Northmoor is a village and

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

West Oxfordshire West Oxfordshire is a local government district in northwest Oxfordshire, England, including towns such as Woodstock, Burford, Chipping Norton, Charlbury, Carterton and Witney, where the council is based. Area The area is mainly rural downla ...

, about west of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and almost the same distance southeast of

Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. History The Toponymy, place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest kno ...

. Northmoor is in the valley of 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, s ...

, which bounds the parish to the east and south, and is close to the

River Windrush The River Windrush is a tributary of the River Thames in central England. It rises near Snowshill in Gloucestershire and flows south east for via Burford and Witney to meet the Thames at Newbridge, River Thames, Newbridge in Oxfordshire. The ri ...

which forms part of the parish's western boundary. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 377.

Toponym

In the 11th century the

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, 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 ...

was simply ''More'' or ''Moor'', meaning "marsh". The prefix North was added by the 13th century, distinguishing the village from

Southmoor Southmoor is a village in the civil parish of Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor, about west of Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Historically part of Berkshire, the 1974 boundary changes transferred local government to Oxfordshire. Southmoor village is ...

, then in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, on the other side of the Thames.

Parish church

In 1059 King

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...

granted land at Northmoor to St Denis Abbey in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Northmoor was made a separate parish in the 12th century, and the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

of Saint Denys was then built. Nothing survives of this original building except the

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...

, which is

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 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

. The earliest part of the present

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 ...

on the same site is the

Early English 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 a ...

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

, which was built in the 13th century. The chancel's east window is a set of three lancets and it has another lancet in its south wall. The present

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 ...

and north and south

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

s were built early in the 14th century. 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 to ...

over the west

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

of the nave was added in the 15th century. The tower has a

ring (The) Ring(s) 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 Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

of six bells. Abraham I

Rudhall of Gloucester Rudhall of Gloucester was a family business of bell founders in the city of Gloucester, England, who between 1684 and 1835 cast more than 5,000 bells. History There had been a tradition of bell casting in Gloucester since before the 14th century ...

cast the fifth bell in 1714, and Thomas Rudhall cast all the others in 1764. The Gothic Revival architect C.C. Rolfe carried out a sensitive restoration of building in 1887. St Denys' is now a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Economic and social history

Rectory Farm was built in the 16th century, and a date-stone over the entrance records alterations in 1629. The farm also has a half-timbered granary on stone

stook A stook /stʊk/, also referred to as a shock or stack, is an arrangement of sheaves of cut grain-stalks placed so as to keep the grain-heads off the ground while still in the field and before collection for threshing. Stooked grain sheaves are ...

s and a timber-framed

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot (Scots Language, Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house Domestic pigeon, pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or b ...

, both from the 16th or 17th century. The granary was extended in the 18th century and is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. There used to be a

flash lock A flash lock is a type of lock (water transport), lock for river or canal transport. Early locks were designed with a single gate, known as a flash lock or staunch lock. The earliest European references to what were clearly flash locks were in ...

on the Thames on the southern edge of the parish at Hart's Weir, also known as Ridge's Weir. In 1879

Hart's Weir Footbridge Hart's Weir Footbridge is a single-span concrete footbridge across the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England. Locally, it is also known as Rainbow Bridge, due to its rainbow-arc appearance as seen from the horizon. It is situated on the reach abov ...

was built at the site, and in 1896 the weir and flash lock were replaced with a

pound lock A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a chamber in a permanently fixed position i ...

Northmoor Lock Northmoor Lock is a lock on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, on the northern bank about a mile from Northmoor. The lock was built in 1896 by the Thames Conservancy to replace a flash lock at Hart's Weir, also known as Ridge's Weir, a ...

, southeast of the village. Northmoor used to have two

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

s. One, the Dun Cow, ceased trading in 1991. The remaining pub is the Red Lion. In January 2014

Greene King Brewery Greene King is a British pub and brewing company founded in 1799, currently based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. The company also owns brands including Hungry Horse and Farmhouse Inns, as well as other pubs, restaurants and hotels. It was listed o ...

offered it for sale, which could have led to its closure and redevelopment as private housing, with up to 12 homes built on its land. Instead villagers led by the Parish Council chairman bought the pub and turned it into a free house. The Red Lion is now one of several Oxfordshire pubs in

community ownership Community-owned assets or organizations are those that are owned and controlled through some representative mechanisms that allow a community to influence their operation or use and to enjoy the benefits arising. Benefits of ownership in infrastru ...

. There is a proposal to excavate of Northmoor parish for gravel extraction.

Amenities

As well as the Red Lion pub, Northmoor has a

village hall A village hall is a public building in a rural or suburban community which functions as a community centre without a religious affiliation. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is a building which is owned by a local gover ...

. The nearest village store and post office are away in

Standlake Standlake is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Oxfordshire about southeast of Witney and west of Oxford, England. The parish includes the Hamlet (place), hamlet of Brighthampton. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 ...

. First & Last Mile buses provide a daytime bus service 418 giving Northmoor a link every two hours with

Eynsham Eynsham is a village and civil parish in the West Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, about north-west of Oxford and east of Witney. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 4,648. It was estimated at 5,087 in 2020. Etymolo ...

Stanton Harcourt Stanton Harcourt is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxfordshire about southeast of Witney and about west of Oxford. The parish includes the Hamlet (place), hamlet of Sutton, north of the village. The United Kingdom C ...

, and

Long Hanborough Long Hanborough is a village in Hanborough Civil parishes in England, civil parish, about northeast of Witney in West Oxfordshire, England. The village is the major settlement in Hanborough parish. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census re ...

Gallery

File:Northmoor StDenys sedilia.JPG, Early English piscina (left) and sedilia in the chancel of St Denys' parish church File:Northmoor StDenys font.JPG, Norman baptismal font in St Denys' parish church File:Northmoor RectoryFarm granary.JPG, Timber-framed granary at Rectory Farm File:The Red Lion, Northmoor - geograph.org.uk - 91904.jpg, The Red Lion public house

References

Sources

* *

External links

Northmoor Parish Council and Community

360° Panorama of Church interiors
* {{authority control Civil parishes in Oxfordshire Northmoor West Oxfordshire District