Stadhampton, a Parish in the District of Abingdon & County of Oxford; on the River Thame, 5-miles East by North of Culham Station & 6-miles North of Wallingford. It had a Post-Office under Wallingford. Real property, £1,537. Population-329, Houses-75. The Living is a Curacy annexed to Chiselhampton. The Church is good; & there was a Baptist Chapel & a Free School. Dean Owen, Chaplain to Cromwell, was a native.
The Ancient Parish comprised 623-acres. In 1932 Stadhampton was enlarged to 2,426-acres for Civil purposes by the addition of Chislehampton & Ascott, formerly in Great Milton Parish & Brookhampton, formerly in Newington Parish & the Hundred of Ewelme.
The Northern Boundary of the Ancient Parish of Stadhampton followed Haseley Brook from Hangman’s Bridge to its confluence with the Thame; the Western Boundary followed the Thame, the Southern Cuxham Brook, which joins the Thame near Chislehampton Bridge. To the East there is no prominent natural feature and the old Boundary followed the Milton-Thame Road Southwards from Hangman’s Bridge & then with many indentations, dictated by the Field Boundaries, ran South to Cuxham Brook.
There are Meadows to the North & South along the Courses of the Brooks & by the River Thame on the West, where the Land is liable to Floods. The Farm Land lies, as it must always have done, to the North & East of the Village. There is no Woodland & comparatively few trees, although in the mid-16thC the Parish had been far more thickly Wooded than Chislehampton & a Map of 1742 shows that there was plenty of Timber in the Hedges. The Parish is relatively flat, being mostly below the 200-ft contour line. The greater part of it lies on Clay: Kimmeridge Clay in the Centre & South West, Gault in the South & East. There is a Gravel deposit in the South-west & a broad belt of Alluvium by the Thame with lesser deposits along the Haseley & Cuxham Brooks.
Since the 12thC the place has been called ‘Stodham‘ or ‘Stadham‘, which may mean ‘River Meadow where Horses are kept’. The ‘Ton’ is a later addition, perhaps influenced by the propinquity of Brookhampton & Chislehampton. The Village lies in the South-east corner of the Parish. The Church fronts the Green & the Farmhouses & Cottages are spaced round it at widely separated intervals & along the Road to Oxford. The Hearth Tax returns of 1665 show that in the 17thC there were a number of fair-sized Houses: 6 with 5 or more Hearths & 5 with either 2 or 3-Hearths. The largest with 8-Hearths was occupied by Timothy Doyley, one of the Chief Landowners, but he had been obliged in 1657 to transfer the Ownership with other Property to his son Robert, who undertook to pay his Debts. John Owen, a noted Divine & friend of the Doyleys, had the next largest House. When he was Ejected in 1659 from the Deanery of Christ Church he bought an Estate at Stadhampton, his birth-place, and retreated to a ‘fair Dwelling House’ there. A Map of 1742 gives an exact Picture of the Village some 80-yrs later. It was made for William Ives, a Gentleman & an Oxford Mercer & shows his substantial House & some 6 others, besides Cottages bordering the Green or lining the Lanes leading from it. It shows too that the layout of the Ancient Village was essentially as it is today. In the Middle was the ‘Towne Greensworde‘, as it was termed in 1619 & which in later times at least amounted to 15-acres. At the end of the 18thC, in 1781 & 1795, it was being let by the Overseers for a Rent of £28 & £30 respectively. On it were probably the Stocks & the Pound mentioned in 1798/99, when Richard Hood was appointed Hayward to Pound the Cattle on Stadhampton Green & Copsen Lane. The Green was reached from the South by the Road from Brookhampton & Chislehampton; Milton Lane, which was Hedged, led off from the North-west corner & the Chalgrove Road, also Hedged, from the East. The Brookhampton/Milton Road between 1770 & 1875 formed part of the Turnpike which ran from Aylesbury to the Oxford Road near Shillingford. One of these, Cat Lane by the Manor-House, is mentioned in the 13thC; it or another ‘Common Footpath’ was Ploughed up about 1300, a Trespass for which the Village was fined 12d & a further 6s-8d for concealment. Another, Cobstone (or Copsen) Lane, served the Fields in the North of the Parish. In 1798/99 more than 6s was expended from Parish Funds on the repair of its Gate & Railings. On the South, Mill Lane led down to Cuxham Brook and to the Mill, while another Lane served ‘the Homes’, a Row of Cottages & their Gardens which in 1786 formed part of Robert Peers’ Chislehampton Estate.
During the latter half of the 18thC there was an increase in the number of houses: by 1811 there were 44. Two of the new Cottages still stand near the Church: one is of Chequer Brick and has a Stone inscribed 1755 & the other, Vine Cottage, is of rubble Stone, has dentilled eaves & late-18thC Gothic windows. Further expansion took place in the 1st-half of the 19thC & there were 78 dwellings in 1851. Many of these were in School Lane as well as in the Main Street; some were constructed of Brick, others of Stucco & most of the Cottages were of rubble. The Kennels of the South Oxfordshire Hunt were built in 1884 at the North-east end of the Green. In the 20thC there was another period of Building activity & a Council Housing Estate of 16-houses now lies between the River & the old Main Street of the Village, where a Petrol Station has superseded the Smithy. Although there had been some recent Demolition of the older houses, notably of some 16thC Cottages, a number of Ancient Buildings dating from a variety of Periods, still remained in 1958. Among them is Doyley’s early-17thC Farmhouse to the North of the Green.
It is a Stone building of 2-Storeys. It has flanking Chimneys with diagonal Shafts & 3-Gabled Dormer windows. The Front has been partly modernised in the 19thC, but the Gabled back of the House has been little altered. At the East end of the Green & approached by a Lime Avenue is the 17thC Farmhouse, now called a Manor-house.
Farmhouse. Early-17thC, remodelled mid/late 19thC. Limestone rubble with Ashlar Dressings & Timber-framing with Plaster & Brick infill; old Plain-tile Roof with Brick Gable Stacks. L-plan. 2-Storeys plus Attics. Symmetrical 3-window rubble front, with chamfered Plinth, has a central Gabled Ashlar Porch sheltering a 17thC Doorway with a 4-centred arched ovolo-moulded surround, recessed spandrels & a 19thC ribbed Door. Outer Bays have 3-light 19thC Stone-mullioned windows & there is a matching 2-light window over the Porch. Roof has 3-Gabled 19thC Roof Dormers. End Walls are of rubble with remains of Timber-framing at 1st-Floor & have massive Brick Chimney projections, each tapering to 2-diagonal Shafts.
Rear Wing, returning to left, has 1st-Floor Timber-framing with heavy diagonal Braces to the lower panels & is contemporary with the front Range.
Interior: not inspected but likely to be of interest.
Front probably also had 1st-Floor framing.
Occupied by Timothy D’Oyley before 1657.
It is built of rubble with Ashlar quoins & was originally rectangular. It retains some of its original Mullioned windows; its 3-Hipped Dormer windows have 18thC Casements; over the panelled Doorway there is a later Hood of moulded wood supported by Scroll Brackets. The House next to the Manor – Stone with Brick dressings. The front was Stuccoed in the late-18th or early-19thC. An early-19thC Farmhouse near the Church & the early-19thC Vicarage are the only other substantial Houses left on the Green.
Vicarage, now House. Probably early-17thC, remodelled & extended early 19thC. Roughcast walls; Welsh-slate Roof with rendered Stacks. Double-depth plan. 2-Storeys & 3-Storeys. 3-window Front has, to right, a wide Gabled projecting Bay with 2-12-pane Sashes, that at Ground-Floor in a rectangular recess. Earlier Bays have, to left, 3-Floors with 16-pane Sashes plus, in the angle, a further Sash above a Stone Doric Porch sheltering a Sash Door with margin lights & a rectangular Overlight. 19thC Garden front, returning to right, has shallow rectangular recesses flanking an Arched recess, plus a central Gable, but has 12-pane Sashes only to the Outer Bays. Shallow-pitched Roof has wide boxed Eaves & Ridge Stacks, that over the earlier Range with 5-Shafts. To left of front is a low Lean-to Service Range.
Interior: early-19thC cornices, Fireplaces & Stair; stop-chamfered Beams & Joists, massive central Stack & fragments of Timber-framing in earlier Range. Early-19thC Cast-iron reeded Column Pump, with Domed Cover, against front wall of Service Range.
Garden Pavilion, now House. 17thC, extended 19th & 20thC. Limestone rubble with Ashlar Dressings; plain-tile Roof. Square Plan, extended to L-plan. 2-Storeys. Pavilion has, at 1st-Floor on 3-sides, Large 2-light Stone-mullioned windows with ovolo mouldings & Labels; remaining Openings & those in the 2-window 19thC Range to South and its 20thC extension to West, have Brick Dressings & Segmental Arches. Pavilion Roof is Pyramidal.
Interior: not inspected. Part of the former Formal Gardens of Ascott Park.
(Ascott Park is included in the HBMC County Register of Gardens at Grade II; VCH: Oxfordshire, Vol VII, p.121; Buildings of England: Oxon, p.776; F. Woodward: Oxon Parks, 1982).
Ash Cottage: Pair of Cottages, now one House. Early-18thC. Extended 20thC. Limestone rubble with some Brick dressings; possibly some Timber-Framing; Thatch Roof with Brick Stacks. 2-single-unit Plans. 1-Storey plus Attics. 2-window Front has, to right, Plank Door & 3-light Casement, both with segmental Brick Arches & to left 20thC Casement. At 1st-Floor are 2–Dormers under swept Eaves. Roof has Stacks to centre & right Gable Wall. Upper part of rear Wall (above extension) is Weatherboarded & is probably Timber-framed. Left Gable Wall is also Weatherboarded and was formerly a Party Wall.
Interior not inspected. Formerly a Row of 3-Cottages.
There are a number of picturesque Cottages of the 17th & 18thCs. They are mostly built of rubble, although some are of colour-washed Stucco. Timber-framing remains in the Gable ends of a few; the infilling is mainly of Brick, but some wattle & daub survives. Some Thatched & Stone-tiled Roofs are also to be seen. A group of Cottages of this date was pulled down in 1957 to make way for a new Road to the Council Houses. The present Village Hall, close by the Church, is an Ancient Stone Building that may once have been a Barn.
In Council House Lane there are other 17thC Dwellings: one, an L-shaped Building, is now 4-Cottages; it is Timber-framed on a rubble Base & has Brick or wattle & daub infilling: the steeply pitched Roof is Thatched. On the Main Street there is the 17thC Bakehouse. It is built of coursed Stone, bears the date 1658 & is Thatched. It was used as a Bakery until about 1914.
The ‘Black Horse‘ is dated FG 1751: it is built of rubble, has Brick quoins & dressings and Brick Dentil Eaves. This House may once have been called the ‘Wheatsheaf‘, for an Inn of that name was recorded in 1831.
The ‘Crown‘, another of Stadhampton’s Inns, was Licensed in 1825 & remains a Public House.
National events impinged on the Parish in the 17thC. During the Civil War Troops often passed through Stadhampton on account of its nearness to Chislehampton Bridge. Prince Rupert rode through on his way to Tetsworth in June 1643 & returned by the same Route after his Victory at Chalgrove.
Aston Rowant & Chilterns Spring Line Villages 