Nettlebed 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 ...

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 ...

in the Chiltern Hills about north-west of Henley-on-Thames and south-east of Wallingford. The parish includes the hamlet of Crocker End, about east of the village. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 727.

Archaeology

It is claimed that in the 17th century a "Palæolithic floor" was found in Nettlebed Common. Mesolithic

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

microlith A microlith is a small Rock (geology), stone tool usually made of flint or chert and typically a centimetre or so in length and half a centimetre wide. They were made by humans from around 60,000 years ago, across Europe, Africa, Asia and Austral ...

s and cores have been found in the parish.

History

The earliest known records of the name "Nettlebed" are from the 13th century. The '' Inquisitiones post mortem'' record it as ''Netelbedde'' in 1252 and 1276. The name does mean a nettlebed: a place overgrown with nettles. Nettlebed village is on an ancient route through the Chiltern Hills between Henley-on-Thames and Wallingford, which for centuries was part of a trunk route between

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 ...

and

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 ...

. The road between Henley and Wallingford was made into a turnpike in 1736 and ceased to be a turnpike in 1873. It is now classified as the A4130. Nettlebed's strategic position led to its having several pubs, inns and coaching inns. They included the White Hart, which is 17th-century, and the Bull Inn and Sun Inn, which are 18th-century. Only the White Hart in the High Street is still trading. Nettlebed had a sub-

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

and

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

in Watlington Street. It has now ceased trading and is a private house. In 2012 Thierry Kelaart and Patrick Heathcote-Amory, son of Sir Ian Heathcote-Amory were married at St Bartholomew's parish church. Michael Middleton acted as father of the bride and guests included the Duchess of Cambridge. The Old Priest House, on the High Street, 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 ...

Parish church

The Church of England parish of

Saint Bartholomew Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Most scholars today identify Bartholomew as Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John (1:45–51; cf. 21:2). New Testament references The name ''Bartholomew ...

was originally a

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status A chapelry had a similar status to a Township (England), township, but was so named as it had a chapel of ease ...

of the adjacent parish of Benson. There is a record of the

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...

giving 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 Benson, including chapels at Nettlebed and Warborough, to the Augustinian Abbey at nearby Dorchester, Oxfordshire in about 1140. The

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

church building was replaced in 1845–46 by the present

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

brick building, designed by a member of the Hakewill family of architects. The only surviving part of the previous church is the lower stages of the brick west tower, which seems to be 18th-century. The church has some 20th-century

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows, including two made in 1970 by John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens. One is 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 ...

east window, in which a central

tree of life The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythology, mythological, religion, religious, and philosophy, philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The ...

is flanked by fish on one side and butterflies on the other. The other is the

baptistery In Church architecture, Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek language, Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned ...

south window in the south

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, ...

. This shows a tree of life with birds perching in it including an owl, a hawk and a pheasant. The tower has a ring of six bells, all cast by Charles and George Mears 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 ...

in 1846.

Joyce Grove

The Scottish banker Robert Fleming bought Joyce Grove in 1903, along with its estate. A new house was commissioned from the architect C.E. Mallows in 1908. After Robert Fleming's death in 1938 the house and its grounds were given to

St Mary's Hospital, London St Mary's Hospital is a teaching hospital in Paddington, in the City of Westminster, London, founded in 1845. Since the UK's first academic health science centre was created in 2008, it has been operated by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust ...

. Joyce Grove was used as a convalescent home during the war, and more recently became a Sue Ryder Care Home.

Pottery

Bricks, tiles and pottery were made in Nettlebed from the second half of the 14th century until the 1930s. In the 15th century Nettlebed supplied ceramic tiles to Abingdon Abbey and bricks to Stonor House. The name "Crocker End" means "Potter's End". One remaining brick "

bottle kiln A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids. Its mouth, at the bottling line, can be sealed with an internal Stoppe ...

" is preserved in Nuffield. It may be 17th-century. It 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 1674, George Ravenscroft obtained from Nettlebed, the sand used in the making of the first flint glass.

Windmill

Nettlebed had what seems to have been the only smock mill in Oxfordshire. It used to be at Chinnor but was moved to a windier site at Nettlebed in about 1825. It was a slender octagonal building with four common sails and a fantail. It burned down in 1912.

Amenities

Nettlebed Folk Club

The village has a long-established folk club which holds concerts on Monday evenings from 8pm at The Village Club in Nettlebed High Street. The Folk Song Club is a volunteer run, non-profit organisation. It was founded in July 1975 at the Bull Inn. When Brakspear Brewery closed the Bull Inn in 1991, the club moved to its present venue, which has capacity for 200 people. Musicians who have performed at the club include

Martin Carthy Martin Dominic Forbes Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in English folk music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, as well as later ar ...

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...

, John Kirkpatrick, Ralph McTell, Show of Hands, Steeleye Span and Richard Thompson. The Club is also known for special performances such as its "Feast of Fiddles'" where a mix of leading national performers and local artists provide themed evenings. In 2002 the club won the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Radio 2 Folk Club of the Year Award.

Transport

Thames Travel bus route X38 links Nuffield with Wallingford and

in one direction and Henley on Thames and

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. It is the United Kingdom's largest town, with a combined population of 355,596. Most of Reading built-up area, its built-up area lies within the Borough ...

in the other. It stops on the A4130 main road at Nettlebed Green, near the brick kiln at the east end of the village. Buses run generally hourly from Mondays to Saturdays. There is no Sunday service.

Notable residents

* Lucy Fleming, actress * Peter Fleming, writer and traveller *

Celia Johnson Dame Celia Elizabeth Johnson (18 December 1908 – 26 April 1982) was an English actress, whose career included stage, television and film. She is especially known for her roles in the films ''In Which We Serve'' (1942), ''This Happy Breed ...

, star of the 1945 film '' Brief Encounter'' (also Peter Fleming's wife) * Sir Ninian Stephen, Australian judge and later 20th Governor-General of Australia, born in Nettlebed to Scottish parents in 1923 and emigrated to Australia in 1940

Gallery

File:Nettlebed WhiteHart.jpg, The White Hart File:Nettlebed HighSt 25.jpg, 25 High Street. The façade is 18th-century but the house is probably 16th-century. File:Mercedes-Benz Citaro RF56 OXF Nettlebed.jpg, A Thames Travel bus on route X38 on the

A4130 road The A4130 is a British A road which runs from a junction with the A404 at Burchetts Green (Maidenhead), Berkshire to the A417 at Rowstock in Oxfordshire. It passes through Henley-on-Thames, and Nettlebed, and bypasses Wallingford and Di ...

at The Green in Nettlbed File:Nettlebed-paleolithic-pudding-stones.jpg, Nettlebed puddingstone File:Nettlebed StBartholomew window ChancelEast.jpg, Chancel east window by John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens in St Bartholomew's parish church

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

External links

Nettlebed Community
{{authority control Civil parishes in Oxfordshire Folk music venues in the United Kingdom Music venues in Oxfordshire Villages in Oxfordshire