Combe 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 authorit ...

about northeast of Witney in Oxfordshire. It is bounded to the south and southwest by the

River Evenlode The River Evenlode is a river in England which is a tributary of the Thames in Oxfordshire. It rises near Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire in the Cotswold Hills and flows south-east passing near Stow-on-the-Wold, Charlbury, Bladon, and Cass ...

, to the northwest partly by the course of the

Akeman Street Akeman Street is a Roman road in southern England between the modern counties of Hertfordshire and Gloucestershire. It is approximately long and runs roughly east–west. Akeman Street linked Watling Street just north of Verulamium (near mode ...

Roman road and partly by a road parallel with it, and to the east by the boundary of Blenheim Great Park. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 768.

Church and chapel

Church of England

The Church of England parish church of St Laurence dates from the 12th century but was rebuilt in the late 14th century for Eynsham Abbey. Its interior has several 15th-century wall paintings, which were rediscovered during restoration work in 1892. St Laurence's is a

Grade I 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 ...

. St Laurence's bell tower has a ring of six bells, cast by

John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry. It is located in Loughborough, ...

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second large ...

in 1924, and a clock built by John Smith and Sons of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

in 1948.

Methodist

Combe has had a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

congregation since about the 1770s, when it used to meet in a house called Wedgehook in Bolton's Lane. Three meeting houses were registered in Combe: one in East End in 1823, and two elsewhere in the village in 1827 and 1829. Combe's first Methodist chapel was a

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

one built in 1835 at the eastern edge of the village. Methodism in Britain suffered a schism that led to the founding of the Wesleyan Reform Union in 1859, and as a result the congregation at Combe split. A United Methodist Free chapel in front of a row of cottages southwest of the village green was built in 1861–63 and enlarged in 1882. In 1893 the original Wesleyan chapel at the east end of the village was rebuilt, with the 9th Duke of Marlborough laying the

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...

. In 1932 Britain's three largest Methodist denominations merged to form what is now the

Methodist Church of Great Britain The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a Protestant Christian denomination in Britain, and the mother church to Methodists worldwide. It participates in the World Methodist Council, and the World Council of Churches among other ecumenical as ...

. Combe's congregation united to use the Wesleyan chapel at the east end of the village. The United Free Methodist chapel near the village green was closed and is now a private house.

Economic and social history

Combe House was built in the 16th or early 17th century and extended in about 1800 or 1812. It used to be the vicarage. Combe Bridge is a stone bridge on the minor road linking the village with Long Hanborough. It spans the Evenlode where the river forms the boundary with Hanborough parish. The bridge was rebuilt in the 18th century with two arches for the river and flood arches either side. The Duke of Marlborough's Blenheim estate adjoins the village. The estate's former

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

, Combe Mill, is now a working museum. It was originally powered by a

leat A leat (; also lete or leet, or millstream) is the name, common in the south and west of England and in Wales, for an artificial watercourse or aqueduct dug into the ground, especially one supplying water to a watermill or its mill pond. Othe ...

from the Evenlode that turned a breastshot water wheel. It also has a steam-powered

rotative beam engine A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newc ...

driven by a Cornish boiler, both of which were added in 1852. In 1926 the old water wheel was replaced with a more efficient Poncelet wheel. The mill is now 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 Ir ...

. The

Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OW&WR) was a railway company in England. It built a line from Wolvercot JunctionThe nearby settlement is spelt ''Wolvercote'' and a later station on the LNWR Bicester line follows that spelling. ...

was built along the Evenlode valley through the southern part of the parish and opened in 1852. It was operated by the Great Western Railway, which took it over in 1863. In 1935 the GWR opened Combe Halt, where the line crosses the road to

Long Hanborough Long Hanborough is a village in Hanborough civil parish, about northeast of Witney in West Oxfordshire, England. The village is the major settlement in Hanborough parish. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,630. History An ...

near the sawmill. It is now Combe railway station and the railway is the

Cotswold Line The Cotswold Line is an railway line between and in England. History Early years The line between Oxford and Worcester was built under an 1845 Act of Parliament and opened in 1851 as part of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway. ...

. The 75th anniversary of Combe Halt's creation was celebrated with the children of Combe C of E Primary school using the line to travel to Worcester.

Amenities

Combe has 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 ...

, the Cock Inn, that was built late in the 17th or early in the 18th century. It is beside the

village green A village green is a common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for gathering cattle t ...

, which is the setting for four of Combe's seasonal festivals: a children's Maypole dance, a Summer Ball, a

travelling funfair A traveling carnival (US English), usually simply called a carnival, or travelling funfair (UK English), is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, ...

in the autumn and a firework display on Guy Fawkes Night. Combe has a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

primary school. Combe has a Women's Institute.

Public Transport

On weekdays, one train service a day calls at Combe railway station in each direction. There is an hourly bus service to

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 ...

and in the other direction

Charlbury Charlbury () is a town and civil parish in the Evenlode valley, about north of Witney in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is on the edge of Wychwood Forest and the Cotswolds. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's po ...

- which stops in Stonesfield Road.

References

Sources and further reading

Bridge over the River Evenlode - geograph

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External links

Combe Parish Council
{{authority control Civil parishes in Oxfordshire Villages in Oxfordshire