East Challow

East Challow is a village and civil parish about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. Historically it was part of the ecclesiastical parish of Letcombe Regis, but since 1852 East and West Challow have formed their own single ecclesiastical parish.[2] East Challow was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire.

East Challow
St Nicholas' parish church
East Challow Location within Oxfordshire
Population	769 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid reference	SU3888
Civil parish	East Challow
District	Vale of White Horse
Shire county	Oxfordshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Wantage
Postcode district	OX12
Dialling code	01235
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Oxfordshire
Ambulance	South Central
UK Parliament	Wantage

Toponym

Challow's toponym was Ceueslaue in the time of the Domesday Book in 1086.[2] 13th century variants included Chaulea, Chaulauhe, Chawelawe and Shawelawe.[2]

Church and mission

Church of England

The Church of England parish church of St Nicolas was a-12th century Norman building, but the font and some masonry of the nave are now almost the only original features that survive.[2] In the 13th century the chancel and chancel arch were rebuilt and the bell-cot and three-bay north aisle was added.[3] The Decorated Gothic south chapel was added early in the 14th century.[3]

The communion table was made in the 17th century.[2] In the 18th century the aisle was rebuilt in brick and a porch was added over a 12th-century doorway.[2] In 1858 St. Nicolas' was drastically restored,[3] with the aisle and west front being rebuilt and the nave re-roofed.[2] The rebuilding of the west front removed a 12th-century west doorway and a 15th-century west window above it.[2] In 1884 the west tower was added at the west end of the aisle.[2][3] The oak rood screen was added in 1905.[2] The church is a Grade II* listed building.[4]

St. Nicolas' has two bells.[2] They are not dated, but the smaller was cast by Robert Wells of Aldbourne, Wiltshire,[2] which makes it very likely to be 18th-century.

The Mission

The Mission

The Mission is a Free Church that was built in 1904.[5]

Amenities

East Challow has a public house, the Goodlake Arms, that was once controlled by Morland Brewery. Vicarage Hill, the village cricket ground, hosts some home matches of Oxfordshire County Cricket Club.[6]

References

1. "Area: East Challow (Parish): Usual Resident Population, 2011 (KS101EW)". Neighbourhood Statistics: Full Dataset View. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
2. Page & Ditchfield 1924, pp. 222–228
3. Pevsner 1966, p. 131
4. Historic England. "Church of St Nicholas  (Grade II*) (1048593)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
5. "Home". The Mission, East Challow. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
6. "Ground profile: Vicarage Hill, East Challow". CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 January 2013.

Sources

• Page, W.H.; Ditchfield, P.H., eds. (1924). A History of the County of Berkshire, Volume 4. Victoria County History. pp. 478–485.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966). Berkshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 131.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)