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Kiddington

Coordinates: 51°54′11″N 1°24′00″W / 51.903°N 1.400°W / 51.903; -1.400
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Not to be confused with Kidlington, Oxfordshire.
Kiddington
St Nicholas' parish church
Kiddington is located in Oxfordshire
Kiddington
Kiddington
Location within Oxfordshire
Population113 (parish, including Over Kiddington) (2001 census)[1]
OS grid referenceSP4123
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townWoodstock
Postcode districtOX20
Dialling code01608
PoliceThames Valley
FireOxfordshire
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Oxfordshire
51°54′11″N 1°24′00″W / 51.903°N 1.400°W / 51.903; -1.400

Kiddington is a village in the civil parish of Kiddington with Asterleigh, in the West Oxfordshire district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. The village is on the River Glyme, just north of the A44 road between Woodstock and Chipping Norton, about 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Chipping Norton. In 1891 the parish had a population of 215.[2] On 1 October 1895 the parish was abolished and nerged with Asterleigh to form "Kiddington with Asterleigh".[3]

Manor

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The toponym is Old English, recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 as Chidintone, meaning "estate of a man named Cydda".[4] Historically Cuddington has been an alternative form. It has also been known as Nether Kiddington to distinguish it from the hamlet of Over Kiddington 0.5 miles (800 m) south of the village.

17th century dovecote in the grounds of Kiddington Hall

Offa of Mercia gave Kiddington, with Heythrop, to Worcester Priory in about 780.[5] After the Norman conquest of England the manor was held successively by the De Salcey, Willescote or Williamscote, Babington, Browne and Browne-Mostyn families.[6] After the English Reformation the Browne family were recusants with their own Roman Catholic chapel and priest, and they ensured the survival of Catholicism in this part of Oxfordshire.[7] Kiddington Hall was built in 1673, and in the 18th century "Capability" Brown laid out the gardens.[8] In 1850 the architect Charles Barry rebuilt the house so completely that no external trace of the original building is visible, added a new stable block and remodelled the gardens.[9]

In 1950 Lawrence Robson, founder of accountancy company Robson Rhodes, bought Kiddington Hall, and on his death in 1982 his son Maurice Robson inherited the house. In September 2009 Maurice placed Kiddington Estate (including Kiddington Hall) on the market for £42 million, his divorce seemingly being the reason for the sale.[10][11] Jemima Khan bought the property in Autumn 2010 for a reported £15 million.[citation needed]

Parish church

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St Nicholas' parish church from the south. On the right is the Norman Revival apsidal chancel designed by G.G. Scott.

The Church of England parish church of Saint Nicholas was Norman, and the original chancel arch survives from this time.[12] The rest of the church was rebuilt about 1400[13] in the Decorated Gothic style.[12] The chancel was extended westwards[14] so that, unusually amongst parish churches, it has one chancel arch in front of another.[15] The rest of the 14th century rebuilding comprises the nave, a south chapel, south porch and west tower.[8] Later in the Middle Ages a Perpendicular Gothic east window was inserted in the chancel.[8] In 1845 the chancel was rebuilt in its present apsidal form on the original Norman foundations to designs by George Gilbert Scott.[8] In 1848 the Perpendicular Gothic east window was removed and re-used to form sedilia.[8] In 1879 a vestry and organ chamber were added.[8]

The tower has three bells. James Keene of Woodstock[16] cast the tenor bell in 1629.[17] Mears & Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry[16] cast the treble bell in 1875.[17] The date and founder of the middle bell are unknown.[17] There is also a smaller bell, now disused, that may have been cast by John Mitchell of Wokingham[16] in about 1493.[17] In 1771 the poet and literary historian Rev. Thomas Warton was appointed rector of St. Nicholas' church. In 1781 he wrote The History and Antiquities of Kiddington,[18] and in 1785 he was made Poet Laureate. Warton remained both rector and Poet Laureate until his death in 1790. St. Nicholas' is now combined in one benefice with the parishes of Wootton and Glympton.[19]

School

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Kiddington Kindergarten, formerly the parish school

Kiddington parish school was built in 1856.[8] It is now a private kindergarten.

References

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  1. ^ "Area selected: West Oxfordshire (Non-Metropolitan District)". Neighbourhood Statistics: Full Dataset View. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  2. ^ "Population statistics Kiddington CP/AP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Woodstock Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  4. ^ Mills & Room 2003, p. 268
  5. ^ Warton 1815, p. 32.
  6. ^ Warton 1815, p. 38–52.
  7. ^ "St Teresa's in the Past". St Teresa's, Charlbury. CommuniGate. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, p. 669
  9. ^ Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, pp. 669–670.
  10. ^ Mikhailova, Anna; Chittenden, Maurice (6 September 2009). "Broken home, yours for £42M". Times Online. News International. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  11. ^ Irvine, Chris (6 September 2009). "Property magnate puts country estate up for sale for £42 million". Telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 September 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  12. ^ a b Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, p. 668
  13. ^ Warton 1815, p. 11.
  14. ^ Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, pp. 668–669.
  15. ^ "Oxfordshire Churches & Chapels website: Kiddington". Archived from the original on 4 December 2009. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  16. ^ a b c Dovemaster (31 October 2012). "Bell Founders". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Central Council for Church Bell Ringers. Archived from the original on 4 September 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  17. ^ a b c d Davies, Peter (8 December 2011). "Kiddington S Nicholas". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Central Council for Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  18. ^ Warton 1815.
  19. ^ Archbishops' Council (2010). "Benefice of Wootton with Glympton and Kiddington". Church of England. Retrieved 21 January 2016.

Sources

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Media related to Kiddington at Wikimedia Commons

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