Westwell is a small 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 ...

about southwest of the market town of Burford in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

. It is the westernmost village in the county, close to the border with

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

Manor

The oldest part of the Manor House was built in about 1545. The east wing of the house was added in about 1750 and the north and south wings in about 1840. The house was altered and restored in 1920. Close to the Manor House is a

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 ...

that was built in the 17th century. It is still in use as a dovecote. Adjoining the Manor House to the northeast is a barn that was probably built in the 18th century, but has a Tudor arched entrance with a mullioned window above. The Manor House, dovecote and barn are all Grade II* listed buildings.

Parish church

The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary is Norman and was built in the 12th century. The

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 ...

arch may have originally been Norman, but if so it was later altered in the Transitional style from Norman to Early English Gothic. The chancel's east window may also be Transitional, but the windows in its north and south walls are Early English lancets. The south porch was added in the 14th century and to the east of it one of 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 ...

windows is

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-ce ...

. The other windows of the nave are Victorian. In 1869 the nave was extended one bay to the west and the bell-turret was added. St Mary's is 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 ...

. The 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, which includes also the parishes of Alvescot, Black Bourton, Broadwell, Broughton Poggs, Filkins, Holwell, Kelmscott, Kencot, Langford, Little Faringdon and Shilton. The

Rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

(now the Old Rectory) was built at or before the end of the 17th century. It is a five-bayed building of

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

Cotswold stone. It is a Grade II* listed building.

War memorial

The Westwell war memorial was erected after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It incorporates a numeral from a face of the clock of the Cloth Hall, Ypres. The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry had fought in the

First Battle of Ypres The First Battle of Ypres (, , – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. The battle was part of the First Battle of Flanders, in which German A ...

in 1914 and the Battle of Passchendaele near

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

in 1917.

References

Sources and further reading

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External links

{{Authority control Villages in Oxfordshire West Oxfordshire District Civil parishes in Oxfordshire