Hornton is a village and civil parish about northwest of Banbury in

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 ...

Churches

The oldest parts of 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 ...

of Saint John the Baptist are the nave and the arcade of the north aisle, both of which were built late in the 12th century. They are in the transitional style between

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

and Early English. In the 13th century the nave and north aisle were extended westwards by the addition of a fourth

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

. In the 14th century a

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

and a two-bay south aisle were added to the nave and most of the doors and windows were remodelled. Also in the 14th century the interior was decorated with wall paintings including a Pietà, a Saint George and a Doom. The

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 built around 1400 and the present

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 ...

east window of the chancel was added in the 15th century. Many of the wall paintings were painted over with limewash after the English Civil War. The tower has a

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

of five bells, all cast by Henry III Bagley of Chacombe in 1741. They are currently unringable because the fourth bell is cracked. St. John's is now one of eight ecclesiastical parishes in the Ironstone

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 ...

. Non-conformist groups in Hornton included

Baptists Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

in the 17th century and Quakers in the 17th and 18th centuries. Hornton had a

Primitive Methodist The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834). In the United States, the Primiti ...

congregation by 1836, which had built its own chapel by 1842. Hornton's present

Methodist church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

was built in 1884.

Social and economic history

Many of Hornton's houses and cottages date from the

Great Rebuilding A Great Rebuilding is a period in which a heightened level of construction work, architectural change, or rebuilding occurred. More specifically, W. G. Hoskins defined the term "The Great Rebuilding" in England as the period from the mid-16th cent ...

of England (about 1580–1640). Characteristically they are built of local Hornton ironstone and have thatched roofs. They include the manor house, whose date stone records that it was built in 1607. The

open field system The open-field system was the prevalent agricultural system in much of Europe during the Middle Ages and lasted into the 20th century in Russia, Iran, and Turkey. Each manor or village had two or three large fields, usually several hundred acre ...

of farming predominated in the parish until the common lands were enclosed in 1766. The enclosure included allocating some land from which the rent would maintain a schoolmaster for the village. A legal dispute with the occupier prevented the parish from obtaining this income until 1800, but by 1815 the village had a free school teaching more than 50 children. In 1833 this was superseded by the building of a new National School for the village. In 1882 the school was enlarged and became a

Church of England school A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures. In some countr ...

, but in 1912 it was burnt down. A new County Council elementary school was opened in 1914. In 1783 the village had two public houses: the Red Lion and the Crown. These were joined by the Buck by 1786 and the Bull by 1806. The only pub currently trading is the Dun Cow. The village was struck by an F0/T1 tornado on 23 November 1981, as part of the record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak on that day.

Amenities

The school continues to serve the village as Hornton Primary School. The Red Lion is now called the Dun Cow. There is a Hornton and District Women's Institute. Hornton United Football Club plays in Banbury District and Lord Jersey Football Association Premier Division.Banbury District and Lord Jersey Football Association
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Churches

Social and economic history

Amenities

References

Sources

External links