Epwell is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the north of

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

about west of

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population's as 285. Epwell's

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

is believed to be derived from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''Eoppa's Well''.

Manor

In 1279 Robert Danvers held a

fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in contra ...

at Epwell. It was an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of the

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

of Dorchester until the 18th century, when it was transferred to the Hundred of Banbury.

Parish church

The

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

Saint Anne According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...

was originally Early English. Several of the present windows are

Decorated Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...

and were added later. Next the

Perpendicular Gothic Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-c ...

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

was added. Two windows on the north side of the church were added late in the 16th century. The church is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. St Anne's parish is a member of the

Benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

of Wykeham, along with the parishes of Broughton,

Shutford Shutford is a village and civil parish about west of Banbury in Oxfordshire. The village is about above sea level. In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Shutford like this: :"SHUTFORD, a chapelry ...

Sibford Gower Sibford Gower is a village and civil parish about west of Banbury in Oxfordshire, on the north side of the Sib valley, opposite Sibford Ferris. Sibford Gower parish includes the village of Burdrop. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's popula ...

Swalcliffe Swalcliffe is a village and civil parish about west of Banbury in Oxfordshire. The parish is about long north–south and about east–west. The 2011 Census recorded the population of the modern Swalcliffe parish as 210. The toponym "Swalc ...

and

Tadmarton Tadmarton is a village and civil parish about west of Banbury, Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 541, which is a 26% increase on the figure of 430 recorded by the 2001 Census. Manor The manor house has a 15th- ...

Mills

Epwell had a

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

and a

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

. The watermill building survives: it is just east of the village and was built early in the 18th century. The windmill was a

tower mill A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden 'cap' or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.Medieval science, technology, and medicine: an encyclopedia (2005), 520 Thi ...

northwest of the village. It was built of stone, had

patent sails Windmills are powered by their sails. Sails are found in different designs, from primitive common sails to the advanced patent sails. Jib sails The jib sail is found in Mediterranean countries and consists of a simple triangle of cloth wound rou ...

and a domed cap, and last worked in 1912.

Amenities

The Chandler's Arms

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

was built late in the 17th century and extended in the 19th century. The pub was controlled by the

Hook Norton Brewery Hook Norton Brewery is a regional brewery in Hook Norton, Oxfordshire, England, several miles outside the Cotswold Hills. Founded in 1849, the brewing plant is a traditional Victorian 'tower' brewery in which all the stages of the brewing pr ...

, but by January 2013 its

freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple *Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England *Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice p ...

was offered for sale. It is now a free house. Epwell had a parish school. It is now the

village hall A village hall is a public building in a village used for various things such as: United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building which contains at least one large room (plus kitchen and toilets), is owned by a local ...

References

Sources and further reading

* * * * *

External links

Epwell Oxfordshire
Civil parishes in Oxfordshire Villages in Oxfordshire {{Oxfordshire-geo-stub