Kiddington is a village on the

River Glyme A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wa ...

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 Kiddington with Asterleigh about southeast of

Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire Chipping Norton is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the civil parish population as 5 ...

. The village is just north of the

A44 road The A44 is a major road in the United Kingdom that runs from Oxford in southern England to Aberystwyth in west Wales. History The original (1923) route of the A44 was Chipping Norton to Aberystwyth. No changes were made to the route of the ...

between

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

and

Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the civil parish population as ...

Manor

The

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

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 settlers in the mid-5th c ...

, recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

in 1086 as ''Chidintone'', meaning "estate of a man named Cydda". Historically Cuddington has been an alternative form. It has also been known as Nether Kiddington to distinguish it from 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 Over Kiddington south of the village. Kiddington Dovecote

Offa of Mercia gave Kiddington, with

Heythrop Heythrop is a village and civil parish just over east of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Dunthrop. The 2001 Census recorded the parish population as 93. History Heythrop had a Norman parish church of Saint Ni ...

, to

Worcester Priory Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire, England, situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed ...

in about 780. After the Norman conquest of England the manor was held successively by the De Salcey, Willescote or Williamscote, Babington,

Browne Browne is a variant of the English surname Brown, meaning "brown-haired" or "brown-skinned". It may sometimes be derived from French ''le Brun'' with similar meaning. The ''Mac an Bhreitheamhnaigh'' clan of County Donegal have anglicized as Browne s ...

and Browne-Mostyn families. After the English Reformation the Browne family were

recusants Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...

with their own

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

and priest, and they ensured the survival of Catholicism in this part of Oxfordshire.

Kiddington Hall Kiddington Hall is a large Grade II listed manor house located in Kiddington, near Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. History Kiddington Hall was built in 1673, and in the 18th century "Capability" Brown laid out the gardens. The Reverend Thomas ...

was built in 1673, and in the 18th century "Capability" Brown laid out the gardens. In 1850 the architect

Charles Barry Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was a British architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also respons ...

rebuilt the house so completely that no external trace of the original building is visible, added a new stable block and remodelled the gardens. In 1950

Lawrence Robson Sir Lawrence William Robson, FCA, (8 August 1904 – 24 August 1982) was a British accountant and Liberal Party activist. Born in Norton-on-Tees, Robson studied at Stockton Grammar School and the Royal Academy of Music before becoming an acc ...

, founder of accountancy company

Robson Rhodes RSM Robson Rhodes LLP was a partnership of chartered accountants in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was the UK member firm of RSM Global, the 6th largest network of professional accountancy firms in the world. With offices throughout the UK ...

, bought Kiddington Hall, and on his death in 1982 his son Maurice Robson inherited the house. In September 2009 Maurice placed Kiddington Estate (including Kiddington Hall) on the market for £42 million, his divorce seemingly being the reason for the sale.

Jemima Khan Jemima Marcelle Goldsmith (born 30 January 1974; known as Jemima Khan for work) is an English screenwriter, television, film and documentary producer and the founder of Instinct Productions, a television production company. She was formerly a j ...

bought the property in Autumn 2010 for a reported £15 million.

Parish church

The Church of England parish church of Saint Nicholas was

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 the original

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. Ov ...

arch survives from this time. The rest of the church was rebuilt about 1400 in the

Decorated Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...

style. The chancel was extended westwards so that, unusually amongst

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

es, it has one chancel arch in front of another. The rest of the 14th century rebuilding comprises the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, a south chapel, south porch and west tower. Later in the Middle Ages a Perpendicular Gothic east window was inserted in the chancel. In 1845 the chancel was rebuilt in its present

apsidal In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

form on the original Norman foundations to designs by George Gilbert Scott. In 1848 the Perpendicular Gothic east window was removed and re-used to form

sedilia In church architecture, sedilia (plural of Latin ''sedīle'', "seat") are seats, usually made of stone, found on the liturgical south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for use during Mass for the officiating priest and his assistants, the ...

. In 1879 a

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

and organ chamber were added. The tower has three bells. James Keene of

cast the tenor bell in 1629. Mears & Stainbank of the

Whitechapel Bell Foundry The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells ...

cast the treble bell in 1875. The date and

founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

of the middle bell are unknown. There is also a smaller bell, now disused, that may have been cast by John Mitchell of

Wokingham Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, west of London, southeast of Reading, north of Camberley and west of Bracknell. History Wokingham means 'Wocca's people's home'. Wocca was apparently a Saxon chieftain who may ...

in about 1493. In 1771 the poet and literary historian Rev.

Thomas Warton Thomas Warton (9 January 172821 May 1790) was an English literary historian, critic, and poet. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1785, following the death of William Whitehead. He is sometimes called ''Thomas Warton the younger'' to disti ...

was appointed

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of St. Nicholas' church. In 1781 he wrote ''The History and Antiquities of Kiddington'', and in 1785 he was made

Poet Laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch ...

. Warton remained both rector and Poet Laureate until his death in 1790. St. Nicholas' is now combined in one benefice with the parishes of Wootton and Glympton.

School

Kiddington parish school was built in 1856. It is now a private

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

Manor

Parish church

School

References

Sources

External links