Albury, Oxfordshire

Albury is a village in the civil parish of Tiddington-with-Albury, about 5 miles (8 km) west of Thame in Oxfordshire.

Albury

St Helen's parish church from the south-east
Albury
Location within Oxfordshire
OS grid referenceSP6505
Civil parish
  • Tiddington-with-Albury
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townThame
Postcode districtOX9
Dialling code01844
PoliceThames Valley
FireOxfordshire
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament

Manor

Its toponym is derived from the Old English Aldeberie, meaning "old fortified place",[1] suggesting that the village's origins are Saxon.

After the Norman Conquest of England William the Conqueror granted the manor of Albury to William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford. When the 1st Earl was killed in battle in Flanders in 1071 his estates in England and Wales passed to his son Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford. In 1075 the 2nd Earl rebelled against William I, who suppressed the rebellion and confiscated the Earl's estates. It is not clear to whom the king granted Albury, or who held it until early in the 13th century when it belonged to William de Redvers, 5th Earl of Devon. It remained in his family until 1293, when his granddaughter Isabella de Fortibus, Countess of Devon died. Her estates were divided, and Albury passed to Warin de Lisle. It remained with de Lisle's heirs until 1368, when Robert de Lisle, 3rd Baron Lisle surrendered many manors including Albury to Richard II. Thereafter Albury had no feudal overlord.[1]

Parish church

Albury had a parish church by the beginning of the 13th century. It had a small nave and chancel, two Norman doorways and a 14th-century Decorated Gothic east window.[1] The church's dedicatee was Saint Helen. In 1828 the church was demolished and in 1830 a new St. Helen's was completed, designed by the Gothic Revival architect Thomas Rickman. The only feature that Rickman retained from the old church was the 12th-century font. The architect A. Mardon Mowbray restored the building in 1891.[2] By 1552 the old St. Helen's belfry had two bells. The new St. Helen's also has two, but these were cast in 1686 and the 18th century.[1]

Economic history

The parish was originally farmed in an open field system. Albury's common lands were enclosed in stages, and the process was complete by the 17th century.[1]

The Wycombe Railway extension from Thame to Oxford was completed and opened in 1864. A station was opened in the parish at Tiddington about 0.3 miles (480 m) west of Albury. British Railways closed the line and Tiddington railway station in 1963.

gollark: Feesh, I think, got an IOU for 72 ash/boreal hatchlings for an ND, which is on the same rarity level as a 2G prize, right?
gollark: I mean, you do have a CB prize, too.
gollark: You could try gathering rare CBs and then trading them for ash hatchlings.
gollark: Probably that.
gollark: Because other people like ashes?

References
St. Helen's parish church from the south-west
  1. Lobel 1957, pp. 8–14.
  2. Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, pp. 419–420.

Sources
  • Lobel, Mary D, ed. (1957). A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 5: Bullingdon hundred. Victoria County History. pp. 8–14.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). Oxfordshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 419–420. ISBN 0-14-071045-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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