Nethercote is a
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
on the edge of north
Oxfordshire, a semi-rural area bordering with
West Northamptonshire
West Northamptonshire is a unitary authority area covering part of the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, created in 2021. By far the largest settlement in West Northamptonshire is the county town of Northampton. Its other signific ...
. The hamlet sits South East of J11 of M40, lying South of the A422 and East of the
M40. Predominantly agricultural land used for grazing, a single-track road runs right through the hamlet, known as Banbury Lane, which has around a dozen residential properties along the lane. Banbury Lane is still often referred to as Blacklocks Hill and this refers to the history of the area and a time when this area saw a main route into
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 Oxfordshir ...
, before the
M40 and A422. In 1870-72 it had a population of 97.
History
The name Nethercote is thought to have derived from the proximity to Warkworth. The word Nethercote is derived from the Middle English words “nether(e)” meaning “lower” and “cot” meaning cottage.
Until 1889, Nethercote, along with the nearby then hamlet of
Grimsbury
Grimsbury is a largely residential area forming the eastern part of Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. It is east of the River Cherwell, the Oxford Canal and the Cherwell Valley Line railway.
History
Grimsbury was first settled in the 6th centu ...
were considered to be part of
Warkworth in
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
, although they were both part of the
Banbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Banbury, also informally known as Banbury and North Oxfordshire, is a constituency in Oxfordshire created in 1553 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Victoria Prentis of the Conservative Party. She current ...
since 1832. At that time, a further hamlet of Huscote lay North of Nethercote however today there only remains a farm in that area. There are 35
tree preservation order
A tree preservation order (TPO) is a part of town and country planning in the United Kingdom. A TPO is made by a local planning authority (usually a local council) to protect specific trees or a particular area, group or woodland from deliberate d ...
s on
Huscote, Banbury Farm today
An
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 acr ...
of farming prevailed in Warkworth until the 18th century. Its land tenure was linked with that of
Overthorpe and Nethercote, which at that time was part of
Middleton Cheney
Middleton Cheney is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The village is about east of Banbury in Oxfordshire and about west-northwest of Brackley. The A422 road between Banbury and Brackley used to pass through Middle ...
parish.
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
passed a single
Inclosure Act
The Inclosure Acts, which use an archaic spelling of the word now usually spelt "enclosure", cover enclosure of open fields and common land in England and Wales, creating legal property rights to land previously held in common. Between 1604 and 1 ...
for both Overthorpe and Warkworth in 1764. Today only Nethercote has
ridge and furrow
Ridge and furrow is an archaeological pattern of ridges (Medieval Latin: ''sliones'') and troughs created by a system of ploughing used in Europe during the Middle Ages, typical of the open-field system. It is also known as rig (or rigg) and f ...
land form remaining from these times
Throughout the Middle Ages until the mid-eighteenth century, Nethercote along with the original hamlet of
Grimsbury
Grimsbury is a largely residential area forming the eastern part of Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. It is east of the River Cherwell, the Oxford Canal and the Cherwell Valley Line railway.
History
Grimsbury was first settled in the 6th centu ...
and to some extent
Huscote, Banbury was the centre 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 Oxfordshir ...
's cheese making trade, a product that was made from local resources and much prized at the time, although there is little mention of it by the nineteenth century.
Klaus Fuchs is said to have handed over the secret formula of the atom bomb to a Russian spy on a bench in Nethercote in 1945.
Heritage
Home Farmhouse in Nethercote 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 ...
.
There are currently seven
Tree preservation order
A tree preservation order (TPO) is a part of town and country planning in the United Kingdom. A TPO is made by a local planning authority (usually a local council) to protect specific trees or a particular area, group or woodland from deliberate d ...
s made on trees in Nethercote
Recreation and Access To Green Space
As well as Banbury Lane itself, there are numerous
public footpaths running through Nethercote.
Road Traffic Orders
In 2004,
Thames Valley Police
Thames Valley Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the Thames Valley, covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
It the largest non-metropolitan police force in England and Wales, coverin ...
raised a road traffic order, thus preventing vehicular access to the hamlet from the A422
See also
*
History of Banbury
Banbury is a circa 1,500-year-old market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire, England. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the co ...
*
Banbury cheese
*
Huscote, Banbury
References
{{reflist
Hamlets in Oxfordshire
Banbury