Kennington, Oxfordshire

Kennington is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire, just south of Oxford. The village occupies a narrow stretch of land between the River Thames and the A34 dual carriageway. It was in Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.

For other places with the same name, see Kennington.

Kennington

Present (right) and former (left) St Swithun's parish churches
Kennington
Location within Oxfordshire
Population4,076 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid referenceSP5202
Civil parish
  • Kennington
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townOxford
Postcode districtOX1
Dialling code01865
PoliceThames Valley
FireOxfordshire
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament
  • Oxford West and Abingdon
WebsiteKennington Online

Overview

Kennington was partly in South Hinksey parish and partly in Radley parish until 1936, when a new Kennington civil parish was constituted. Apart from the village, most of Kennington civil parish is wooded, including all of Bagley Wood and West Wood to the west of the village.

Manor house

The manor house is Jacobean, built in 1629 during the Great Rebuilding of England.[2] It is half-timbered, i.e. its upper storey is timber-framed but its lower storey is not. In this case the lower storey is of local limestone.[2]

Parish churches
St Swithun's former parish church, built 1828.

The Church of England parish of St Swithun has two churches. The first is a very early example of the Norman revival, designed by the architect Daniel Robertson and built in 1828.[3] The second was built alongside it in 1956-58, designed by a local architect, T. Lawrence Dale, and the vicar, Rev. S.S. Davies.[3] The 1828 building is now deconsecrated.

The present St Swithun's parish church, completed 1958.

Amenities

Kennington has a public house, The Tandem. The village has a health centre, two shops, a post office and a pharmacist.

There are two sports fields: Playfield Road and Forestside

Education

The local primary school is St Swithun's Church of England School. The village is in the catchment area for Matthew Arnold secondary school. Matthew Arnold School is not located in the village but a bus service is provided. Chandlings School, an independent co-educational preparatory school, is nearby.

Building developments

Over the last few years there has been a great increase in residential building development in the village. The developments are all large houses with large gardens which have been turned into flats. The two exceptions are the new houses at the site of the former public house The Scholar Gypsy (named after the local poet, Matthew Arnold) and flats on the site of the former Kennington Service Station. Recent developments include Strode Court, and Chestnut Place on Kennington Road, to the north of the village. A new development has been completed at the site of Cranbrook House in the south of the village on The Avenue.

Local organisations

A brass band was set up in the village in 1973, originally named the Kennington (Oxford) Youth Band.[4] The Musical Director was Ron Sudworth. The band grew and developed and was soon entering and winning contests all across England. The word Youth was dropped from its name as the age of the members rose. It won the National 4th Section title at Pontins Holiday Camp in 1977 and progressed to the upper reaches of the National 2nd section by 1981. Although it has long since ceased participating in contests, the band is still very active. It practises each Sunday morning at the Youth Club and performs regularly throughout Oxfordshire and beyond.

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References
  1. "Area: Kennington CP (Parish): Parish Headcounts". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  2. Pevsner, 1966, page 160
  3. Pevsner, 1966, page 159
  4. Sudworth's History of Kennington (Oxford) Band.

Sources and further reading
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