Ascott-under-Wychwood is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Evenlode Evenlode is a village and civil parish (ONS Code 23UC051) in the Cotswold District of eastern Gloucestershire in England. Evenlode is bordered by the Gloucestershire parishes of Moreton-in-Marsh to the northwest, Longborough and Donnington t ...

valley about south of

Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire Chipping Norton is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswolds in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the civil parish population as 5,719 ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 560.

Toponym

The village is one of three named after the historic forest of

Wychwood Wychwood or Wychwood Forest is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Witney in Oxfordshire. It is also a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 1, and an area of is a national nature reserve (United Kingdom), national natur ...

; the others being

Shipton-under-Wychwood Shipton-under-Wychwood is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the River Evenlode, Evenlode valley about north of Burford, in the West Oxfordshire district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. The village is one of three ...

and

Milton-under-Wychwood Milton-under-Wychwood is an English village and civil parish about north of Burford, Oxfordshire, just off the A361 road between Burford and Chipping Norton. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,648. History The village is o ...

. “Ascott” is derived from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''ēast'' (east) and ''cot'' (cottage).

Manor and castle

Ascot d'Oilly Castle __NOTOC__ Ascot d'Oilly Castle is situated north of the village of Ascott-under-Wychwood in the north west region of Oxfordshire. It is a scheduled ancient monument. A fragment of the castle remains and is a Grade II listed building. It was name ...

was built in about 1129–50 and a stone tower was added to it in the 13th century. The castle bailey is now occupied by the manor house, which is mainly 16th and 17th century but contains some 13th century buttressed and other stonework.

Parish church

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

was built in about 1200 in a transitional style from

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

to Early English. Surviving transitional work includes the south porch, and the four-bay

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

between the nave and the north

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

. The

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

arch and the

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...

s along the side of the north aisle are Early English. Most of the present windows in the nave and chancel were inserted in the 14th and 15th centuries, including the

Decorated Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...

east windows of the chancel and north aisle and the

Perpendicular Gothic Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-ce ...

south windows of the chancel and west window of the aisle. Also Perpendicular Gothic are the chancel

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Lutherans and Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a pisci ...

and

sedilia In church architecture, sedilia (plural of Latin ''sedīle'', "seat") are seats, typically made of stone, located on the liturgical south side of the altar—often within the chancel—intended for use by the officiating priest, deacon, an ...

, the octagonal

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

and a small chapel next to the chancel. The upper stages of the

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

were built in the 15th century. The building was restored in 1857–59 under the direction of the Oxford Diocesan architect G.E. Street. Holy Trinity is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The tower has a

ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

of six bells. Five of these including the tenor bell were cast in 1744 by Henry III Bagley of

Chacombe Chacombe (sometimes Chalcombe in the past) is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, about north-east of Banbury. It is bounded to the west by the River Cherwell, to the north by a tributary and ...

, Northamptonshire, who at the time also had a bell-foundry at

Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. History The Toponymy, place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest kno ...

. The treble was cast in 1905 by Mears and Stainbank of the

Whitechapel Bell Foundry The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells ...

. There is also a Sanctus bell cast in 1797 by Thomas I Mears. In 2001 the Church of England Benefice of Ascott-under-Wychwood,

Chadlington Chadlington is a village and civil parish in the Evenlode Valley about south of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. The village has five neighbourhoods: Brook End, Green End, Mill End, East End and West End. Archaeology There is a bowl barrow abo ...

and

Spelsbury Spelsbury is a village and civil parish about north of Charlbury and about southeast of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. The village is on a narrow hill between the Coldron and Taston brooks overlooking the River Evenlode and the ancient Wych ...

merged with that of

Enstone Enstone is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in England, about east of Chipping Norton and north-west of Oxford city. The civil parish, one of Oxfordshire's largest, consists of the villages of Church Enstone and Neat Ensto ...

and

Heythrop Heythrop is a village and civil parish just over east of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Dunthrop. The 2001 Census recorded the parish population as 93. History Heythrop had a Norman parish church of Saint ...

to form the Chase Benefice.

Economic and social history

The

Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OW&WR) was a railway company in England. It built a line from Wolvercot JunctionThe nearby settlement is spelt ''Wolvercote'' and a later station on the LNWR Bicester line follows that spelling. ...

was built in 1845 and opened Ascott-under-Wychwood railway station to serve the village. The OW&WR is now the

Cotswold Line The Cotswold Line is an railway line between and in England. History Early years The line between Oxford and Worcester was built under an 1845 Act of Parliament and opened in 1851 as part of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway ...

and the station is served by

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

trains. The village school was designed by the architect Clapton Rolfe and built in 1871. In 1873 a farmer dismissed several men of Ascott-under-Wychwood because they had formed a branch of the National Union of Agricultural Workers. He hired labourers from the village of

Ramsden Ramsden may refer to: ;Places: * Ramsden, Orpington, England * Ramsden, Oxfordshire, England, a village and civil parish * Ramsden, Worcestershire, England, a hamlet * Ramsden Bellhouse, a village in Essex, England * Ramsden Park, Toronto, Canada ...

to work as

strikebreakers A strikebreaker (sometimes pejoratively called a scab, blackleg, bootlicker, blackguard or knobstick) is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. Strikebreakers may be current employees ( union members or not), or new hires to keep the org ...

but a group of women from Ascott-under-Wychwood tried to dissuade the Ramsden labourers from working. Sixteen of the women were arrested, tried by magistrates in

Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cotswolds in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 201 ...

and given short sentences of imprisonment in

Oxford Castle Oxford Castle is a large, partly ruined medieval castle on the western side of central Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. Most of the original moated, wooden motte and bailey castle was replaced in stone in the late 12th or early 13th century and ...

. Their convictions were met with rioting in Chipping Norton, questions in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and a royal pardon from

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. The 16 are commemorated as the Ascott Martyrs. In 1874 at least four of the women emigrated with their families to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, where they now have numerous descendants. In 1973 on the centenary of the women's ordeal a commemorative bench was erected in the village.

Amenities

Ascott-under-Wychwood has a

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

, The Swan. It was closed in 2010 but was re-opened in June 2013. It also has a community shop, which was opened in 2003.Ascott Village Shop
/ref> An art gallery and craft shop opened in 2022 owned by the Japanese artist Motoko Aritake-Wild. https://www.forgeatwychwood.co.uk The village has two schools, which are both privately funded
Ascott-under-Wychwood Pre-school
which provides pre-school learning for children aged 2–5 years an
Windrush Valley Private School
which provides learning and education for children aged 3–11 years. The village has a cricket club, which plays on Memorial playing field, with a team in the Cherwell League on Saturdays, and friendly matches on Sundays.

References

15. Cricket club website https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/ascottunderwychwoodcricketclub/

Sources

External links

Ascott-under-Wychwood Community Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ascott-Under-Wychwood Civil parishes in Oxfordshire Cotswolds Villages in Oxfordshire West Oxfordshire District