Kencot is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

about south-west of Carterton in West Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 101.

Archaeology

A Neolithic stone

hand axe A hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a prehistoric stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history, yet there is no academic consensus on what they were used for. It is made from stone, usually flint or che ...

was found at Kencot. Petrological analysis in 1940 identified the stone as epidotised

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...

from

Stake Pass Hill passes of the Lake District were originally used by people in one valley travelling to another nearby without having to go many miles around a steep ridge of intervening hills. Historically, in the Lake District of northwest England, trave ...

in the Lake District, to the north. Stone axes from the same source have been found at

Alvescot Alvescot is a village and civil parish about south of Carterton, Oxfordshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 472. Archaeology A Neolithic stone hand axe was found at Alvescot. Petrological analysis in 1940 ...

, Abingdon, Sutton Courtenay and Minster Lovell.

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 George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

is Norman. Features from this period include the south doorway, whose tympanum contains a

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

Sagittarius Sagittarius ( ) may refer to: *Sagittarius (constellation) *Sagittarius (astrology), a sign of the Zodiac Ships *''SuperStar Sagittarius'', a cruise ship * USS ''Sagittarius'' (AKN-2), a World War II US Navy cargo ship Music *Sagittarius (ban ...

shooting a monster, and a former doorway in the north wall. The openings of the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

windows are 13th century but the windows themselves are modern. The ground stage of the bell tower was built in about 1300 and the present chancel arch was built early in the 14th century. High in the south wall of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

are two

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- ...

windows, and the late Perpendicular upper stages of the tower were completed in about 1500. St George's 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 Ire ...

. The parish is now part 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 Shill Valley and Broadshire.

Economic and social history

Red Rose Close was built in the 17th century, in 1650 according to its date-stone. Manor Farm house was built in the 17th century and altered in the 18th century. Kencot House is a house of seven bays built early in the 18th century. Much of the village is within a conservation area. As well as the church it has a number of other Grade II listed buildings and other structures (including the telephone kiosk and war memorial).

RAF Broadwell

RAF Broadwell was built in 1943 on land in the parish north of the village. The

airfield An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

was in service until 1947 and was used by

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

Transport Command RAF Transport Command was a Royal Air Force command that controlled all transport aircraft of the RAF. It was established on 25 March 1943 by the renaming of the RAF Ferry Command, and was subsequently renamed RAF Air Support Command in 19 ...

References

Sources and further reading

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External links

{{Authority control Civil parishes in Oxfordshire Villages in Oxfordshire