Crowmarsh Gifford, commonly known as Crowmarsh, is a village 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 authority ...

Crowmarsh Crowmarsh is a fairly large, mostly rural civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England east and southeast of the town of Wallingford on the opposite bank of the River Thames and may also refer to its larger district council ward which extends t ...

South Oxfordshire South Oxfordshire is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England. Its council is temporarily based outside the district at Abingdon-on-Thames pending a planned move to Didcot, the district's largest town. The a ...

. It is beside the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

opposite the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

of Wallingford, the two linked by

Wallingford Bridge Wallingford Bridge is a medieval road bridge over the River Thames in England which connects Wallingford and Crowmarsh Gifford, Oxfordshire (Wallingford was historically in Berkshire until 1974 reorganization). It crosses the Thames on the r ...

. Crowmarsh parish also includes 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 Newnham Murren, which is now merged with the village; the hamlet of

Mongewell Mongewell (first syllable rhymes with ''sponge'') is a village in the civil parish of Crowmarsh, about south of Wallingford in Oxfordshire. Mongewell is on the east bank of the Thames, linked with the west bank at Winterbrook by Winterbrook ...

, and the village of North Stoke to the south.

History

After the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

of England most of the land was granted to Walter Giffard, later

Earl of Buckingham The peerage title Earl of Buckingham was created several times in the Peerage of England. It is not to be confused with the title of Earl of Buckinghamshire. It was first created in 1097 for Walter Giffard, but became extinct in 1164 with the dea ...

. It later came into the possession of

William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 or 1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Norman French: ', French: '), was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He served five English kings— Henry II, his sons the "Young King" ...

and remained with his heirs until passing back to

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

. Nearby Newnham Manor was originally granted by

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

Miles Crispin Miles Crispin (died 1107), also known as Miles or Milo of Wallingford, was a wealthy Norman landowner, particularly associated with Wallingford Castle in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire). The Domesday Book records Miles as a major landowner with holding ...

, but by 1428 was owned by

Thomas Chaucer Thomas Chaucer (c. 136718 November 1434) was an English courtier and politician. The son of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer and his wife Philippa Roet, Thomas was linked socially and by family to senior members of the English nobility, though he ...

, son of the poet

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...

. After his death it was passed to his daughter Alice, wife of William de la Pole, 4th Earl of Suffolk. Other land was granted to

Battle Abbey Battle Abbey is a partially ruined Benedictine abbey in Battle, East Sussex, England. The abbey was built on the site of the Battle of Hastings and dedicated to St Martin of Tours. It is a Scheduled Monument. The Grade I listed site is now op ...

. 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 Saint

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

is said to have been built in about 1120. The north door, south door, three windows in the south wall,

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 ...

arch and

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

are all

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

. A north

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

with a pointed arch was added in about 1200. The building was restored in 1836 and 1868. In 1139 King

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

built a wooden fort in Crowmarsh, the first of a series built in opposition to

Wallingford Castle Wallingford Castle was a major medieval castle situated in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire (historically Berkshire), adjacent to the River Thames. Established in the 11th century as a motte-and-bailey design within an Anglo-Sa ...

, which supported his cousin

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

during the civil war known as

The Anarchy The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adelin, the only legiti ...

. The forts were probably dismantled as a result of the

Treaty of Wallingford The Treaty of Wallingford, also known as the Treaty of Winchester or the Treaty of Westminster, was an agreement reached in England in the summer of 1153. It effectively ended a civil war known as ''the Anarchy'' (1135–54), caused by a dispute o ...

of 1153. The castle at Crowmarsh consisted of a wide ditch surrounding an enclosure measuring . In 1701 agriculturist Jethro Tull invented his revolutionary

seed drill A seed drill is a device used in agriculture that sows seeds for crops by positioning them in the soil and burying them to a specific depth while being dragged by a tractor. This ensures that seeds will be distributed evenly. The seed drill sow ...

here. In 1770 nearby Mongewell Park was acquired by

Shute Barrington Shute Barrington (26 May 173425 March 1826) was an English churchman, Bishop of Llandaff in Wales, as well as Bishop of Salisbury and Bishop of Durham in England. Early life Barrington was born at Beckett Hall in Shrivenham in Berkshire (no ...

, then

Bishop of Llandaff The Bishop of Llandaff is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. Area of authority The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's seat is in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (the site of a ...

. He was buried in Mongewell Church. Mongewell Park later became the site for Carmel College. The

Jacobethan The Jacobethan or Jacobean Revival architectural style is the mixed national Renaissance revival style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s, which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the English Renaissance (15 ...

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

Howbery Court (also known as

Howbery Park Howbery Park is a 36-ha park located adjacent to the River Thames in Crowmarsh Gifford near Wallingford, UK. Its main feature is an English manor house built in about 1850 by Member of Parliament (MP) William Seymour Blackstone. Blackstone fell ...

) in Crowmarsh was built in about 1850 for local MP

William Seymour Blackstone William Seymour Blackstone (1809–1881) was an English MP in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. He was the son of James Blackstone, barrister-at-law of the Middle Temple, and grandson of the legal writer William Blackstone (1723–1780). Ele ...

. It now houses the facilities of HR Wallingford Group. Nearby North Stoke was the home of the

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

singer Dame

Clara Butt Dame Clara Ellen Butt, (1 February 1872 – 23 January 1936) was an English contralto and one of the most popular singers from the 1890s through to the 1920s. She had an exceptionally fine contralto voice and an agile singing technique, and imp ...

, who died there and was buried locally in St Mary's Church graveyard in 1936.

World War II

In 1944 a

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

Halifax bomber The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Halifax has its or ...

with a full bomb load caught fire over Wallingford. Most of the crew bailed out, but Flying Officer Johnny Wilding (USA) and Sergeant John Andrews (RAF) steered the plane away from the town, and attempted to land in the open fields of Crowmarsh, but crashed. They are commemorated by an

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

at the junction of Wilding Road and Andrew Road in Wallingford. Cottages, Crowmarsh Gifford - geograph

Recent times

Crowmarsh Gifford is the administrative headquarters of

District A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Council. The Offices were badly damaged by fire on 15 January 2015.

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

Crowmarsh Gifford Church of England Primary SchoolSouth Oxfordshire District CouncilCrowmarsh Gifford Community Site
{{authority control Villages in Oxfordshire Populated places on the River Thames Former civil parishes in Oxfordshire Wallingford, Oxfordshire