm workers killed by lightning while sheltering. There is also
a mini-Stonehenge — a comparatively recent innovation by a member of the Reade
family generations ago, and also a monument at the Mere (almost opposite the
tithe barn) which was erected on the spot where the ghost of John Reade (d1827)
was seen coming to tell his mother of his death in India.
Modern innovations have always been slow to take hold in Ipsden. Electricity did
not arrive until 1954, and apart from a few modern houses, the village appears
much the same now as it did then.
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