Kelmscott 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 ...

on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

West Oxfordshire West Oxfordshire is a local government district in northwest Oxfordshire, England, including towns such as Woodstock, Burford, Chipping Norton, Charlbury, Carterton and Witney, where the council is based. Area The area is mainly rural downla ...

, about east of

Lechlade Lechlade () is a town at the edge of the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England, south of Birmingham and west of London. It is the highest point at which the River Thames is navigable, although there is a right of navigation that continues sout ...

in neighbouring

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

. Since 2001 it has absorbed

Little Faringdon Little Faringdon is a village and civil parish in West Oxfordshire, about north of Lechlade in neighbouring Gloucestershire. The 2001 Census recorded its population as 63. Manor In the late Anglo-Saxon era Little Faringdon was part of a lar ...

, which had been a separate civil parish. The 2011 Census recorded the merged parish's population as 198.

Kelmscott Manor

Kelmscott Manor Kelmscott Manor is a limestone manor house in the Cotswolds village of Kelmscott, in West Oxfordshire, southern England. It dates from around 1570, with a late 17th-century wing, and is listed Grade I on the National Heritage List for Eng ...

is a Cotswold stone house, built in about 1570 during the

Great Rebuilding A Great Rebuilding is a period in which a heightened level of construction work, architectural change, or rebuilding occurred. More specifically, W. G. Hoskins William George Hoskins (22 May 1908 – 11 January 1992) was an English local his ...

of England and extended late in the 17th century. It was the country home of

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

from 1871 until his death in 1896. He drew great inspiration from the unspoilt authenticity of the house's architecture and craftsmanship, and its organic relationship with its setting. Kelmscott Manor now belongs to the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

. Morris renamed his

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

town house

Kelmscott House Kelmscott House is Grade II* listed Georgian brick mansion at 26 Upper Mall in Hammersmith, overlooking the River Thames. Built in about 1785, it was the London home of English textile designer, artist, writer and socialist William Morris fro ...

after Kelmscott when he bought it in April 1879. He named his private press, which he started in 1891,

Kelmscott Press The Kelmscott Press, founded by William Morris and Emery Walker, published 53 books in 66 volumes between 1891 and 1898. Each book was designed and ornamented by Morris and printed by hand in limited editions of around 300. Many books were illus ...

Parish church

The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

of the

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 ...

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

was built in about 1190 in the transitional style between

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 ...

and Early English, and 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 ...

is probably of the same date. The building has

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

s that were added in about 1260. The

clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...

of the nave was added in the 15th century. Many of the windows of the nave and chancel are

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 ...

additions, including the east window of the chancel. The church 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 ...

. In the churchyard is the

tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...

of William Morris, designed by

Philip Webb Philip Speakman Webb (12 January 1831 – 17 April 1915) was a British architect and designer sometimes called the Father of Arts and Crafts Architecture. His use of vernacular architecture demonstrated his commitment to "the art of common ...

. Morris featured the church in his novel ''

News from Nowhere ''News from Nowhere'' is an 1890 classic work combining utopian socialism and soft science fiction written by the artist, designer and socialist pioneer William Morris. It was first published in serial form in the ''Commonweal (UK), Commonwea ...

'', when in the final part of the book the Guest is taken there for the feast. St George's parish is now part of the

Benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

of Shill Valley and Broadshire, which includes also the parishes of

Alvescot Alvescot is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish about south of Carterton, Oxfordshire, England. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 472. Archaeology A Prehistoric Britain#Neolithic, ...

Black Bourton Black Bourton is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish about south of Carterton, Oxfordshire. The village is on Black Bourton Brook, a tributary of the River Thames. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded the pari ...

, Broadwell,

Broughton Poggs Broughton Poggs is a village in the Civil parishes in England, civil parish of Filkins and Broughton Poggs, in the West Oxfordshire district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. Broughton Poggs is southwest of Carterton, Oxfordshire, Carter ...

Filkins Filkins is a village in the civil parish of Filkins and Broughton Poggs, in the West Oxfordshire district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is about southwest of Carterton, Oxfordshire, Carterton. Churches Church of England The Goth ...

, Holwell,

Kencot Kencot is a village and civil parish about south-west of Carterton in West Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 101. Archaeology A Neolithic stone hand axe was found at Kencot. Petrological analysis in 1940 ident ...

, Langford,

Shilton Shilton may refer to: Places *Shilton, Oxfordshire, England *Shilton, Warwickshire, England **Shilton railway station, a former station Other

*Shilton (surname) *Earl Shilton, a town in Leicestershire, England *Chilton (disambiguation) *Shelt ...

and Westwell. In the village, next to the

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

The Plough Inn, are the remains of a 14th or 15th century cross. Base of cross at Kelmscott

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External links

Kelmscott Village
{{Authority control Civil parishes in Oxfordshire Populated places on the River Thames Villages in Oxfordshire West Oxfordshire District

Kelmscott Manor

Parish church

References

Sources

Further reading

External links