Swinbrook is a village on the River Windrush, about east of Burford in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, England. The village is in the civil parish of

Swinbrook and Widford Swinbrook and Widford is a civil parish in West Oxfordshire formed in 1932. It comprises the village of Swinbrook Swinbrook is a village on the River Windrush, about east of Burford in Oxfordshire, England. The village is in the civil parish of ...

. Widford is a hamlet about west of Swinbrook. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 139.

History

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 ca ...

Saint Mary the Virgin Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

dates from about 1200. Its unusual open-sided bell-tower was added in 1822. The church is noted for its 17th-century Fettiplace monuments; that of 1686 was carved by William Bird of Oxford. St Mary's also has a monument to the officers and men of the Royal Navy submarine HMS ''P514'', and especially its commander, Lieutenant W.A. Phillimore, whose parents lived at Swinbrook. In 1942 ''P514'' failed to identify herself to the Royal Canadian Navy minesweeper . The Canadian ship therefore assumed the submarine to be an enemy vessel and rammed ''P514'', sinking her with the loss of all hands. In 1926,

David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale David Bertram Ogilvy Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale (13 March 1878 – 17 March 1958) was an English landowner and the father of the Mitford sisters, in whose various novels and memoirs he is depicted. Ancestry and early life Mitford's le ...

had Swinbrook House built north of the village. Four of his six daughters (the " Mitford sisters") are buried in the parish churchyard: Nancy, Unity, and

Diana Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997) ...

are buried side by side, while Pamela is buried northwest of the tower. There is a tablet in the church commemorating their only brother,

Tom Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, killed in March 1945 in Burma.

Amenities

Swinbrook Cricket Club has two teams. They play in division 5 and 10 respectively of the Oxfordshire Cricket Association.Oxfordshire Cricket Association
/ref> Fettiplace monuments, Swinbrook Church (Nancy)

Fettiplace monuments, Swinbrook Church (Nancy)

References

Sources and further reading

* * * * *

External links

Google 360° panorama of the chancel of St Mary the Virgin parish church, showing the Fettiplace monuments
Cotswolds Former civil parishes in Oxfordshire Villages in Oxfordshire West Oxfordshire District {{Oxfordshire-geo-stub