Ascott-under-Wychwood is a village and civil parish in the Evenlode valley about south of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 560.

Toponym

The village is one of three named after the historic forest of

Wychwood Wychwood or Wychwood Forest is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Witney in Oxfordshire. It is also a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 1, and an area of is a national nature reserve The site contains a long barrow ...

; the others being Shipton-under-Wychwood and

Milton-under-Wychwood Milton-under-Wychwood is an English village and civil parish about north of Burford, Oxfordshire, just off the A361 road between Burford and Chipping Norton. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,648. History The village is o ...

. “Ascott” is derived from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''ēast'' (east) and ''cot'' (cottage).

Manor and castle

Ascot d'Oilly Castle __NOTOC__ Ascot d'Oilly Castle is situated north of the village of Ascott-under-Wychwood in the north west region of Oxfordshire. It is a scheduled ancient monument. A fragment of the castle remains and is a Grade II listed building. It was name ...

was built in about 1129–50 and a stone tower was added to it in the 13th century. The castle bailey is now occupied by the manor house, which is mainly 16th and 17th century but contains some 13th century buttressed and other stonework.

Parish church

Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

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 ...

was built in about 1200 in a transitional style from

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 ...

to Early English. Surviving transitional work includes the south porch, and the four-bay arcade between the nave and the north aisle. The chancel arch and the

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet wi ...

s along the side of the north aisle are Early English. Most of the present windows in the nave and chancel were inserted in the 14th and 15th centuries, including the Decorated Gothic east windows of the chancel and north aisle and the

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 windows of the chancel and west window of the aisle. Also Perpendicular Gothic are the chancel piscina and sedilia, the octagonal

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

and a small chapel next to the chancel. The upper stages of the

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

were built in the 15th century. The building was restored in 1857–59 under the direction of the Oxford Diocesan architect G.E. Street. Holy Trinity is a Grade II* listed building. The 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. Five of these including the tenor bell were cast in 1744 by Henry III Bagley of Chacombe, Northamptonshire, who at the time also had a bell-foundry at Witney. The treble was cast in 1905 by Mears and Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. There is also a Sanctus bell cast in 1797 by Thomas I Mears. In 2001 the Church of England Benefice of Ascott-under-Wychwood, Chadlington and Spelsbury merged with that of Enstone and Heythrop to form the Chase Benefice.

Economic and social history

The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway was built in 1845 and opened

Ascott-under-Wychwood railway station Ascott-under-Wychwood railway station is a railway station serving the village of Ascott-under-Wychwood in Oxfordshire, England. It is on the Cotswold Line. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Great Western Railway. West of ...

to serve the village. The OW&WR is now the Cotswold Line and the station is served by

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 ...

trains. The village school was designed by the architect Clapton Rolfe and built in 1871. In 1873 a farmer dismissed several men of Ascott-under-Wychwood because they had formed a branch of the

National Union of Agricultural Workers The National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers (NUAW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1906 and 1982. It represented farmworkers. History The union was established as the Eastern Counties Agricultural Labou ...

. He hired labourers from the village of Ramsden to work as

strikebreakers A strikebreaker (sometimes called a scab, blackleg, or knobstick) is a person who works despite a strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who were not employed by the company before the trade union dispute but hired after or during the str ...

but a group of women from Ascott-under-Wychwood tried to dissuade the Ramsden labourers from working. 16 of the women were arrested, tried by magistrates in Chipping Norton and given short sentences of imprisonment in Oxford Castle. Their convictions were met with rioting in Chipping Norton, questions in Parliament and a royal pardon from Queen Victoria. The 16 are commemorated as the

Ascott Martyrs The Ascott Martyrs were 16 women from the village of Ascott-under-Wychwood in Oxfordshire, England who were imprisoned in 1873 for their role in founding a branch of the National Union of Agricultural Workers. Background The National Union of A ...

. In 1874 at least four of the women emigrated with their families to New Zealand, where they now have numerous descendants. In 1973 on the centenary of the women's ordeal a commemorative bench was erected in the village.

Amenities

Ascott-under-Wychwood has a public house, The Swan. It was closed in 2010 but was re-opened in June 2013. It also has a community shop, which was opened in 2003.Ascott Village Shop
/ref> The village has two schools, which are both privately funded
Ascott-under-Wychwood Pre-school
which provides pre-school learning for children aged 2–5 years an
Windrush Valley Private School
which provides learning and education for children aged 3–11 years. The village has a cricket club, which plays on Memorial playing field, with a team in the Cherwell League on Saturdays, and friendly matches on Sundays.

References

15. Cricket club website https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/ascottunderwychwoodcricketclub/

Sources

External links

Ascott-under-Wychwood Community Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ascott-Under-Wychwood Civil parishes in Oxfordshire Cotswolds Villages in Oxfordshire West Oxfordshire District