Alvescot is a village and civil parish about south of Carterton, Oxfordshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 472.

Archaeology

A Neolithic stone hand axe was found at Alvescot. Petrological analysis in 1940 identified the stone as epidotised tuff from

Stake Pass Hill passes of the Lake District were originally used by people in one valley travelling to another nearby without having to go many miles around a steep ridge of intervening hills. Historically, in the Lake District of northwest England, trave ...

in the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

, to the north. Stone axes from the same source have been found at

Kencot Kencot is a village and civil parish about south-west of Carterton in West Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 101. Archaeology A Neolithic stone hand axe was found at Kencot. Petrological analysis in 1940 ident ...

, Abingdon,

Sutton Courtenay Sutton Courtenay is a village and civil parish on the River Thames south of Abingdon-on-Thames and northwest of Didcot. Historically part of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of Oxfordshire since the 1974 boundary changes. The 201 ...

and Minster Lovell.

Church and chapel

Church of England

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 Peter is cruciform. The

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 ...

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 ...

and 12th- or 13th-century. The north transept and blocked north doorway are early 13th-century. The hoodmould over the south doorway is either late 13th- or early 14th-century, and the south porch was added in the 14th century. In the 15th century the nave was rebuilt and the present

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 ...

south transept and west tower were built. In the 16th century the south wall of the south transept was rebuilt and the present piscina in the south transept was inserted. St Peter's was restored in 1872 under the direction of the architects

William Slater William, Bill, Billy or Willie Slater may refer to: * William Slater (architect) (1819–1872), English architect * William Slater (cricketer) (1790–1852), English cricketer * William Slater (swimmer) (born 1940), Canadian swimmer * William A. S ...

and

Richard Carpenter Richard Carpenter may refer to: * Richard Carpenter (theologian) (1575–1627), English clergyman and theological writer * Richard Carpenter (ca. 1700–1750), original owner of the Belvale property in Virginia * Richard Cromwell Carpenter (1812� ...

. It is a Grade II* listed building. The west tower has a

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

of six bells. Abraham II Rudhall of Gloucester cast the tenor, second and fifth bells in 1727. Robert and James Wells of Aldbourne, Wiltshire cast the fourth bell in 1796. George Mears of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry cast the third bell in 1859. The Whitechapel Bell Foundry also cast the treble bell in 1985. St Peter's parish is now part of the

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 ...

of Shill Valley and Broadshire.

Baptist

Alvescot used to have a Baptist congregation. Its former chapel is now a private house. There was also a Methodist congregation, but its chapel was demolished in the 1990s.

Economic and social history

In 1873 the

East Gloucestershire Railway The Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway was a single track railway branch line, long, in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire. It was opened in succession by two companies, the first in 1861 to connect the important woollen town of Witney to the ma ...

between and was opened. It provided

Alvescot railway station Alvescot railway station was a railway station between the Oxfordshire villages of Alvescot and Black Bourton, in England. It was Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway between and . History The station was opened by the East Gloucestershire Ra ...

just outside the village on the road to

Black Bourton Black Bourton is a village and civil parish about south of Carterton, Oxfordshire. The village is on Black Bourton Brook, a tributary of the River Thames. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 266. RAF Brize Norton adjoins the par ...

. The

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

took over the line in 1890 and

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

ways closed it in 1962.

Amenities

Alvescot has a public house, the Plough Inn, and a Church of England infants' school.

References

Sources and further reading

* * * *

External links

Alvescot Parish Council
* {{authority control Civil parishes in Oxfordshire Villages in Oxfordshire West Oxfordshire District