Kingham is a village and civil parish in the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...

about southwest of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 913.

Toponym

The Domesday Book of 1086 records the toponym as ''Caningeham''. Another 11th-century document records it as ''Keingeham''. A charter from 1160 records it as ''Kaingham'', as do numerous subsequent documents until 1251. A charter from 1160 and a pipe roll entry for 1163 record it as ''Caingeham''. A charter of Osney Abbey from 1210 records it as ''Kangham''. The

Book of Fees The ''Book of Fees'' is the colloquial title of a modern edition, transcript, rearrangement and enhancement of the medieval (Latin: 'Book of Fiefs'), being a listing of feudal landholdings or fief (Middle English ), compiled in about 1302, but f ...

records it as ''Kaingeham'' in entries for 1220 and 1242 and ''Keingham'' or ''Keyngham'' in entries for 1235–36. A feet of fines entry for 1254 records it as ''Kengham'': a spelling that was frequent until 1377, when it was used in a Close Roll entry. An assize roll from 1268 records it as ''Kehingham''. A charter of Eynsham Abbey from 1285 records it as ''Canyngesham'', but an assize roll from the same year records it as ''Kyngham''. The latter spelling remained in frequent use until 1428, when it was used in a feudal aid document. An earlier feudal aid document, from 1346, records it as ''Keygham''. The name is derived from

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 ...

, meaning "the hām (homestead) of Cǣga's people".

Parish church

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 St Andrew has a 14th-century

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 ...

west tower with a 15th-century top. The chancel was rebuilt in 1688. In 1852–53 the church was heavily restored and the south aisle was added. 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 eight bells, all cast in 1924 by John Taylor & Co of Loughborough. The church is a Grade II* listed building. Both The Rectory and the Old Rectory Cottage are 17th century.

Economic and social history

Building of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OW&W) along the Evenlode Valley began in 1845 and was completed in 1853. It passes through the western part of Kingham parish but originally there was no station. In 1855 the Chipping Norton Railway was opened linking with the OW&W south of Kingham village where a new station, Chipping Norton Junction, was opened. In 1862 the Bourton on the Water Railway opened between Chipping Norton Junction and . 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 OW&W in 1862 and the Chipping Norton and Bourton lines in 1897. In 1909 the GWR renamed the junction station "

Kingham Kingham is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cotswolds about southwest of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 913. Toponym The Domesday Book ...

". In 1962

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 the branch lines to Chipping Norton and Bourton-on-the-Water. BR later replaced the historic Kingham railway station building with a modern one. In 1955 the Royal Navy named a after the village.

Amenities

Kingham railway station is now served by Cotswold Line trains between

London Paddington Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services pro ...

, , Worcester and . Bus route X8 serves the railway station and village. Buses run peak hours only, Monday to Friday, to and from Chipping Norton ''via''

Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

. Pulham's Coaches operates the route for

Oxfordshire County Council Oxfordshire County Council is the county council (upper-tier local authority) for the non-metropolitan county of Oxfordshire in the South East of England. It is an elected body responsible for some local government services in the county, includ ...

. The village has two gastropubs: The Plough, beside the older village green, operates under Heston Blumenthal-trained chef Emily Watkins; and The Wild Rabbit (formerly The Tollgate) which is now part of Lady Carole Bamford's Daylesford Organic organisation. The village also has an hotel called The Mill House. The village has a county primary school. The private Kingham Hill School is north of the village. Kingham has a village shop and post office, a Royal British Legion club, a village hall, two village greens, a children's play park and a football field.

Twinning

Kingham is twinned with the village of

Pont-à-Marcq Pont-à-Marcq () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is the seat of the Communauté de communes Pévèle-Carembault. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of t ...

near Lille in France.

In popular culture

In 2004 a '' Country Life'' panel judged Kingham to be "England's Favourite Village". Blur

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

-player Alex James lives on a sheep and dairy farm outside the village and chronicles the experience in his column in '' The Independent''. An episode of the BBC Three comedy ''This Country'' was also filmed at Kingham railway station.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

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