Kingston Bagpuize () is a village in the

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 ...

of Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor, in the

Vale of White Horse The Vale of White Horse is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district of Oxfordshire in England. It Historic counties of England, was historically part of Berkshire. The area is commonly referred to as the 'Vale of ''the'' White Hors ...

district, in the county of

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, England. It is about west of Abingdon. It was part of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the population of Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor as 2,349.

Geography

The village is next to the junction of the A420 (

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

–

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

) and A415 ( Abingdon–

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 ...

) main roads. It is contiguous with Southmoor village to the west and about southeast of

Longworth Longworth is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, England. Historically within the north-west projection of Berkshire, boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire in 1974. The village is between Faringdon, to the west, ...

village.

History

Two charters dating to the reign of King

Edward the Martyr Edward the Martyr ( – 18 March 978) was King of the English from 8 July 975 until he was killed in 978. He was the eldest son of King Edgar (r. 959–975). On Edgar's death, the succession to the throne was contested between Edward's sup ...

(975-978) grant land at Kingston Bagpuize, then called ''Cingestune'', to

Abingdon Abbey Abingdon Abbey (formally Abbey of Saint Mary) was a Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Abingdon-on-Thames in the modern county of Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom. Situated near to the River Thames, it was founded in 675 AD and was ...

and Bishop Ælfstan, probably of Ramsbury. The authenticity of the charters is disputed. The

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

Kingston Bagpuize is derived from the village's original name Kingston plus the surname of Ralph de Bachepuz, a Norman nobleman from Bacquepuis in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

who aided

William of Normandy William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was ...

in the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

of England in 1066. 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 ...

of Saint

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

was designed by John Fidel of

Faringdon Faringdon is a historic market town in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England, south-west of Oxford, north-west of Wantage and east-north-east of Swindon. Its views extend to the River Thames in the north and the highest ground visib ...

and built in 1799–1800. The building was remodelled in 1882 to the designs of

Edwin Dolby Edwin Dolby was an English Victorian architecture, Victorian architect who practised in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Abingdon. His works include the design of Abingdon School. Career According to census records Dolby was born in Sutton Bonington, No ...

. Kingston Bagpuize House was built around 1660, but extensively re-modelled in about 1720. In the 20th century it was the home of John Buchan, 2nd Baron Tweedsmuir, the son of the novelist

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, British Army officer, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation. As a ...

. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

there was a satellite airfield of

RAF Abingdon Royal Air Force Abingdon, or more simply RAF Abingdon, is a former Royal Air Force station near Abingdon, Oxfordshire. It is now known as Dalton Barracks and is used by the Royal Logistic Corps. History In 1925, a plan was approved to bui ...

east of the village called RAF Kingston Bagpuize. Remnants of the control tower are still visible near the cricket club. The lower part of the avenue of trees leading down from Kingston Bagpuize House were cut down during this time for aircraft safety. Evidence of this is that the trees at the east end of the avenue are shorter. The ancient parish of Kingston Bagpuize was a

strip parish A strip parish is a parish with a narrow, elongated shape, formed typically during the Anglo-Saxon and early medieval period. The shape is influenced by landscape and political and economic factors. Evidence of such parishes can be found throughout ...

, extending from 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 ...

in the north in a thin strip to the River Ock in the south. It became a civil parish in 1866. On 1 April 1971 it was merged with the civil parish of Draycott Moor to form the parish of Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor. In 1961 the parish had a population of 166.

Amenities

Kingston Bagpuize Cricket Club plays in ''

The Oxford Times ''The Oxford Times'' is a weekly newspaper, published each Thursday in Oxford, England. The paper is published from a large production facility at Osney Mead, west Oxford, and is owned by Newsquest, the UK subsidiary of US-based Gannett Comp ...

'' Cherwell Cricket League. Kingston Bagpuize and Southmoor have a bowls club and a

Women's Institute The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...

. Kingston Bagpuize has an

amateur theatre Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...

group.

Film and television

In 2012 the feature film '' Tortoise in Love'' was filmed in the village. The film was funded entirely with

crowd funding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance, to fund projects "without standard financial ...

from Kingston Bagpuize and the neighbouring village of Southmoor. Kingston Bagpuize House was used as the set of Cavenham Park, the residence of Lord Merton, in the television series ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. It first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV (TV network), ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United St ...

''. It was also used as 'Mrs Goddard's School' in the 2020 feature film '' Emma''.

Literature

The fantasy author

J.R.R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

used "Kingston Bagpuize" as a pseudonym for some of his early (pre-1937) poetry.

References

Sources

External links

Kingston Bagpuize with SouthmoorKingston Bagpuize with Southmoor a village snapshot
{{authority control Villages in Oxfordshire Former civil parishes in Oxfordshire Vale of White Horse