Over Kiddington 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 ...

in the

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 authorit ...

of Kiddington with Asterleigh in Oxfordshire, England, about southeast of

Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the civil parish population as ...

. Over Kiddington is on the main road between

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

and Chipping Norton, which since the 1990s has been classified as part of the A44 trunk road (previously the A34). The hamlet is at the crossroads where the minor road to

Kiddington Kiddington is a village on the River Glyme in the civil parish of Kiddington with Asterleigh about southeast of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. The village is just north of the A44 road between Woodstock and Chipping Norton. Manor The toponym ...

village and

Ditchley Park Ditchley Park is a country house near Charlbury in Oxfordshire, England. The estate was once the site of a Roman villa. Later it became a royal hunting ground, and then the property of Sir Henry Lee of Ditchley. The 2nd Earl of Lichfield buil ...

house crosses the main road. The crossroads is overhung by a large cedar tree that is a notable landmark.

History

Over Kiddington has the base and shaft of a

preaching cross A preaching cross is a Christian cross sometimes surmounting a pulpit, which is erected outdoors to designate a preaching place. In Britain and Ireland, many free-standing upright crosses – or high crosses – were erected. Some of these c ...

that may have been erected in the 15th century. The Chequers is an L-shaped house that was built in the 17th century. It used to be a

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 wa ...

but is now a private home. Opposite the cross is Cross Cottage, a stone cottage built in the 18th century. Over Kiddington used to have a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

, but it is now closed.

References

Gallery

OverKiddington Cross.JPG, Late medieval preaching cross OverKiddington Niche.JPG, Stone niche with semicircular top, on road between preaching cross and former post office OverKiddington OldPostOffice.JPG, Former post office OverKiddington Cedar.JPG, Cedar tree at the crossroads with the A44 {{West Oxfordshire West Oxfordshire District Hamlets in Oxfordshire