Sandford St Martin 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 ...

West Oxfordshire West Oxfordshire is a local government district in northwest Oxfordshire, England, including towns such as Woodstock, Burford, Chipping Norton, Charlbury, Carterton and Witney, where the council is based. Area The area is mainly rural downland ...

about east 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 ...

and about south 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's population as 209.

Geography

The parish measures about north–south, just over wide east–west at its widest point, and covers an area of . It northern boundary is the B4031 road linking

Swerford Swerford is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Swere in the Cotswold Hills in Oxfordshire, England. It is about northeast of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, Chipping Norton. Swerford has two main neighbourhoods: Ch ...

Heath and

Deddington Deddington is a civil parish and small town in Oxfordshire about south of Banbury. The parish includes two hamlets: Clifton and Hempton. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,146. Deddington is a small settlement but has a co ...

. It is bounded in the south by a field boundary just south of the B4030 road linking

Enstone Enstone is a village and civil parish in England, about east of Chipping Norton and north-west of Oxford city. The civil parish, one of Oxfordshire's largest, consists of the villages of Church Enstone and Neat Enstone, with the hamlets of Cha ...

and

Westcott Barton Westcott Barton, also spelt Wescot Barton or Wescote Barton, is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Dorn in West Oxfordshire about east of Chipping Norton and about south of Banbury. The parish is bounded to the ...

. Streams form parts of the eastern boundary. The remainder of the parish is bounded by field boundaries. The highest point in the parish is Sandford Belt, which is on the western boundary of the parish about west of Ledwell and about above sea level. Sandford St Martin village is in the south of the parish around a former

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

across Tyte brook, a tributary of the River Dorn. About north of the village is the

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 ...

of Ledwell, which is on Cockley Brook. In the north of the parish is Grove Ash, which is the site of a

deserted Medieval village In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village (DMV) is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the convent ...

that used to be a separate

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

History

The village was called Sandford until about 1884, when the suffix "St Martin" was added to distinguish it from

Sandford-on-Thames Sandford-on-Thames, also referred to as simply Sandford, is a village and Parish Council beside the River Thames in Oxfordshire just south of Oxford. The village is just west of the A4074 road between Oxford and Henley. Early history In 108 ...

elsewhere in Oxfordshire and

Dry Sandford Dry Sandford is a village in the Vale of White Horse district of England, about north-west of Abingdon. It is one of two villages in the civil parish of St Helen Without. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred ...

in what was then the neighbouring part of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. The centre of the village is a small triangular green, on which is a

stone cross Stone crosses (german: Steinkreuze) in Central Europe are usually bulky Christian monuments, some high and wide, that were almost always hewn from a single block of stone, usually granite, sandstone, limestone or basalt. They are amongst the ...

. The base is Medieval. The shaft probably dates from a restoration in 1856 by the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

architect GE Street. The head is 20th-century. Sandford's current manor house was built about 1715, but it may include parts of an earlier house. Opposite the parish church is Sandford Park, which was built about 1700 and has a later 18th-century west wing. A north wing was added in the early 20th century and demolished in 1954. The house 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 ...

. In the 18th and 19th centuries there was a pub in Sandford near the Manor House. In 1774 it was licensed as the Silver Tavern. It was briefly renamed the Taylor's Arms, and from 1788 was called the Crown. It ceased trading early in the 1880s and was converted to a residential property, allegedly because Edward Marshall, then occupant of the Manor House, objected to it being so near his home.

Parish church

The earliest 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 St Martin include the north

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

, which has octagonal columns and three

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 ...

s. 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. Ove ...

may have been completed in 1273, which was when the church was redecorated. The south door and vaulted porch 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 ...

. Later in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

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 ...

features were added, notably the

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 ...

of the nave and the

embattled A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

west tower. On the east side of the chancel arch is a painting of the arms of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

on a panel of wood. The church was

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard ...

in 1856 to designs by GE Street, who had the chancel rebuilt. One window in the church has

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

made in 1974 by John Piper and

Patrick Reyntiens Nicholas Patrick Reyntiens OBE (; 11 December 1925 – 25 October 2021) was a British stained-glass artist, described as "the leading practitioner of stained glass in this country." Personal life Reyntiens was born in December 1925 at 68 Ca ...

to symbolise the Legend of Martin's cloak. St Martin's is a

. The west tower has a ring of six bells. Nathaniel Bolter and Humphrey Keene of

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...

cast the third and fourth bells in 1629. James Keene of

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

, who had a foundry at

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, New York, Woodstock. ...

, cast the second and tenor bells in 1630. Mears and Stainbank of the

Whitechapel Bell Foundry The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells a ...

cast the treble and fifth bells in 1871. The church also has a Sanctus bell that Richard Keene of Woodstock cast in 1695. The parish is part of the Barton

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 ...

, which was formed in March 2015 by the amalgamation of the benefice of

Over Worton Over Worton is a hamlet in Oxfordshire, about south of Banbury and east of Chipping Norton. Over Worton was a separate civil parish until 1932, when it was merged with Nether Worton to form the current civil parish of Worton. Archaeology Jus ...

and

Nether Worton Nether Worton is a hamlet in Oxfordshire, about south of Banbury and east of Chipping Norton. Nether Worton was a separate civil parish until 1932, when it was merged with Over Worton to form the current civil parish of Worton.. Archaeology ...

with that of

Steeple Barton Steeple Barton is a civil parish and scattered settlement on the River Dorn in West Oxfordshire, about east of Chipping Norton, a similar distance west of Bicester and south of Banbury. Most of the parish's population lives in the village of ...

Duns Tew Duns Tew is an English village and civil parish about south of Banbury in Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 478. With nearby Great Tew and Little Tew, Duns Tew is one of the three villages known collectively as ...

and Sandford St Martin.The Barton Benefice
/ref>

Notable people

Henry Scott, 1st Earl of Deloraine Major-General Henry Scott, 1st Earl of Deloraine KB (1676 – 25 December 1730) was a Scottish peer and army officer. Life Scott was the second surviving son of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth (the illegitimate son of King Charles II by h ...

KB and the Countess of Deloraine, who are buried at St Martin's parish church.

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

Sandford St Martin & Ledwell
{{authority control Civil parishes in Oxfordshire Villages in Oxfordshire West Oxfordshire District