Swinbrook is a village on the

River Windrush The River Windrush is a tributary of the River Thames in central England. It rises near Winchcombe in Gloucestershire and flows south east for via Burford and Witney to meet the Thames at Newbridge in Oxfordshire. The river gives its name to ...

, about east of

Burford Burford () is a town on the River Windrush, in the Cotswold hills, in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is often referred to as the 'gateway' to the Cotswolds. Burford is located west of Oxford and southeast of Che ...

in Oxfordshire, England. The village is 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 Swinbrook and Widford. Widford 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 ...

about west of Swinbrook. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 139.

History

The Church of England parish church of

Saint Mary the Virgin Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

dates from about 1200. Its unusual open-sided bell-tower was added in 1822. The church is noted for its 17th-century Fettiplace

monuments A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

; that of 1686 was carved by William Bird of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. St Mary's also has a monument to the officers and men of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

submarine HMS ''P514'', and especially its commander, Lieutenant W.A. Phillimore, whose parents lived at Swinbrook. In 1942 ''P514'' failed to identify herself to the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

. The Canadian ship therefore assumed the submarine to be an enemy vessel and rammed ''P514'', sinking her with the loss of all hands. In 1926, David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale had Swinbrook House built north of the village. Four of his six daughters (the "

Mitford sisters The Mitford family is an aristocratic English family, whose principal line had its seats at Mitford, Northumberland. Several heads of the family served as High Sheriff of Northumberland. A junior line, with seats at Newton Park, Northumberlan ...

") are buried in the parish churchyard: Nancy,

Unity Unity may refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England * Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; ...

, and Diana are buried side by side, while Pamela is buried northwest of the tower. There is a tablet in the church commemorating their only brother, Tom, killed in March 1945 in Burma.

Amenities

Swinbrook Cricket Club has two teams. They play in division 5 and 10 respectively of the Oxfordshire Cricket Association.Oxfordshire Cricket Association
/ref> Fettiplace monuments, Swinbrook Church (Nancy)

Fettiplace monuments, Swinbrook Church (Nancy)

References

Sources and further reading

* * * * *

External links

Google 360° panorama of the chancel of St Mary the Virgin parish church, showing the Fettiplace monuments
Cotswolds Former civil parishes in Oxfordshire Villages in Oxfordshire West Oxfordshire District {{Oxfordshire-geo-stub