Adwell is a Village & Civil Parish about 3-miles (5-km) South of Thame in South Oxon. The Parish covers 443-acres (179-ha)
The Ancient Parish lies South-east of the Main London Road, some 13-miles distant from Oxford, and for the greater part of its History has probably covered about the 443-acres recorded by the Ordnance Survey in 1882. Until the Lewknor Inclosure Award of 1815 part of Adwell’s Land Lay scattered in Postcombe Field. By the Award the Boundary between Lewknor, in which Postcombe Township Lay & Adwell was defined: it was the Main London Road from Tetsworth Lane & then the Road to South Weston, in fact the old Boundary between Postcombe Township & Adwell. The Cottages, Gardens & old Inclosures in Postcombe belonging to Adwell Manor were left in the Parish of Adwell. Adwell Farm in Postcombe was, therefore, a detached part of the Parish until 1882, when it was transferred to Lewknor. The Postcombe portion of it comprised the Farmhouse, Buildings & 9-acres. A recent Boundary change has reduced Adwell to 340-acres, for in 1953 Lewknor received another 94-acres, lying just North of the Road from Postcombe to South Weston. This last Road formed the Southern Boundary of the Ancient Parish. The London Road, running from Northwest to North-east, separated it from Postcombe & Lewknor, and a small Stream, a tributary of a Feeder of the River Thame, formed the Northern and part of the North-west Boundary. In the South-west, an Artificially made Boundary divided it from Wheatfield & South Weston.
OS Map 1919 Sth Oxon XLVII.3 (South Weston, Postcombe)
Adwell lies on sloping ground that rises from 299-ft to over 490-ft on Adwell Cop which is crowned with a Bronze Age Barrow. On the Summit of Adwell Cop, well preserved, 350-ft circumference, 12-ft high. Plot observed Entrenchments on the South-east side and erroneously attributed them to the Danes. This Tumulus is probably referred to in the name Copinghemewey which occurs in a Document of about 1230. It means ‘the way of the People at the Cop‘. The Cop was for long the object of Local Folklore. It was associated with Fairies & the 18thC Antiquary Rev Thomas Delafield records the Story of the Traveller who saw them dancing there & singing:-
‘At Adwell Cop there stands a Cup.
Drink the drink and eat the sop,
And set the Cup on Adwell Cop.’
Small Woods & Coverts still abounded in the Parish in 1959 though they had been considerably reduced from the 8 to 9-acres in Spring Covert and 11-acres in Piccadilly and other Woods that existed in 1840.
Adwell Parish Plan 1840
A Minor Road from Wheatfield & Stoke Talmage ran Eastward past the Church & Adwell House to join the London Road but this has been truncated by the M40; another to the South Salt Road (Saltway) runs from South Weston to the London Road (A40) at Postcombe. In 1797 a 3rd Road Branched off the London Road & traversed the Northern half of the Parish, but this must have fallen into disuse by 1840, for it is not shown on the Tithe Award Map of 1840.
Adwell House and what remains of the Village lie in a sheltered Valley, beside the Stream. This Stream, which rises in Spring Covert, gave the place its name of Ead(d)a’s Spring. The Village can never have been much more than a Hamlet with 15 or so Dwellings. There was a slight decline in Population in the 14thC and thereafter little change until the 19thC. Of the few remaining Houses, the 2-Lodges belonging to Adwell House were Built in the Gothic Style in the 2nd-half of the 18thC. Lawn Lodge, mainly Built of Brick & Flint, was 1-Room through before it was Enlarged in 1940. The Old Rectory, now 2-Cottages, is a 17thC or Older House with a Modern Wing added in about 1908. Some of the other Brick Cottages also date from the 17thC. Robert Plot relates how a whitish earth called ‘which-earth‘ (Wychert), found at Adwell, was mixed with Straw & used for Building Sidewalls & Ceilings; mixed with Horse Dung it was used for Laying Stones. It appeared to be a natural mixture of Lime & Sand, and slaked in Water without the application of heat.
Walls were Built by piling the subsoil in heaps and were then thoroughly soaked, mixed with Chopped Straw (to make the glutinous mix workable) and Laid in ‘Raises‘ or ‘Berries‘ each about 18-ins or 500-mm high. The Walls have a base plinth of Rubblestone, this is called the Grumpling. On top of the Grumpling the Wychert is Built up in Layers called Berries, these must be left to dry before adding the next Berry. The Walls are then topped with Clay-Tiles for weather protection.
Natural History of Oxfordshire ~ Robert Plot
The Parish has been connected with a number of Gentleman Families of Local Interest from the Medieval Period on, but it was never the Principal Seat of any of its Medieval Owners either of the De Sulhams or their Successors. They presumably visited it on occasions & several Deeds concerning it were Witnessed at Adwell by a number of Local Knights: in 1359 by Sir John de Wheatfield, for instance, and in 1385 by Sir Edmund de la Pole, Sir Gilbert Wace & Sir Thomas Blount. At least 1-Member of the Knightly Family of Marmion seems to have Resided in the 16thC, though the House was certainly Leased outside the Family for part of this Period. John Allnut, for one, had a Lease in 1539. Dorothy Marmion, Anthony’s daughter, was Granted a Lease in 1548 with the Proviso that she should put up her father & 3-Horses on an Annual Visit, and Anthony’s son John Marmion also Resided at Adwell after the Sale of the Manor to Nicholas Bethom. In the early-17thC David Ballowe, Gentleman, lived at the ‘Mansion House‘ & Later Henry Franklin, a Gentleman of some Culture, for his Inventory mentions his Books & Silver & a considerable amount of Clothing.
OS Map 1919 Sth Oxon XLVII.2 (Adwell; Stoke Talmage; Wheatfield)
The Franklins intermarried with the Newells of Pophley (Bucks) & there began the close Connection of that Family with Adwell. Through the 18thC they were not only Lords of the Manor, but often Rectors as well, and over 40 of the Family, of which there were many Branches settled in the Neighbourhood, were Buried in the Church. Since the late-19thC Adwell House has been occupied by the Birch Reynardson Family, the Lords of the Manor.
The Manor-House, Adwell House, was re-Built in the late-18thC on the Site of the earlier House, some traces of which have been observed in the Interior walls in the course of Structural Alterations in 1935 & 1960. The Stuccoed South Front is of 2-Storeys with 5-Bays of which the Centre Bay projects slightly. There is a Moulded Cornice, a Low Parapet, a Hipped Roof, and a Central Doorway under a Doric Porch, which was remodelled in 1960. The Marble Chimney-pieces in the Front Rooms is Contemporary with the late-18thC House. A Conservatory added at the West end in about 1820 was Demolished in 1960. A notable feature of the Interior of the House, the Staircase & Skylight with Greek Revival detail, appears to have been Inserted in the early-19thC. Miss Webb & her brother continued to Live at Adwell after the death of Mrs Jones in 1818 and they presumably were responsible for these Alterations.
The Predecessor of this House was comparatively Modest; in the 1660’s it was Rated on 7-Hearths. It is likely that William Newell, High Sheriff, 1st remodelled the House in about 1700 and that what was practically a re-Building took place just before or after the marriage of Elizabeth Newell to James Jones in 1787. In common with other Gentry of the Period, the Newells improved the natural beauty of the surroundings of their House by the skilful planting of Trees & Landscape Gardening. When the Water-mill & the Miller’s House were pulled down & the Mill-stream incorporated in the Grounds of Adwell House is uncertain. The Mill is shown on Davis’s Map of 1797, but it had probably ceased working during the 2nd half of the 18thC. When Brewer wrote his Topographical & Historical Guide in 1819, he described Adwell as one of the most remarkable Seats in the County. The Pleasure Gardens were doubtless further improved by Miss Webb, for it was she who added the Conservatory and evidently devoted great care to it for she left it by Will, dated 1843, to her niece, to be removed or disposed of as she thought fit.
Map of Oxford County 1797
Surveyed by a Local man, Richard Davis of Lewknor and Published in 1797. This Large Map consists of 16-Sheets at an impressively detailed scale of 1:31,680 or 2-ins to 1-mile. No more than 200-Copies were ever made, evidence is based on all Sets of the Map having Manuscript Serial No.s – this Image is part of No.34. Very few complete Copies survive. In terms of what the Map shows, a clear break has been made from the Saxton-led traditional County Map, as here far more detail than previously is featured. Not only are County & Hundred Boundaries, Rivers & Streams, Towns & Villages, Parks & Woodland depicted, but here we have Roads, Tracks, Hedges, indeed every Field can be seen, and relief is beautifully represented by the use of Hachures. Davis was also Topographer to His Majesty, George III.
Adwell House. Probably early-18thC, with Alterations including Staircase of c.1760 and Staircase Dome of c.1830; 19thC Billiard Room; 20thC Alterations. Lined render on Brick; Slate Hipped Roof; various rendered-Brick Stacks. Double-depth Plan. 2-Storey, 5-window Range; 2:1:2, the Centre Bay projecting forward. Glazed Double Doors to Centre with square Stone Porch on Doric Columns. Side lights to left & right, flanked by Pilasters of c.1960. 12-pane unhorned Sashes to all Openings, that to 1st-Floor Centre has rendered Architrave surround. Moulded rendered Cornice to Base of plain Parapet to Eaves.
Left Return: 2-Storey, 3-window Range. Tripartite Sash with glazing bars to Ground Floor left. French window with Overlight to right. 12-pane unhorned Sashes to other openings.
Rear: 2-Storeys & Attic; 9-window Range. Sash Door to right of Centre. 12-pane unhorned Sashes to all Openings, except Tripartite Sashes with glazing bars to Ground & 1st-Floor right and to Ground & 1st-Floor left of centre. Flat-roofed Dormers to Attic.
Interior: Stone open-well Staircase in Apse-ended Hall; with early-19thC Cast-iron Balustrade, Acanthus Frieze, shallow ribbed-half-Domes to apse-ends, glazed Dome over centre with plaster Floral moulding to Vault. Late 18thC Fireplaces to most Ground Floor Rooms. 19thC Billiard Room to right of Entrance front. Single-Storey, 6-window Range. Lined render on Brick; Slate Roof, Hipped to right. 12-pane Sashes to all Openings except Sash Door to left.
Manor: Before the Conquest the Saxon Wulfstan held Adwell Freely: he was doubtless the Wulfstan who Held the Neighbouring Aston & Britwell Salome. By 1086 the Manor had passed into the hands of Norman Baron Miles Crispin & so became a part of the Honour of Wallingford, which escheated to the Crown in 1300 & subsequently became the Honour of Ewelme. Its Overlords were, therefore, the Holders of the Honour & Adwell men attended the Honour’s Frankpledge Courts up to the 19thC.
Miles’s Tenant at Adwell as in Henton, Britwell Salome & Chesterton in Oxon was a certain William, who can be Identified with the William de Sulham (hence Salome) who was Lord of Sulham and other Berks & Bucks Manors and who gave Tithes to Abingdon Abbey in 1104. This Identification provides an illustration of the Tenure of many Manors in an Honour by a single person. His successor was Aumary, perhaps a son or a son-in-law, who died before 1130, having divided his Possessions between his 2-sons Ralph & Robert. The elder son received 4-Fees which included Adwell & Sulham, the Family’s Chief Seat. Ralph’s son Aumary II of Sulham was Holding these in 1166. His Tenants may have been the Geoffrey of Adwell and the William of Adwell who were each Fined in 1176 & 1177. Aumary died in 1186 & the King took custody of his Land during the Minority of his Heir, but in 1189 & 1190 Thomas Basset was acting as Guardian. Aumary’s Heir Robert (d.before 1211) was followed by his son Aumary (III) Fitz Robert of Sulham. This Aumary was out of his mind by 1236 when the Sheriff was ordered to see that he made no more Gifts or Sales of his Lands, thereby Disinheriting his Heirs. Before 1241/2 William de Sulham, probably his son, was in Possession of Sulham & presumably of Adwell. He was dead by 1250 & in 1255 it is recorded that Adwell, Held by the Service of 1-Knight & Suit of Court at Wallingford, was in the Custody of the Overlord, Richard, Earl of Cornwall, as Guardian of William’s Heir. The Heir, John de Sulham, was of age in 1269, was Granted Free Warren in Adwell in 1277 & was dead by 1279 when the 4-Fees had been equally divided between Richard de la Hyde & Hugh de St Philibert, a Minor, who was described as John de Sulham’s Heir. The connection between the Families of Sulham, Hyde & St Philibert had long been close. By 1233 at least Roger de la Hyde was Aumary de Sulham’s Tenant for Hyde Manor in Purley (Berks) & in 1249 Hugh de St Philibert appears as Overlord of the De Sulham’s Manor of Carswell in Buckland (Berks). The Richard de la Hyde of 1279 held Adwell in Right of his wife Philippa, who was probably the daughter of John & Joan de Sulham. The young Hugh (III) de St. Philibert’s claim to Adwell must have come through his mother Euphemia, since it is known that he held Sulham as her Inheritance. She was the wife of Hugh (II) de St Philibert, and almost certainly John de Sulham’s daughter & the great-granddaughter of Aumary & Euphemia. Thus John de Sulham’s successors in the ½-Knight’s Fee at Adwell were his grandson, who was his Heir & his Son-in-law.
The Manor was still divided in 1300 between Richard de la Hyde & Hugh de St Philibert. Hugh having fought in the French & Gascon Wars died in 1304 and was succeeded by his son John, a Minor, who came of age in 1314. In 1317 John was granted Free Warren at Adwell and in his many other Manors: he died in 1333 leaving a child, another John, as his Heir. John (II) received Seisin of Adwell in 1348 when he was serving in France as a member of the Retinue of the Prince of Wales. He was later Knighted and made Mayor of Bordeaux. Before his death in 1358 he disposed of the bulk of his Inheritance, including Adwell which he apparently Sold in 1349 with the Advowson to Edmund Bereford, Clerk, Lord of Rush Court Manor in Clapcot (Berks) & son of the Judge Sir William Bereford. Sir Edmund died in 1354, leaving his 3-Sisters as co-Heiresses to the Family Estates. Joan had married Sir Gilbert de Elsfield, Margaret was the wife of Sir James de Audley & Agnes of Sir John Mautravers. Adwell was apparently divided equally between the 3-Heiresses for in 1358 the Mautraverses were in possession of a 3rd. By 1359 all 3-sisters had Granted their portions of Adwell to Feoffees and the Manor had been conveyed to John Motte, who was probably acting, as was his Custom, for John James of Wallingford.
James was a rising man who is known to have been accumulating Land in the neighbourhood since 1350. He was perhaps Steward to Joan, Princess of Wales, & was Burgess for Wallingford in several Parliaments between 1363 & 1376. The 1st definite evidence, however, for his connection with Adwell occurs in 1372 when he Presented to the Church. In 1378 James Settled Adwell & other Lands on himself, his wife Christine & his son Robert. He died in 1396 and in the same year his Widow & son Robert took Possession of the Manor. Robert James by his marriage with Katherine, daughter of Edmund de la Pole & a considerable Heiress, had greatly added to his Oxon Estates. In 1397 he Settled on his wife his own half of Adwell Manor & the reversion of the other half on the death of his mother Christine. In 1429 another Settlement was made, this time on Robert James’s daughter Christine & her husband Edmund Rede, son of the Lawyer John Rede of Checkendon & their Heirs. Robert James died in 1432 & Christine, her husband having died in 1430, obtained Sole Possession. On her death in 1435, her son Edmund succeeded.
Edmund had been a Minor when his father Edmund Rede died, but he came of age in 1434 & married Agnes, daughter of John Cottesmore, the Lord Chief Justice. In 1440 the young Rede’s parted with Adwell to Richard Marmion of Checkendon & it remained in his Family for the next 150-yrs. Marmion was alive in 1455 but his son John Marmion of Stoke Marmion had succeeded by 1466 and was still alive in 1478. William Marmion was in Possession in 1494 & in 1504 William Marmion of Easton (Glos), who in 1513 Settled Adwell on himself & his wife Isabel. William died in 1530, leaving a son Anthony Marmion as his Heir. Before his death in 1549 Anthony made 3-successive Dispositions of Adwell, which resulted in many Legal Disputes between the various Beneficiaries. In 1553 Anthony’s younger son Arthur Marmion, then an Apprentice to a London Alderman, agreed to Settle the Manor on his Elder brother John for Life, but in 1564 Arthur and his sister Elizabeth, the wife of John Parker, were disputing John’s Right; the Court decided that Anthony Marmion should Hold the Manor until Parker & Arthur Marmion could show a better Title. In the meantime John Marmion, who was heavily indebted to Nicholas Betham, a Roman Catholic Gentleman of Long Crendon (Bucks), Sold the Manor to him but retained for himself a Lease of the Mansion House, Water-Mill, & Demesne Lands. Before his death in 1557 Betham Settled Adwell on himself & his wife Sybil with remainder to their son Christopher. Although the Settlement seems to have been Disputed by Edward Betham, Nicholas’s Heir, Christopher had acquired Possession by 1566. He married Margaret, the daughter of Edmund Symeon of Pyrton, a neighbouring Roman Catholic Squire and in 1580 & 1581 Betham and his wife Sold the Manor & Advowson for £1,500 to John Franklin, a Gentleman of Canons (Middx), who already had a Lease of both. In 1591 John Rolles and his wife Dorothy, daughter of Anthony Marmion, who claimed to have a Lease of the Manor, Sold their Rights to Franklin.
John Franklin’s brother Richard succeeded to the Manor in 1597 & was followed in 1615 by his son Sir John, sometime MP for Middx. On Sir John’s death in 1647 his Widow, Dame Elizabeth, who lived at Willesden (Middx), had Adwell as her Dower. In 1658 by Agreement with her son Sir Richard Franklin of Moor Park (Herts), Son & Heir of Sir John Franklin & her son George Franklin, Merchant of London, she Sold the Manor & Advowson for £5,000 to Henry Franklin of Bledlow (Bucks). Henry Franklin had married Anne, the daughter of Christopher Newell of Pophley’s Manor in Stokenchurch (City Road, Radnage), a Family of ‘long continuance‘. Pophleys, a 16thC Red-Brick Farmhouse Built on the Site of a former Convent.
Newell, a Yeoman Farmer, already had a connection with Adwell for he had purchased Lands there before 1668. The Franklins so far had never lived at Adwell and at the time of the Sale Daniel Ballowe was Leasing the Manor-House & Farm (c.351 acres). The heirs of Henry Franklin (d.1663) were his 3 daughters Anne, Mary & Frances. Mary was the wife of Francis Carter, a Yeoman of South Weston, and Frances of William Newell of Pophleys. In 1680 Anne Franklin & Mary Carter sold their 2/3rds share in Adwell to the Newells for £1,400. William was dead by 1698, having devised the Manor to his 2nd son William, a High Sheriff of Oxfordshire & a man of some Wealth. By his Will (Proved 1729) Adwell went to the eldest of his 5-children the Rev William Newell, Rector of Adwell & Ickford (Bucks). This William Newell (d.1747) left Adwell and other Lands to his wife Esther for life, with remainder to her daughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth Newell was in possession by 1785 and 2-yrs later she married James Jones of Stadhampton. It is possible that the Newells had made their money in the Service of the East India Company, for Elizabeth Jones had an Indian Servant – Hyder Ally – to whom she left a Legacy. She outlived her husband & on her death in 1818 all her Property passed by Will (dated 1806) to her friend Frances Webb of Stoke Bishop (Glos). Elizabeth Jones had left instructions in her Will that Miss Webb should leave the whole Property to one Person who should take the name of Newell. Frances Webb accordingly left Adwell & Radnage to a relation, John W Birch, Clerk Assistant to the House of Lords & he took the name of Newell Birch. On his death the Manor passed to his nephew Henry Birch Reynardson, son of General Birch Reynardson, formerly Thomas Birch, who was related to the Newells and who took the name of his Wife’s Family in 1812. From Henry Birch Reynardson (d.1884) the Manor passed to his son W J Birch Reynardson and then to his grandson Lt-Col H T Birch Reynardson, CMG, who was Lord of the Manor until 1959. All these 3 Birch Reynardsons held the Office of High Sheriff of Oxfordshire.
‘Sheet 047’, in OS Map of Oxfordshire 1882-1887
Oxfordshire Way – Adwell to Model Farm Lewknor – 2.3 miles, pdf format
Oxfordshire Way Map 35
Tetsworth to Pyrton 3 (Model Farm to Pyrton)
Adwell Baptisms 1539 to 1969, Marriages 1540 to 1966, Burials 1539 to 1974
Reproduced from VCH Oxfordshire, available Online at www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/oxon/
Aston Rowant & Chilterns Spring Line Villages 