Northmoor, Oxfordshire

Northmoor is a village and civil parish in West Oxfordshire, about 6 miles (10 km) west of Oxford and almost the same distance southeast of Witney. Northmoor is in the valley of the River Thames, which bounds the parish to the east and south, and is close to the River Windrush which forms part of the parish's western boundary. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 377.[1]

Northmoor

St Denys' parish church
Northmoor
Location within Oxfordshire
Population377 (2011 Census)
OS grid referenceSP4202
Civil parish
  • Northmoor
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townWitney
Postcode districtOX29
Dialling code01865
PoliceThames Valley
FireOxfordshire
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament
WebsiteNorthmoor Parish Council and Community

Toponym

In the 11th century the toponym was simply More or Moor, meaning "marsh". The prefix North was added by the 13th century, distinguishing the village from Southmoor, then in Berkshire, on the other side of the Thames.[2]

Parish church
Early English piscina (left) and sedilia in the chancel of St Denys' parish church

In 1059 King Edward the Confessor granted land at Northmoor to St Denis Abbey in Paris.[3] Northmoor was made a separate parish in the 12th century, and the parish church of Saint Denys was then built.[4] Nothing survives of this original building except the font, which is Norman.[5]

The earliest part of the present Church of England parish church on the same site[6] is the Early English Gothic chancel, which was built in the 13th century.[5] The chancel's east window is a set of three lancets and it has another lancet in its south wall.[5] The present nave and north and south transepts were built early in the 14th century.[5] The bell tower over the west bay of the nave was added in the 15th century.[5] The tower has a ring of six bells. Abraham I Rudhall of Gloucester cast the fifth bell in 1714, and Thomas Rudhall cast all the others in 1764.[7]

The Gothic Revival architect C.C. Rolfe carried out a sensitive restoration of building in 1887.[4] St Denys' is now a Grade I listed building.[8]

Economic and social history
Timber-framed granary at Rectory Farm

Rectory Farm was built in the 16th century, and a date-stone over the entrance records alterations in 1629.[9] The farm has also a half-timbered granary on stone stooks and a timber-framed dovecote, both from the 16th or 17th centuries.[9] The granary was extended in the 18th century and is a Grade II* listed building.[10]

There used to be a flash lock on the Thames on the southern edge of the parish at Hart's Weir, also known as Ridge's Weir. In 1879 Hart's Weir Footbridge was built at the site, and in 1896 the weir and flash lock were replaced with a pound lock, Northmoor Lock, southeast of the village.

Northmoor used to have two pubs. One, the Dun Cow, ceased trading in 1991.[11]

The remaining pub is the Red Lion. In January 2014 Greene King Brewery offered it for sale, which could have led to its closure and redevelopment as private housing, with up to 12 homes built on its land.[12] Instead villagers led by the Parish Council chairman bought the pub and turned it into a free house.[13] The Red Lion is now one of several Oxfordshire pubs in community ownership.[14]

There is a proposal to excavate 200 acres (81 ha) of Northmoor parish for gravel extraction.[15]

Amenities
The Red Lion public house

As well as the Red Lion pub,[16] Northmoor has a village hall.

The nearest village store and post office are 1.5 miles (2.4 km) away in Standlake. Oxfordshire County Council bus route 18 gives Northmoor a link every two hours with Oxford, Eynsham, Stanton Harcourt, Aston and Bampton. The current contractor operating the route is Stagecoach in Oxfordshire. There is no evening, Sunday or Bank Holiday service.[17]

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References
Norman baptismal font in St Denys' parish church
  1. "Area: Northmoor (Parish): Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  2. Crossley & Currie 1996, pp. 150–156.
  3. Crossley & Currie 1996, pp. 156–158.
  4. Crossley & Currie 1996, pp. 166–70.
  5. Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, p. 722.
  6. "Northmoor". Oxfordshire Churches & Chapels. Archived from the original on 1 December 2009.
  7. Davies, Peter (14 December 2006). "Northmoor S Denys". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Central Council of Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  8. Historic England. "Church of St Denys  (Grade I) (1048936)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  9. Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, p. 723.
  10. Historic England. "Rectory Farm, barn approximaterly 60 metres north north east of farmhouse  (Grade II*) (1048940)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  11. Gray, Christopher (7 August 2014). "The Red Lion is a roaring success". Oxford Mail. Newsquest. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  12. Richardson, Dave (22 October 2014). "Red Lion roars again at heart of community in Northmoor". Oxford Mail. Newsquest. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  13. Robinson, Dan (1 May 2014). "Top restaurant talents take charge at community's pub". Oxford Mail. Newsquest. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  14. Hughes, Pete (7 April 2015). "Villagers in Oxfordshire club together to save their pubs". Oxford Mail. Newsquest. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  15. Stonehenge Farm
  16. Red Lion at Northmoor
  17. "18 Oxford – Bampton". Stagecoach in Oxfordshire. 8 October 2012. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.

Sources
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