DEDDINGTON

Deddington, a former borough and market town, lies 16½ miles (27 km.) north of Oxford and 5½ miles (9 km.) south of Banbury in the north Oxfordshire uplands. (fn. 1) The large parish, 4,246 a. (1,718 ha.) in extent, includes the hamlets of Clifton and Hempton and the land once attached to the deserted settlement of Ilbury. The river Swere forms its northern boundary, and a parallel stream known as South brook or Sowbrook divides it from Duns Tew and North Aston on the south; as in 1591 (fn. 2) the boundary crosses South brook near South Bridge to follow what may once have been a mill stream, enclosing two ancient meadows called the Fishers. (fn. 3) The river Cherwell forms the eastern boundary of the parish except for a similar deviation to enclose meadow land on its eastern bank, once part of Goldenham meadow in Souldern parish; in 1591 merestones defined that part of the boundary, and at inclosure in 1808 c. 4 a. were confirmed to the tenant of Clifton mill in compensation for certain rights there. (fn. 4) The western boundary, with Worton, follows a stream, bordered in 1591 by Ilbury hedge, (fn. 5) but further north the boundary with Barford is a late and artificial creation. Until inclosure Barford and Hempton shared the same fields, and in 1808 an arbitrary division left a complex boundary at that point: Deddington comprised 4,243 a., of which 9½ a. lay detached in Barford, while as much as 190 a. of Barford lay detached in Deddington. (fn. 6) Adjustments in 1889, when Deddington gained 28 a., and in 1932, when Barford gained 34 a. from Deddington and lost 9 a., simplified the boundary, bringing the parish to its present acreage. (fn. 7)

Deddington, 1908

The central part of the parish lies on high ground formed by an outcrop of marlstone rock bed which yields the distinctive ironstone used in most of the local buildings; Deddington and Hempton were built on the wide marlstone ridge, and there is another isolated outcrop of marlstone at Ilbury to the south-west. North and east of the town is an area of Upper Lias clay, while towards the edges of the parish the land falls away, revealing the clays of the Middle and Lower Lias, overlain with alluvium beside the rivers and streams. Clifton stands on low ground near the river Cherwell, mostly on the Lower Lias clay. (fn. 8) The local rhyme, 'Aynho on the Hill / Clifton in the Clay / Dirty, drunken, Deddington / And Hempton high way', aptly describes the topography as it would have appeared to travellers going westwards along the road from Buckingham to Chipping Norton. That ancient route crossed the river Cherwell at Clifton, meeting at Deddington the ancient north-south route along the western edge of the Cherwell valley from Banbury to Oxford. Both main roads were turnpiked in the 18th century, the Oxford road in 1755, the Chipping Norton road in 1768. (fn. 9) A toll gate barred the Oxford road near the bridge over South brook; in the late 18th century the tolls there were let for £120 a year, and in the five years 1800–5 yielded a profit of £545. (fn. 10) The road was disturnpiked in 1875, and the toll house, purchased by Christ Church in 1876, was demolished for road-widening in 1951. (fn. 11) Another toll house, on the outskirts of the town towards Hempton, (fn. 12) was removed shortly after the Chipping Norton road was disturnpiked in 1871. (fn. 13)

The road from Hempton to Duns Tew, called Ilbury lane in the 16th century, passed through the site of the deserted village of Ilbury before crossing South brook at a ford, which was bridged by the 19th century. (fn. 14) Most other minor roads in the parish are the straight access roads laid out at inclosure in 1808, at which time several ancient ways were reduced to unimportant footpaths, notably those from Clifton and Deddington towards North Aston, crossing Bowman's Bridge (Bamons Bridge in 1591), (fn. 15) and a way from Deddington to Ilbury, now partly obliterated. (fn. 16) The bridges on the main roads are probably medieval in origin. That over the Cherwell at Clifton, of which only half lies in Oxfordshire, was repaired by the county in 1854 and 1862. Those over the Swere on the roads from Deddington to Adderbury and Milton are also county bridges; the latter known as Bloxham or Ham Bridge was rebuilt in 1859 by James Hopcraft of Deddington, mason. South Bridge was rebuilt by Messrs. Franklin and Hopcraft in 1842, and widened by the county council in 1951. (fn. 17)

The convergence of routes on the high ground at Deddington may have attracted considerable prehistoric settlement, of which the Iron Age hill fort at Ilbury, now partially ploughed out, is the most striking evidence. (fn. 18) Remains of a RomanoBritish settlement site have been found east of the Oxford road close to South brook, and pottery and other artefacts ½ mile further north. (fn. 19) The foundations of a large building, possibly Romano-British, were discovered on the site of the post-inclosure Hazelhedge Farm in the north-east of the parish, and Roman pottery, coins, and a skeleton were found in the 'parish pit' north of the Clifton road; (fn. 20) a carved slab, possibly depicting Vulcan, came from 'below Ilbury camp', possibly within the parish boundary. (fn. 21)

Deddington, the tun or village of Deda or Deda's people, (fn. 22) may have been settled in the 6th or 7th century, but its development before the Conquest is unrecorded. By 1086, however, it was one of the largest settlements and the centre of one of the most valuable estates in the county. Not long after the Conquest it acquired a large castle. (fn. 23) In 1275–6 Deddington was called a borough, and in 1296 was taxed as such at the higher rate. (fn. 24) In 1302 and 1305 the town returned two burgesses to parliament. (fn. 25) On no other occasion, however, were the men of Deddington taxed at the higher rate, nor were their representatives again called to parliament. In 1316 the town was not recognized as a borough by the sheriff, (fn. 26) and by the 14th century the existence of a portmoot and some burgage tenements was the only evidence of its former status.

No charter creating a borough is known, but presumably one of Deddington's lords instituted burgage tenure and a market in order to profit from increased rents and tolls. Deddington's Norman manor was divided into three in 1190, and since all three later manors possessed burgage plots it seems likely that the new town on the west side of the old village had been laid out before that partition, perhaps in the later 12th century. New Street was first recorded in the early 13th century, when William de Dive granted a house there to a man from Tackley. (fn. 27) Two whole and 12 half burgages in New Street, and one whole and 15 half burgages in Philcote Street were listed in a rental of the Windsor manor of 1447. (fn. 28) Most tenants paid rent at the rate of 12d. a year for a whole burgage and 6d. for a half. In the 15th century plots called 'chepeacre places' (i.e. around the market place) paid rents to the Duchy manor of 3s. 3d. for a whole, 19½d. for a half; though in Henry VII's reign the chapter of Windsor still drew rents from burgage tenements and 'chepeacre places', the latter were rented then at only 4d. a year. (fn. 29) Later surveys refer to freeholds and copyholds only, and it seems that in Deddington, as in other decayed boroughs, burgage tenure died out in the course of the 16th and 17th centuries.

The failure of the borough to achieve maturity as an urban community may have been due in some degree to the proximity of Banbury, an early 12th-century borough which soon outstripped Deddington in size and prosperity. Whereas in 1086 Deddington had been worth twice as much to its lord as Banbury, the latter by 1225 had over 200 burgage tenants, (fn. 30) while Deddington probably had no more than 30 or 40. With its castle in ruins, its pretensions to urban status fading, Deddington was assessed for later medieval taxes at only £9 10s. 4d., not much more than half Banbury's assessment and less indeed than those of Bloxham and the neighbouring Adderbury. (fn. 31) Deddington's decline, however, was only relative, and though its trade and markets were of limited scope thereafter, it retained a fairly large population supported by extensive and fruitful agricultural land.

In 1086 the total listed tenant population of the parish was 121 (80 villeins, 14 bordars, 27 servi) implying at least 94 households. (fn. 32) In 1377, by which time Ilbury was largely deserted, 528 inhabitants over 14 years old paid poll tax, (fn. 33) suggesting perhaps 200 households. It may be noted that on the basis of that tax Deddington appears to have been as populous as Banbury and more so than all other Oxfordshire towns except Oxford itself. (fn. 34) In 1623 the tithingmen listed 209 male inhabitants over 12 years old, and a suitors' roll of the same period included 238 names; (fn. 35) 304 male inhabitants took the Protestation oath in 1642, and 4 refused. (fn. 36) In the early 17th century, then, the population was probably over 1,000, a figure consonant with the average of 40 baptisms a year registered between 1631 and 1640. (fn. 37) Only 121 householders were assessed for the hearth tax of 1662, and average baptisms in the 1660s and the first decade of the 18th century were 35, rising again to 45 in the 1730s. (fn. 38) In 1801 the population was 1,552, rising to 2,078 by 1831 and remaining at that level until there was a fairly rapid decline in the last two decades of the century, bringing the total in 1901 to 1,490. (fn. 39) The population continued to fall gradually during the 20th century until, in the 1960s and 1970s, the parish began to attract commuters and the population rose from 1,237 in 1961 to an estimated 1,570 in 1978. (fn. 40)

The trend of Deddington's population in the 19th century was typical of smaller towns that failed to acquire an industrial base and declined gradually as larger competitors began to benefit from improved communications. (fn. 41) Even by the early 19th century Deddington had little to boast of beyond its malt and 'pudding pie fair', (fn. 42) which ceased to be held later in the century. The town was effectively bypassed by the Oxford canal and Great Western railway, which followed the floor of the Cherwell valley. The stretch of canal near Deddington, completed in 1787 (fn. 43) with a wharf near Clifton known locally as Botany Bay, was useful in bringing heavy goods such as coal into the town, but, like the railway, completed in 1850 with a station at Aynho, (fn. 44) was felt to have brought no permanent benefit. (fn. 45) Deddington had a recurrent problem of poverty throughout the 19th century, and emigration was officially encouraged. The eventual fall in population in the 1880s presumably reflects the impact of the agricultural depression, which finally forced surplus labour to leave rural centres. By that time the town was seen as 'fast decaying', and in the 1880s it was referred to as 'a dead-alive place'. (fn. 46) In the early 20th century the town was 'not merely decayed . . . but positively bleak and forlorn, wearing a mean and hungry look'. (fn. 47)

Several features, however, distinguished 19thcentury Deddington from normal rural villages, even larger ones. It remained a centre for the immediate neighbourhood, providing a market, a postal service, and regular carriers to Banbury and Oxford; (fn. 48) it was also the centre of a rural deanery, and the meeting place of the local magistracy. During the 19th century the petty sessions of the North Wootton division met first in the King's Arms inn, later in the town hall, and from 1874 in a new court house. (fn. 49) Such institutions encouraged the settlement of professional people in the town, and though Deddington had no great resident landowners its small middle class of better-off farmers and tradesmen was augmented by solicitors, doctors, and retired clergymen. This group, which included powerful figures such as the retired vicar, W. C. Risley, and the coroner and temperance advocate, C. D. Faulkner, provided the town's leadership, whether in the vestry, the charity feoffees, or the numerous voluntary institutions in the town. The group was neither united nor unchallenged, and political and religious controversy raged in Deddington for much of the century; it was focused from 1849 for a few years in a local newspaper, the North Oxfordshire Monthly Times, published by the local printer, J. S. Hirons, (fn. 50) and the town's affairs were also frequently commented upon in Banbury's newspapers. (fn. 51)

The town stands at the centre of its parish at the intersection of the north-south and east-west routes. (fn. 52) Deddington was unusual for its region in being sited some distance from the river, relying for its water supply on the plentiful springs and on wells which continued in use until c. 1930, when mains water and drainage were introduced. (fn. 53) The earliest surviving plan of Deddington (1808) (fn. 54) shows its layout probably much as it had been in the Middle Ages, and has since remained. Before the creation of the borough, however, the focus of the settlement may have been further east, in the area between the church and castle. The main road into the town from the south, which now veers westward into New Street, perhaps earlier followed the line of St. Thomas Street (formerly Satin Lane). At the eastern entrance to the town there are signs of a hollow way and croft boundaries in a field south of Earl's Lane, (fn. 55) suggesting that the road from Clifton, which turns southward into Castle Street, earlier followed a straighter course into what became Horse Fair, and was flanked by housing. Thus the apparent remoteness of the castle and of Castle End, once the chief house of an early freehold estate, (fn. 56) may have resulted from a movement of the village centre when burgage plots were laid out along Deddington's western edge. All the burgages mentioned in the later Middle Ages seem to have been grouped in New Street and Philcote Street (presumably the medieval Filking and Tudor Filcock Street). (fn. 57) The 'chepeacreplaces' were probably in and near the Market Place, whose size not only reflects the ambitions of the town's founder, but also suggests that it was laid out on vacant ground, unless wholesale destruction was involved. Property boundaries, particularly along New Street, show the long, narrow plots that were characteristic of burgages.

In modern times the decline of the town's markets and fairs and the increased importance of passing trade caused New Street, of which the northern section was renamed High Street, to emerge as the town's principal street. Whereas the stage-coach traveller was likely to turn into one of the inns in the old centre of the town, (fn. 58) his modern counterpart is probably unaware that to the east of what seems to be merely a 'long village' lie a market place and other features of a medieval town.

Deddington's houses are mostly built of the local golden-coloured ironstone, though, particularly in New Street, there seems to have been something of a fashion for refronting stone houses in brick in the 19th century, perhaps in response to the development of brick-making in the parish. (fn. 59) Later some substantial brick and slate buildings were put up, notably Castle Farm on the Clifton road and a warehouse in the Bull Ring. Stone slate is the usual roofing material on the older buildings, though thatch was still widespread in the mid 20th century. (fn. 60) The use of thatch presumably exacerbated a disastrous fire in 1687, which destroyed part of the town. (fn. 61) A feature of the 19th-century town were the small cottages in courtyards and alleys off the main streets, while in 1851 on the Hempton road, on the site of the former windmill, was a crowded group of new cottages housing many paupers. (fn. 62) Few of the poorer cottages have survived as habitations. In the course of the 20th century Deddington's older houses have mostly been restored and the general impression now created is much more favourable than it was a century ago. (fn. 63) Most modern housing development has been confined to the outskirts of the town, much of it to the Hempton road. Gas lighting was introduced by the Deddington Gas, Light, and Coke Co., formed in 1862 after an earlier venture had apparently failed. (fn. 64) A gas works on the Clifton road fell out of use in the early 20th century, but the brick cottage associated with it survives. (fn. 65) Electricity was made available before 1932. (fn. 66)

New Street and High Street are lined with substantial houses, mostly former farmhouses converted into private residences, hotels, or garages. Two of the most notable houses in the town, Leadenporch House and Deddington House (sometimes called Deddington Manor), face each other towards the southern end of the street. (fn. 67) On the east side stands the former Plough inn, a much altered 17th-century house containing a cellar with 15th-century stone vaulting springing from angle shafts with moulded capitals and bases: it was an inn by 1774, (fn. 68) but may have been a merchant's house in the Middle Ages. The Old Post House, though largely rebuilt in 1935, contains early features, as does Berwick House, also much altered. Ilbury House, an imposing 18th-century structure extensively refitted in the 19th, was a Christ Church property called the White House, renamed by a farmer who retired there from Ilbury Farm. It was one of several houses in Deddington to attract professional people in the 19th century, and was also briefly a ladies' school. (fn. 69)

On the west side of the street are Park Farm, a largely 17th-century house which from the 19th century seryed a large farm, and Grove Lodge, another 17th-century farmhouse, which belonged until 1846 to the Stilgoe family. (fn. 70) Grove House, north of the lane, is a late 17th-century house with a symmetrical front of 5 bays, and unusual windows with stone mullions and latticed lights; the interior contains a fine staircase of c. 1700. It was formerly Grove Farm, a Christ Church property, (fn. 71) but earlier, with the 17th-century house abutting to the south, it formed the ancient college leasehold estate called Maund's Farm after a 16th-century tenant. (fn. 72) The 17th-century farmhouse to the north, called Maund's Farm in recent times, (fn. 73) was another Christ Church property formerly called Savage's Farm, after a 16th-century tenant; it was originally the chief house of a 6-yardland estate. (fn. 74) Further north, at the cross roads, is Gegg's Hook, formerly the Crown inn, which was built in the early 19th century on the site of an ancient structure, thought in the early 18th century to be a religious house; (fn. 75) the Crown belonged to Christ Church by the 16th century, but was earlier perhaps the corner house called New inn, mentioned in 1439. (fn. 76) It became a private house in the early 19th century. (fn. 77) Public buildings in the street include the Congregational chapel of 1881 and a late 19th century Salvation Army barracks; on the east is the former magistrates' court, now a library, designed by William Wilkinson in 1874. It ceased to be used as a court in 1955. Adjacent to it, fronting on to Horse Fair, is the former police station, now Stoneleigh House, converted into a lock-up by J. C. Buckler in 1854 and much altered by Wilkinson in 1871. (fn. 78)

Horse Fair was earlier called Huff or Hoof Lane and in 1771 Red Lion Street. (fn. 79) The present Red Lion inn in Market Place was a farmhouse until the mid 19th century, (fn. 80) but an earlier Red Lion, one of the principal inns in the town in the 17th and 18th centuries, was evidently a building of some antiquity. It was the residence of a merchant, William Billing (d. 1533); (fn. 81) in 1574 a herald tricked 'a skochen in Mr. Billing's house', and the antiquary Richard Rawlinson recorded c. 1718 that on the door of the Red Lion was 'a lingfish with a bill through the body, by way of a rebus for the former possessor'. (fn. 82) In 1682 a tenant of the inn was allowed boards for repairing 'Billing's chamber'. (fn. 83) The house passed from the Billing family in the mid 16th century and in 1623 was bought by Richard Cartwright; though described as a 'capital messuage' it was expressly stated to form no part of the Duchy manor which Cartwright acquired at that date. (fn. 84) The site of the house in Horse Fair may be identified as the high-walled close on the north side, the only Cartwright property in the street at inclosure in 1808. (fn. 85) It was presumably the old inn 'for pilgrims' pulled down c. 1811, whose description (fn. 86) fits with the house plan depicted on the inclosure map. The demolished inn was entered by 'a stone porch, through a large door, which had a small aperture for common use', the latter decorated with carved heraldic devices, much defaced. On the first floor were rooms apparently with linenfold panelling and such of the ceilings as remained were 'ornamented with fret work'. (fn. 87) Further east on Horse Fair looking on to Market Place, is the King's Arms inn, which, though much altered, retains a 17th-century gabled front with stone mullioned windows, and also two early, possibly 16th-century chimney stacks. Nearby was the Three Horseshoes, now a private house, which became the Exhibition inn (presumably in 1851) and was renamed correctly in recent times; it was entirely rebuilt in 1948–9, when it was a ruinous 16th- and 17th-century structure. (fn. 88) It is notable for an elaborate doorway of 16th-century type with deeply moulded jambs and a four-centred arch.

The Tchure, a small passage connecting the High Street and Market Place, bears a name commonly used in the Midlands for narrow lanes. (fn. 89) The parallel Hudson Street commemorates William Hudson, a prosperous grocer, to whom the town owes the clock in the church tower. On the north side of the street is a small building erected by C. D. Faulkner, F.S.A. (d. 1871) as a private museum, of which the contents have been dispersed; Faulkner also rebuilt and lived in the house opposite, called the Priory. (fn. 90)

The Market Place is a large, roughly rectangular, area now partly grassed over; it was described as an 'ugly piece of rocky ground' in 1855, was apparently tree-lined in the early 20th century, (fn. 91) but is now treeless. Near its centre is the town hall, a small, unpretentious brick structure, rebuilt in 1806, the cost being shared by the three manorial lords, the charity feoffees, and the parish, each of whom probably contributed one third, as they did when the hall was repaired in 1832. (fn. 92) The upper room was used for vestry meetings and as a court house, and also served as a polling station for county elections and from 1858 as a reading room and library. Originally it stood on open arches beneath which were three stalls used by butchers on market days, but in 1858 they were bricked up to form a shelter for the parish fire engine, hitherto kept in the church. (fn. 93) The earlier town hall, with shops and stalls beneath it, was built before 1611, (fn. 94) perhaps on the same site.

Also in the Market Place stood a market cross mentioned in medieval and later documents, (fn. 95) and the south-east part of the enclosure was formerly occupied by the town pool or 'cook stool pond', whose pollution by offal was a longstanding cause of complaint. Several proposals to fill it in were defeated but it was finally done away with in 1861. (fn. 96) Cucking in the pond had ceased by the 16th century, (fn. 97) but another archaic custom, riding at the quintain, survived in Deddington long enough to be noted in 1677; by then it was only 'in request at marriages'. (fn. 98)

The two blocks of building encroaching on the Market Place at its northern end, divided by the Bull Ring, may have been the successors of temporary stalls and shops. The north-south row contains houses of the 17th century and later; the central part of the east-west row was in existence by 1808, when it belonged to the Fardon family, and may therefore have been the three cottages in Horse Fair owned by John Fardon, clockmaker, at his death in 1743. (fn. 99) The row was heightened and a brick warehouse added in the course of the 19th century.

The Market Place has been much rebuilt on the south-east and south, but the west side contains several early houses, notably the Unicorn inn, a building probably of the 17th century but refronted in the 19th, and the Corner House, formerly the Hermitage, a name recorded in the 16th century when the building belonged to the town's guild, (fn. 100) but unexplained. The site is an important one, and by the 17th century the house was a large double-depth building. In the early 18th century it received the present front and heavy modillioned cornice. In the 19th century it was occupied by professional families, particularly lawyers. (fn. 101)

On the north-east side of the Market Place stands the church, with its dominating 17thcentury tower, and beside it on the north the rectorial mansion, Castle House. (fn. 102) In Church Street, called Paternoster Lane in the 15th century, (fn. 103) stand the early 19th-century vicarage house, now a private house, and the almshouses. (fn. 104) Towards the southern end is a small pavilion-like stone building with keystoned windows and a gable with urn finials. It seems to have been built originally by the vicar in the 1820s as an infants' school and was later a mission hall, a public hall, and a Wesleyan Sunday school. (fn. 105) In Chapel (formerly Tabernacle) Square is the mid 19thcentury Wesleyan chapel, and on the east side a house called Featherstone House (formerly the Blocks), 17th-century in origin but apparently rebuilt in the 19th century by H. R. Franklin, a builder, as his own residence; (fn. 106) the coat of arms on the west gable, possibly intended for the Staple Merchants, may have been brought from elsewhere. Behind the house is the timber yard once owned by the Franklins.

From Chapel Square, Castle Street, mentioned from the 15th century, (fn. 107) leads towards the castle and an open area once called the Green, overlooked by a house called Castle End (earlier the Poplars and Blount's Farm). (fn. 108) A small lodge at the entrance to the castle grounds dates from the later 19th century when the grounds were a resort of the local gentry for sport and other recreation. Hopcraft Lane (until recently Council Street, and in the 19th century School Lane) was the site of Deddington's first National schools until they were removed to their present site on the Banbury road in 1854; the schools were on the site of Appletree Farm on the east side of the street. The surviving house called School House had no connexion with the National schools, but seems to have housed a small private school in the 1870s; (fn. 109) it was earlier a farmhouse belonging to the Stilgoe family and bears the initials and dates of Zachary (1735) and H. E. Stilgoe (1917), and the family arms. The earliest part of the house, dated 1655, is a distinctive regional house with elaborate stone dressings and a fine projecting stair; the extension of 1735 doubled the size of the house and provided on the first floor an unusually large chamber lit by a long seven-light window, perhaps a workshop for weavers. (fn. 110)

Goose Green is overlooked on the south by the Mount, a modernized 17th-century house, once an inn, (fn. 111) and on the west by a row of 18th-century cottages, of which one bears the date 1757. The stone barn in the centre of the green was built in 1849 as a coal-house for the Deddington coal charity, and was later used to house the parish fire engine until a new fire station was built on the Banbury road. (fn. 112) Philcote Street and St. Thomas Street are lined with ironstone cottages, but few larger houses seem to have been built in the south-eastern part of the town.

The hamlet of Hempton (high tun) (fn. 113) stands on the high ridge 2 miles west of Deddington. Its ironstone cottages of the 17th century and later line the Chipping Norton road, and others form a rectangle to the south. The old core of the hamlet is smaller than in the 19th century, (fn. 114) when Hempton had a sizeable population, but after the Second World War many houses were built north of the main road. In 1662 only 17 inhabitants were assessed for tax on 38 hearths, and in the early 19th century the population was below 200; it rose, however, to as many as 333 in 62 houses in 1851 (including outlying farms), falling rapidly thereafter to only 166 by 1891. (fn. 115) The surviving older houses reflect the hamlet's history as a community of small farmers and labourers. Some of the cottages, notably a row at the western end of the village, are good examples of the regional style. A house demolished in 1962 was a yeoman house of some architectural interest. It stood on the north side of the main road, and belonged to College farm, though it was usually called Parish's Farm after the family who were the largest farmers in Hempton in the 19th century. (fn. 116) It comprised a low 16th-century thatched building with upper crucks, and a tall 17th-century parlour wing of squared rubble lit by six- and five-light mullioned windows. (fn. 117) In the late 18th century there were two inns in Hempton, but by 1821 only the Plough, which overlooked the crossroads at the west end of the village; (fn. 118) it was closed in the early 20th century, and later demolished. The chapel of St. John (1851) and a small Congregational chapel of the mid 19th century are the only public buildings.

Clifton (tun on the river bank) (fn. 119) stands 1½ mile east of Deddington on the Aynho road close to the river Cherwell. The houses line both sides of the main road and are grouped in a lane running southwards towards the fields. Twenty-four inhabitants were assessed for tax on 54 hearths in 1662, and in the 19th century the population rose from 226 to a peak of 302 in 1851, declining thereafter to only 211 in 1891, and to only 130 by the 1950s. (fn. 120) Some modern housing has been built on the sites of earlier houses, and a sizeable estate was built at the west end of the village in 1980. Most of the older houses and cottages are of local ironstone, dating from the 17th century and later. Plans of the village in 1808 and 1881 (fn. 121) show that there were then many more cottages in the village, particularly at its eastern end; there Malt Row was condemned and pulled down in 1938, Chase Villas (1886) replaced several old cottages, and Pepper Alley contained several cottages demolished during the 20th century. Appletree Farm, at the western entrance to the village, was a thatched building burned down in 1946, (fn. 122) and the site is now occupied by a large prefabricated barn. The village school (1870), which stood on the former village green opposite Tithe Lane, was demolished in recent times. Pepper Alley may have been the site of Clifton's medieval chapel. (fn. 123)

Overlooking the former green is Manor Farm, which belonged to the Duchy manor until 1885, when it was given to Christ Church by W. C. Cartwright in an exchange of lands. (fn. 124) The house has a datestone 'T.W. 1685', perhaps for Thomas Welman. It is a large irregular structure of coursed rubble with a stone slate roof and a projecting porch of some distinction; both the outer and inner doorways have four-centred heads. A 17th-century house at the corner of Tithe Lane, a farmhouse belonging to the Kilby family in 1808, (fn. 125) has unusual six-light and fourlight wood mullioned windows. Boulderdyke House, at the eastern end of the village, was the ancient farmhouse of the Magdalen College estate in Clifton, while the group of farm buildings north of the main road between the village and the mill stand on the site of what may have been Bicester priory's medieval manor house. Home Farm was the farmhouse of a large freehold estate belonging to Samuel Churchill at inclosure in 1808. (fn. 126) The White Cottage, a fanciful thatched building with gables almost reaching the ground, was built using old materials in the early 20th century by Lady Denbigh, and, until a fire in 1941, formed part of a much larger building. (fn. 127) In 1774 two inns were recorded, (fn. 128) of which one, the Duke of Cumberland's Head, survives. On the main road is the former chapel of St. James (1853), and on the southern edge of the village a disused Wesleyan chapel (1869).

Ilbury (yellow burh) (fn. 129) presumably took its name from the nearby prehistoric hill fort, which was constructed on an outcrop of ironstone. In 1086 there was a small estate at Ilbury of only 1 hide and 1 yardland, (fn. 130) an uneven assessment that suggests that another estate may have been left unrecorded. The tenant population was 3 villeins and 2 servi. In 1235 there were at least 2 ploughlands and 5 yardlands at Ilbury, (fn. 131) and in 1279, when 3 yardlanders, 5 half-yardlanders, and a cottager were recorded, the hamlet paid 12d. headsilver, implying an adult male population of at least twelve. (fn. 132) In 1316 6 houses and 7½ yardlands were mentioned, excluding at least 2 yardlands belonging to St. John's hospital, Oxford. (fn. 133) In 1306 only 4 men were taxed at a total of 3s. 4d., and thereafter Ilbury was too small to merit separate taxation, being included with Duns Tew in 1327 and Nether Worton in 1334. (fn. 134) Later references were to Ilbury pastures or leasow, and to tofts and crofts rather than to houses; (fn. 135) in the mid 16th century what is now known to have been the village street was described as the lane 'sometime leading into the hamlet of Ilbury'. (fn. 136) In 1537 a lease mentioned a house in St. John's close, but it may have been repeating the words of an earlier lease. (fn. 137) A map of 1619 shows only two dwellings, Ilbury Farm and the mill. (fn. 138) It was claimed by then that Ilbury lay within the tithing of Deddington, and had always been taxed with it, though in the mid 16th century others remembered connexions with Nether Worton or Hempton. (fn. 139) The map of 1619 shows the inclosed fields of Ilbury much as they were in 1808, when Ilbury farm comprised c. 208 a., excluding the few closes in the south-east which belonged to Magdalen College. (fn. 140) It is suggested elsewhere (fn. 141) that the inclosed farm may not represent the whole of Ilbury's fields as they were before the depopulation of the hamlet. No reason for Ilbury's decline is known, but certainly its result was the creation of an inclosed pasture farm which by the early 17th century, and probably long before, was used chiefly for sheep grazing: Ilbury Farm in 1619 was called the Shepherd's House, and seems to have been built after the inclosure of the fields conveniently near their centre, whereas Ilbury hamlet lay at their extreme south-east.

The site of the hamlet was rediscovered in 1980 (fn. 142) in a field west of the lane from Hempton to Duns Tew, just north of Ilbury bridge. A hedge dividing the field east-west was turned into a broad ditch, the former village street, (fn. 143) and rubble foundations and pottery of the 12th and 13th centuries were found along the whole line of the workings. Towards the northern end of the field, near a pond, was pottery ranging in date from the 12th century to the 14th. A field on the opposite side of the Hempton lane, which incorporates the earlier St. John's close, probably also contained house sites, and has yielded pottery of the 13th century and later. The closes on both sides of Hempton lane at this point belonged to Magdalen College by the 16th century, and presumably earlier to St. John's hospital, though the desertion of the settlement left their names and tenure uncertain. (fn. 144) How so much of the site of the hamlet came to belong to the hospital, a relatively minor landowner in Ilbury, remains unexplained.

Ilbury Farm, on a site close to the northern point of the prehistoric camp, remained in use until the early 20th century. In 1830 it was described as an old stone and slated farmhouse surrounded by barns and stables, (fn. 145) of which a few remains are still visible. The present Ilbury Farm, c. 300 m. to the north-west, stands on the site of a field barn built in the 18th century. (fn. 146)

In 1312, when Piers Gaveston was brought to Deddington after his surrender to Aymer, earl of Pembroke, at Scarborough, he was lodged in the rectory house (not, as has sometimes been stated, in the castle) and it was here that on 12 June he was seized by Guy, earl of Warwick and carried off to his death on Blacklow Hill (Warws.). (fn. 147) In 1644 the rectory sheltered another eminent fugitive, Charles I, who slept at the 'parsonage' after the battle of Cropredy Bridge. (fn. 148) Deddington's position between Oxford and Banbury meant that it was much involved in troop movements during the Civil War. Early in 1643 there seems to have been a royalist foot regiment there, and it was then that the king requisitioned the broken bells from the fallen church tower to be melted down for artillery. (fn. 149) During the summer of that year troops of horse were in Deddington, (fn. 150) and after Robert, earl of Essex, took up quarters at Aynho in September there was a confused skirmish on the Oxford–Banbury road, resulting in the royalist troops being beaten back through the town. (fn. 151) Throughout much of 1644 royalist troops were again in Deddington, setting out with the king towards Evesham after his night's stay there in July. (fn. 152) There were reported to be 'thousands of troops', presumably royalist, leaving Deddington early in 1645. (fn. 153) In 1649 the town was again briefly involved in national affairs when many Levellers were quartered there. (fn. 154)

Sir Thomas Pope (?1507–59), founder of Trinity College, Oxford, and a benefactor to the town, was reputedly born at Leadenporch House, one of several properties in Deddington owned or leased by his family. (fn. 155) Another reputed native was Sir William Scroggs (1623–83), the lord chief justice who was removed from office for alleged mishandling of trials arising from the Popish Plot. (fn. 156)

In the 18th and 19th centuries Deddington's range of clubs and voluntary institutions was remarkable for a town of its size. Friendly societies were meeting at the King's Arms (1768), Red Lion (1786), Unicorn (1795), and Three Tuns (1821). (fn. 157) The Union Beneficial Society, meeting at the Plough, was founded in 1816, the General Friendly Institution in 1841, and in the later 19th century there were many more small clubs associated with public houses, and several branches of national societies. (fn. 158) The social anxieties of the early 19th century are reflected by the foundation in 1806 of the Deddington Association for the Protection of Property, and in 1836 of the Mendicity Society, which, like the London society of that name, was aimed at controlling the type of relief given to 'distressed travellers'. (fn. 159) A Self-supporting Dispensary was founded in 1835, (fn. 160) and by then a coal fund, supported by voluntary contributions and donations from the town's charity feoffees, seems to have been established. It continued until the end of the century; in the winter of 1849–50 over 180 families in Deddington and 40 in Clifton were supplied with coal, and in the 1870s 100 tons of coal were distributed annually at Christmas. (fn. 161) There was a clothing fund in the 1830s, and a clothing society was founded in 1850. (fn. 162) A Benefit Building Society founded in 1854 was wound up in 1887, when its place was taken by the Deddington, Heyford, and Aston Permanent Building Society. (fn. 163) A reading room and lending library was established in 1858 and a Penny Bank in 1859. (fn. 164) A contingent of Rifle Volunteers, who used a firing range in the fields north of Deddington, was formed in 1859. (fn. 165) The Volunteer Fire Brigade was founded in 1883 and taken over by the parish council in 1896. (fn. 166) A branch of the Church of England Temperance Society was established in 1879, and in the following year a group of temperance enthusiasts started the Coffee Tavern Company, which struggled to make ends meet in the 1880s; in 1885 a Temperance Benefit Society made its appearance. The Church Missionary Society held regular meetings and tea parties, and several short-lived missions, some of them interdenominational, were established. Sporting and recreational clubs included a long-lived Horticultural Society (1838), cricket, tennis, football, bowling, and billiards clubs, and there was a brass band, and choral and musical societies. (fn. 167) In the castle grounds a large thatched building called the Pavilion was built in the mid 19th century to provide a ballroom and refreshment room for a club supported by the local gentry rather than the villagers; the balls apparently attracted visitors from all over the region. The lodge at the castle gates was occupied by a professional who supervised a Gentlemen's Cricket Club and an Archery tournament. (fn. 168) The Pavilion was removed before the First World War, but the castle grounds continued thereafter to be used for recreational purposes.

Castle.

The castle, south-east of the town, existed before 1100, its construction perhaps ordered by Odo of Bayeux soon after the Conquest, since Deddington was his most valuable Oxfordshire manor and one of the few that he kept in demesne. (fn. 169) The castle was much strengthened in the 12th century, probably by William de Chesney during the Anarchy. Its custody was still a matter of royal concern in John's reign, and in the 13th century successive members of the Dive family styled themselves 'lord of Deddington castle'. The only warlike incident recorded in its history was in 1281, during the minority of John de Dive, when Robert of Aston and others broke down the gates and doors. (fn. 170) By then, however, it was already in decay, described in 1277 as 'an old demolished castle' and in 1310 as 'a weak (debile) castle containing a chamber and a dovecot'. (fn. 171) Excavations have confirmed that no repairs or alterations were carried out after the 13th century, and in 1377 the canons of Bicester were buying dressed stonework from the castle walls. (fn. 172) In the early 16th century Leland found no more to say than 'there hath been a castle at Deddington', (fn. 173) and in the 17th and 18th centuries the site was used for pasture and timber-growing. (fn. 174) The natural amphitheatre of the bailey encouraged its use for recreational activities from the mid 19th century; the site was sold by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to the parish council, and is now a park and sports field.

The castle comprises a large outer enclosure of c. 8½ a. surrounded by a substantial bank and ditch with an entrance to the west, and a polygonal inner bailey of c. 1 a. apparently inserted later. Excavations in 1947–51 and 1976–9 (fn. 175) showed that the inner bailey was surrounded by a wall of mortared ironstone rubble 7ft. 6in. thick; in the foundation trench were objects of the early 12th century. Against the curtain wall a hall of mortared rubble with ashlar quoins from the Taynton quarries was built c. 1160, covering the site of earlier wooden structures. Later a solar wing was built against the curtain wall east of the hall, while north of the hall, over kitchen floors of 12th-century date, was a building of c. 1200. East of the solar wing was a large chapel comprising a nave and chancel probably of 13th-century date, which continued in use, judging from discovered glass, in the 14th century. In a small mound to the east of the inner bailey were the foundations of a rectangular tower with a battered base of fine ashlar. The northern half of the bailey was occupied by less substantial buildings. The latest finds on the site were of the 14th century.

To the east of the inner bailey was another large embanked enclosure, similar in size to the outer bailey but with much less substantial banks; depressions within the enclosure may have been fish ponds. About ¼ mile south east of the castle is an embanked area, partly ploughed out, known as the Fishers, probably a stew associated with the castle or the Castle manor. (fn. 176) In 1170–1 the sheriff accounted for the cost of catching bream at Deddington and taking them to stock a fishpond elsewhere. (fn. 177)

Manors.

In 1086 DEDDINGTON, recorded among the estates of Odo of Bayeux, comprised 36 hides and was the most valuable of his four Oxfordshire manors held in demesne. (fn. 178) Odo was deprived of his English estates after a rebellion in 1086, (fn. 179) and by 1130 Deddington may have been held by Robert de Beaumont, earl of Leicester, who was excused payment of danegeld on 36 hides in Oxfordshire. (fn. 180) Later the manor came into the possession of William de Chesney, (fn. 181) one of Stephen's principal Oxfordshire supporters, whose several castles may have included that at Deddington. (fn. 182) In 1153 he was defeated near Oxford by Henry, duke of Anjou, but Henry as king allowed him to retain some at least of his Oxfordshire estates. (fn. 183) In 1157 William was excused payment of danegeld on 36 hides, (fn. 184) and in 1241–2 his successors exhibited a charter of Henry II, probably of 1157, granting Deddington to William de Chesney. (fn. 185)

William died between 1172 and 1176, leaving a son Roger who died without issue; (fn. 186) his nearest heir was his cousin Ralph, son of his uncle Hugh de Chesney. In 1241–2 it was claimed that Ralph had inherited Deddington and that from him it had passed to Guy de Dive, his daughter Lucy's husband. The claim was disputed by the descendants of Ralph's aunt, Beatrice, wife of Ralph Murdac, and in 1241–2 Ralph Hareng and his wife Alice, daughter and coheir of Ralph (II) Murdac produced a charter of Henry II granting 'the whole of Deddington' to Ralph (II) for the service of two knights. William de Dive, however, claimed that his father Guy had merely demised the manor to Murdac, and that the Murdac claim, being derived through a female, was inferior to his own. (fn. 187) Ralph Murdac's tenure of Deddington is confirmed by his payment in 1187 of 40s. scutage for Oxfordshire lands (at the usual rate of 20s. for a knight's fee), (fn. 188) and by his grant of a mill in Deddington to Eynsham abbey. (fn. 189)

Murdac, though high in the favour of Henry II, did not retain that of Richard I, and in 1190 he owed 200 marks 'for having the good will of the lord king'. Guy de Dive and Maud de Chesney, another of Roger de Chesney's cousins, took advantage of Murdac's fall from grace to press for a share in William de Chesney's former lands, for in 1190 both rendered account for 50 marks to have a third of Deddington manor. (fn. 190) Guy paid the sum in full in 1191, but Maud's debt was still outstanding at her death in 1198. (fn. 191) Her claim to a third of the manor had nevertheless been recognized, and the threefold division effected in 1190 persisted thereafter, though for some years it seemed that it might not become permanent. So long as Richard was king Guy de Dive could count on retaining his share, but Ralph Murdac, a supporter of Count John's rebellion, was deprived of all his manors in 1194 and died c. 1198 before John came to the throne; (fn. 192) his interest in Deddington passed to his wife and daughters. (fn. 193) Guy de Dive seems to have lost his Deddington estate temporarily on John's accession, for it was not until 1204 that the king ordered him to be given seisin of all his lands except Deddington castle, 'which we wish to retain in our own hand'. (fn. 194) In 1205 Guy obtained restitution of the castle and his land 'whereof he was disseised'. (fn. 195) Guy died in 1214 leaving a son William under age; the king gave his widow, Lucy, in marriage to Robert de Harcourt (fn. 196) and repossessed the castle, entrusting it to Robert Mauduit and Alan of Buckland, sons-in-law of Guy's rival, Ralph Murdac. (fn. 197) Meanwhile Maud de Chesney's share of Deddington had passed to her son Warin FitzGerald, who in 1216 joined the baronial rebellion against King John, forfeiting his share of Deddington, which was committed to Murdac's sons-in-law. (fn. 198) For a time, therefore, Robert Mauduit and Alan of Buckland were the effective lords of Deddington, but after John's death the threefold division of the manor was restored. Although litigation between the descendants of Murdac, Dive, and FitzGerold continued throughout Henry III's reign none succeeded in making good their claims to each other's property. From 1216 the three manors may be traced separately.

The Dive estate included the castle and was known later as the CASTLE or WINDSOR manor. By 1219 Guy de Dive's heirs were in the custody of John of Bassingbourn, but their land was in the hands of William de Breauté until, on de Breauté's rebellion and death, Bassingbourn obtained custody of both children and lands. (fn. 199) He married his daughter Margaret to Guy's eldest son William (d. 1261), who inherited the family estates in Deddington, Ducklington, and elsewhere. His son and heir John was in arms against the king and died on the battlefield at Evesham in 1265. (fn. 200) The Crown granted the forfeited manor to Osbert Giffard, already lord by inheritance of one of the other two-thirds of Deddington; in 1268 Giffard also obtained the wardship of John's son and heir Henry. (fn. 201) Eventually Henry, who came of age in 1272, recovered possession of the manor after proceedings in the King's court under the terms of the Dictum de Kenilworth, (fn. 202) holding it in chief for the service of a third part of two knights. (fn. 203) Henry died in 1277 leaving an infant son, John, (fn. 204) who did not obtain possession of his lands until coming of age in 1295, although granted free warren in all his demesne lands, including Deddington, in 1292. (fn. 205) He died in 1310, and was followed by his son Henry (d. 1327), grandson John, and great grandson Henry, who died in 1362 without issue. (fn. 206) His heir was his brother Thomas, but two-thirds of the manor were settled for life on Henry's widow Elizabeth, who married Edward Twyford, while the other third was held in dower by Joan, widow of John de Dive, and her husband William Breton. In 1364 Thomas sold his reversionary interest to the warden and canons of St. George's, Windsor; the final conveyance was not effective until 1374. (fn. 207) Elizabeth Twyford died in 1383, and in 1386 the warden and canons bought out Joan Breton's life interest. (fn. 208) They held the 'Windsor manor' until 1866, when the title passed to the Ecclesiastical (later the Church) Commissioners. (fn. 209)

From the first the canons let the manorial land at farm, but until the mid 16th century retained the courts. (fn. 210) From at least 1501 the Leadenporch estate was included in the manorial lease. (fn. 211) In 1548 the manor and demesne land were leased for 51 years to John Edmonds, who at the same time became joint tenant with his son-in-law Anthony Appletree of the canons' rectory estate. (fn. 212) The leases were renewed in 1553 and 1557 respectively, but in 1567 a rival long lease of both manor and rectory was granted to John Stampe of West Ilsley (Berks.). Stampe was eventually bought out in 1581–2 by Thomas, son of Anthony Appletree, but further trouble arose in 1605 when Thomas attempted, in contravention of the lease, to settle various portions of the estate on the marriage of his son Thomas to Frances Matthew. In 1615 the dean and canons were at law with the Appletree family, (fn. 213) but the Appletrees retained possession of the chapter leases of both manor and rectory. (fn. 214)

Thomas Appletree died, a wealthy man, in 1666, (fn. 215) leaving his Deddington estate in trust for three younger children, Philip and Jane (both d. 1675), and Lettice (d. 1676). They were succeeded by Jane's son, William Draper of Nether Worton, and Lettice's husband, the Revd. Francis Henry Cary. (fn. 216) In 1705 Cary bought out Draper's interest for over £4,000, (fn. 217) and on his death in 1711 the lease of manor and rectory passed to his grandson Cary Hunt (d. 1737), son of his daughter Jane and James Hunt of Popham (Hants), (fn. 218) who was succeeded by his son William (d. c. 1760). The lease was then offered for sale under a Chancery decree, (fn. 219) and in 1765 was held by George Stow of Low Leyton (Essex), who died in 1774. His sonin-law, the Revd. Robert Marriott, was one of the trustees who renewed the lease in 1779. (fn. 220) After inclosure in 1808 the estate was divided into four farms, separately let, leaving the lessee of the manor in control only of the copyholds. When Marriott died in 1808 leaving six children the manorial lease seems to have been bought from the trustees by Abraham Caldecott, husband of Marriott's daughter Elizabeth. By 1829 Abraham had been succeeded by Thomas Caldecott, to whom a new lease was granted in 1859. The last lessee (1875–87) was Edmund Harris, possibly heir of the Revd. Thomas Harris, husband of Marriott's daughter Caroline. (fn. 221)

The capital messuage of the Windsor manor was the castle, described above, while later lessees such as the Appletrees lived in the rectory house, Castle House. (fn. 222)

The DUCHY manor in Deddington derived from the Murdac portion of the original manor. King John on his accession restored Ralph Murdac's estates to his daughters Beatrice and Alice and their husbands Robert Mauduit and Alan of Buckland. (fn. 223) In 1219 20 marks' worth of land in Deddington was held by Alice, who was in the custody of Walter de Gray, archbishop of York, while 10 marks' worth was held in dower by Alice's mother, Eve de Gray. (fn. 224) Evidently a division of Murdac's estates had been effected between the sisters, Beatrice having Broughton Poggs. By 1220 Alice had married again, and her husband Ralph Hareng later engaged in much ineffectual litigation with the lords of the other Deddington manors. (fn. 225) When Alice died in 1247 the manor passed to her grandson Osbert (II) Giffard, son of her only daughter Isabel and Osbert Giffard (d. 1237). (fn. 226) Osbert (II) was a minor who came of age in 1255 and fought against the king at Lewes in 1264. He soon changed sides, however, and in 1266 was deputed to keep Oxford and its vicinity against the king's enemies. (fn. 227) During Henry de Dive's minority Osbert also controlled Deddington Castle manor, and when he was forced to relinquish it he reserved any claims that he might have had by inheritance: in 1276–7 he accordingly tried without success to recover the rest of Deddington against Henry de Dive and the prior of Bicester. (fn. 228)

In 1284 Giffard abducted a nun of Wilton and took her overseas, having first granted custody of his lands to his son, Osbert (III), in return for £700 a year while he was away. The king objected to this compact and seized the lands, which were eventually restored to the elder Osbert in 1290, with reversion to his heirs. (fn. 229) Osbert (III) Giffard died in that year, and after further disputes it was settled in 1291 that his widow Sarah should have her dower in Deddington, while her father-inlaw's rights were also recognized. (fn. 230) Towards the end of his life, despite the conditions laid down in 1290, Osbert (II) began to dispose of his estates without much regard for the rights of his son John. Though John was granted Deddington in fee tail in 1298 he was disseised shortly afterwards, and in 1304 Osbert granted the manor to John Abel, a royal official. (fn. 231) In 1308 Abel granted it to Robert of Harrowden for life, with remainder to Hugh Despenser. (fn. 232) Harrowden was a clerk and agent of the Despensers, (fn. 233) but whether Abel was Hugh Despenser's accomplice or victim is not certain. (fn. 234) Harrowden, presented by Hugh Despenser to Deddington rectory in 1309, surrendered his interest in the manor to his patron in 1315, (fn. 235) and Despenser held it until his fall in 1326.

In 1327 John Giffard made a last attempt to recover his inheritance, (fn. 236) but Deddington was among the former Despenser lands granted in that year by Edward III to his uncle Thomas, earl of Norfolk. (fn. 237) Thomas resisted a claim to the manor by the heirs of John Abel, (fn. 238) and in 1332 the king confirmed the earl's tenure and granted the reversion to William de Bohun, the earl's nephew. (fn. 239) On the death of William's son Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Hereford, in 1373 his estates were divided between two daughters, Deddington falling to the share of Eleanor, who later married Thomas of Woodstock, youngest son of Edward III, afterwards earl of Buckingham and duke of Gloucester. Eleanor was a minor, and her future husband had custody of the manor from 1374 and obtained full possession when she came of age in 1380. (fn. 240) When he was murdered in 1397 the manor reverted to his widow, who died in 1399. (fn. 241) It passed to a daughter, Isabel, (fn. 242) but when she became a nun her estates passed to her sister Anne, wife of Edmund, earl of Stafford. (fn. 243) In 1419, on the death of Humphrey de Bohun's widow Joan, a new partition of the family estates was made between Anne, countess of Stafford and Henry V (as heir of Mary de Bohun). The third part of Deddington, nominally valued at £13 6s. 8d., came into the king's possession and was annexed to the duchy of Lancaster. (fn. 244) It was assigned in dower to Queen Catherine of Valois and several later queens, (fn. 245) and in 1477 was granted to John de la Pole, duke of Suffolk, in exchange for other property. It reverted to the duchy of Lancaster on the attainder of John's son, John, earl of Lincoln, in 1487, (fn. 246) and was retained until the early 17th century.

For all those great personages Deddington was merely a source of revenue, and the manor was farmed or let. (fn. 247) In 1604–5 Deddington was one of four duchy manors sold by James I to speculators, Peter van Lore and William Blake, (fn. 248) who, to avoid feudal incidents, (fn. 249) obtained it in free socage to be held of the manor of Enfield. In 1608 they sold Deddington to Sir William Sandys and Thomas Chamberlain, who in 1609–10, with the consent of Richard, lord Saye and Sele, who seems to have had an interest in the estate, sold first the demesne lands and then the manor to Thomas Mynatt. He had been lessee of the demesne lands since 1602. (fn. 250) He established himself as resident lord and died in 1613. (fn. 251) In 1623–4 his widow Sibyl and son William sold Deddington to Richard Cartwright of Aynho (Northants.). (fn. 252) The Cartwrights retained the Duchy manor for 300 years, selling the last of their property in Deddington in 1925. (fn. 253)

BICESTER, CLIFTON, or CHRIST CHURCH manor derived from the third of Deddington manor forfeited by Warin FitzGerald in 1216. He died in 1218 and the family later recovered his estates, for in 1230 his daughter Margaret, wife of Baldwin de Rivers, was credited with a third of 2 knight's fees in Deddington. (fn. 254) She died in 1252, (fn. 255) and by 1276 this third of Deddington was held by Bicester priory, having been at some time in the king's hands. (fn. 256) Evidently the manor had been given to the priory by its patrons the Bassets, but how they acquired it from the heirs of Maud de Chesney is not known. When in 1276 the prior was defending his title to the manor against Osbert Giffard he called to warranty various members of the Basset family, including the heirs of Philip Basset (d. 1271) of Wycombe (Bucks.), and of Alice, daughter and coheir of Thomas Basset of Headington. (fn. 257) Philip had given to Bicester priory lands in Deddington acquired from Sir Roger de Sampford, (fn. 258) whose title to them is not known. In any case the Sampford lands were probably not the whole of Philip Basset's estate in Deddington, for his father Alan was concerned in a lawsuit over property there as early as 1219. (fn. 259) Alice Basset's portion when she married her first husband William Malet included land in Deddington; Malet's lands were confiscated after he joined the rebellious barons in 1215 but King John restored the maritagium to Alice's father, Thomas. (fn. 260) Alice later alienated some of the property to Gilbert, (fn. 261) probably her cousin Gilbert Basset (d. 1241), who certainly held land in Deddington; (fn. 262) Gilbert's brother and heir Fulk, bishop of London, (fn. 263) was succeeded in Deddington on his death in 1259 by his surviving brother Philip, whose benefaction to Bicester priory has already been noted. (fn. 264)

As much of the priory estate, including, apparently, the manor house, lay in Clifton it was sometimes referred to as Clifton manor, but its correct name was Deddington manor: in 1291 the prior's court rejected a royal writ which employed the incorrect designation. (fn. 265) Bicester priory was dissolved in 1536, and in 1537 its Deddington manor was granted to Sir Thomas Pope, a native of the parish and treasurer of the Court of Augmentations. (fn. 266) In 1540 Pope granted John Edmonds a 60-year lease of the manor. (fn. 267) In 1545 the king regained the manor from Pope by an exchange, and in 1546 granted it to his new foundation of Christ Church, Oxford. (fn. 268)

By the 1580s the Edmonds lease had been assigned to others, for William Bustard and John Bignell as farmers of Christ Church were holding courts baron. (fn. 269) Meanwhile in 1567 the dean and chapter had granted a reversionary lease to Richard Greenoe for 51 years from the expiration of Edmonds's lease in 1601. (fn. 270) Half of Greenoe's interest passed to John Sheppard of North Aston. When he died in 1605 he left a moiety of the manor to his nephew Justinian, (fn. 271) who in 1607 assigned it to John Hollins of Oxford, and in 1638 it passed from the Hollins family to John Cartwright of Aynho (Northants.). (fn. 272) The other half of Greenoe's interest passed to Thomas Banks, who still held a moiety in 1615; it was later acquired by John Lane and in 1648 Christ Church leased the manor for 21 years to Lane and Cartwright. (fn. 273) From 1665 the various sub-lessees took their leases directly from Christ Church, leaving only the copyholders holding of the principal lessees. The leases were renewed frequently, and in 1679 the principal lessees were William Cartwright's widow Ursula and John Lane's son, Josiah. In 1693 Judith Lane, Josiah's widow, sold her moiety of the lease to Sir Robert Dashwood of Kirtlington Park. Throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries the lease was renewed at 7-year intervals in favour of the Cartwright and Dashwood families or their respective trustees. (fn. 274) In 1863 Christ Church purchased the residue of the lease from Sir Henry Dashwood and W. C. Cartwright, and thereafter leased the various properties at rack rents. (fn. 275) In 1954 the college sold its estate, much enlarged by 19th- and 20thcentury purchases, to Ivor Guest, Viscount Wimborne. (fn. 276)

In 1538 Sir Thomas Pope sold what was described as a capital messuage to John Edmonds, (fn. 277) but it has not been traced after the mid 16th century when it was listed as a freehold held of Christ Church by Edmonds's heirs. At that date, however, the 'site of the manor' with 10 yardlands and Clifton mill was in the hands of a lessee, John Manning, who had been lessee since at least 1540. (fn. 278) This property, referred to in Christ Church leases as Clifton manor farm, was by the 1620s reduced to 6 yardlands in Clifton field, the other 4 yardlands (in Deddington's east side) being separately leased as 'lordship lands'. From the 17th century Clifton manor farm was leased in moieties, one held by Christ Church's principal lessees, the other following a different descent. (fn. 279) By the 19th century the 'site of the manor' in Clifton was occupied by a group of farm buildings, apparently without a homestead. (fn. 280) Some still remain on an embanked site north of the Aynho road between the village and the mill. The site was included in an exchange of lands between Christ Church and W. C. Cartwright in 1885. (fn. 281)

In 1086 ILBURY comprised 1 hide and 1 yardland held of Robert of Stafford. (fn. 282) In 1166 the overlord was Robert's grandson Robert (II) of Stafford, whose son and successor Robert (III) died in 1192 or 1193; the Stafford barony then passed to Hervey Bagot (d. 1214), husband of Millicent, daughter of Robert (II). Hervey's son Hervey (II) took the surname Stafford, and the overlordship of Ilbury remained in the families' possession, (fn. 283) being held in 1421 by Humphrey, earl of Stafford, a minor in the king's wardship. (fn. 284)

The tenant in 1086 was an unidentified Gadio. (fn. 285) In 1166 the manor was probably held by Hervey of Stratton who held 2 knight's fees of Robert (II) of Stafford, (fn. 286) for in 1192 Richard of Stratton owed scutage for land in Ilbury held of Robert (III) of Stafford. (fn. 287) The sub-tenants in the 13th century were the Barford family, for in 1235 Basile of Barford held 2 ploughlands and 5 yardlands in Ilbury in dower for life by concession of Robert of Barford, and in 1242–3 Basile was said to hold a ploughland of Richard (II) of Stratton of the fee of Hervey Bagot. (fn. 288) By 1279 the mesne lord was Richard of Williamscot and the sub-tenants were Adam Bennet and Guy fitz Guy, who had married the heirs of Roger of Barford. (fn. 289) Guy fitz Guy may be identified as the Guy of Wigginton whose son Roger in 1316 quitclaimed to John Hikeman of Bloxham land in Ilbury that he had acquired from his mother, Margery of Barford. At that time part of Roger's Ilbury estate was held in dower for life by Elena, widow of Nicholas Goldsmith of Oxford. (fn. 290) The Hikeman lands seem to have passed to the Ardernes of Wickham, (fn. 291) for in 1328 Sir Robert Arderne was granted free warren in Ilbury and in 1329 view of frankpledge over all his tenants there. (fn. 292) On Robert's death c. 1331 Ilbury had passed to his son Giles, (fn. 293) who died in 1376 holding two-thirds of the manor, the remaining third being accounted for by the dower of his widow Margaret. (fn. 294) His son Giles having died, the manor was inherited by his granddaughter Margaret, who married Lewis, son and heir of William Grevill, a wool merchant of Chipping Campden (Glos.). (fn. 295)

In 1421 Richard Grevill, whose precise relationship to Lewis is uncertain, died holding a fourth part of Ilbury, which he had demised for life to John Boureman of Barford St. Michael. Boureman died in 1433, but it was not until 1463 that Richard Grevill's sister and heir Joan, wife of Sir John Dynham, was licensed to take seisin of a fourth part of Ilbury. (fn. 296) Sir John, afterwards Lord, Dynham seems to have acquired the whole manor, for after his death in 1501 it was divided between four coheirs, his sisters or their children, who were Elizabeth Sapcotes, Joan, Lady Zouche, Sir Edmund Carew, and Sir John Arundell. (fn. 297) In 1504 all four parties joined in leasing their lands in Ilbury and Hempton to John Bustard of Adderbury. (fn. 298) Bustard purchased the Zouche portion in 1530, and his son Anthony sold it to Sir Thomas Pope, from whom it passed to the king by an exchange in 1545 and was granted to Christ Church, Oxford. (fn. 299) The Arundell portion was sold to Anthony Bustard in 1552. (fn. 300) The Carew portion passed to the Comptons of Maxstoke (Warws.), and in 1546, during Henry Compton's minority, was leased by the Court of Wards to Anthony Bustard. (fn. 301) It was probably sold with the Comptons' other Dynham properties in the 1580s. (fn. 302) The purchasers were presumably the Dormers of Steeple Barton, who seem also to have acquired the Sapcotes portion, (fn. 303) since in 1587 Jasper Dormer held half of Ilbury manor, half of Ilbury pasture or 'leasow', and half of the four associated yardlands in Hempton known as Ilbury lands, all inherited from his father, John. (fn. 304) In 1590 Anthony Bustard's son, William, was planning to acquire the Dormer moiety of Ilbury in exchange for his fourth portion of Sesswells Barton manor. (fn. 305) The Dormer moiety, however, was sold to John Gregory of Hordley, who in 1594 sold it to William Bustard. After further transactions the Ilbury property was finally confirmed to William Bustard's son Anthony in 1604, with the reservation of a life interest for Jasper Dormer's widow, Justine (d. 1627). (fn. 306) Anthony Bustard had established himself at Ruardean (Glos.), and as part of a marriage settlement he conveyed Ilbury to his brother-in-law Thomas Mynatt, reserving a life interest. In 1609 Bustard and Mynatt sold their share of the manor to Thomas Chamberlain of Wickham, (fn. 307) on whose death in 1625 it passed to his son, Sir Thomas Chamberlain (d. 1643). (fn. 308)

The Christ Church portion of Ilbury was held by the same farmers as the college's Deddington manor; the farmers sub-let part of the estate to the Bustards and later the Chamberlains. From 1656 the Chamberlains were lessees of the whole estate, after 1665 holding directly from the college. (fn. 309) In 1682, on the death of another Sir Thomas Chamberlain, Ilbury, including the Christ Church lease, passed with his other estates to his daughter Penelope and her husband Sir Robert Dashwood. (fn. 310) Christ Church, increasingly confused over its rights in Ilbury, finally sold them to Sir George Dashwood in 1859, (fn. 311) and thereafter the manor remained with the Dashwoods until the dispersal of their estates in the 20th century.

Hempton

manor is thought to be the Hentone held in 1086 by Ralph of Walter Giffard. Doubt must remain over the identification, however, since neither the mill nor, more seriously, the extensive woodland recorded on that estate in 1086 have been traced later. It has been suggested that Ralph may be identified with Ralph de Langetot, who held Campton (Beds.) of the same tenant-in-chief, and from whom the latter manor passed to the Chesneys as a result of the marriage of Ralph's daughter Alice to Roger de Chesney. (fn. 312) Such a descent would explain how Hempton became merged in the Chesneys' manor of Deddington and was later divided among the three principal Deddington manors.

Other Estates.

Some important freehold estates were formed in the 12th century. In 1196–7 the sheriff, in rendering accounts for twothirds of Deddington, (fn. 313) claimed deductions from the farm of the manor at the rate of 20s. a hide on account of grants of land made by Maud de Chesney to Hugh de la Mare (1 hide), Maud de Frettevil (½ hide) (fn. 314) and Richard son of John (presumably ¼ hide), and a grant by William de Chesney to William Park (1 hide). The latter witnessed William de Chesney's grant to William Walsh of ½ hide in Clifton c. 1170. (fn. 315) In Henry III's reign Isabel Park, widow, enfeoffed Walter of Tew, clerk, of ⅓ hide in Hempton, part of her inheritance, and Walter afterwards granted it to his nephew Henry as the land in Hempton which he had once held of William de Dive and which he had bought of Isabel. This tenement appears to have been the nucleus of a small estate in Hempton which in 1495 passed to New College, Oxford, by gift of John Phipps, a former fellow, who had inherited it from his cousin Henry Phipps of Banbury. In 1624 it comprised a house and 2 yardlands, (fn. 316) for which at inclosure in 1808 New College and its lessee William Hudson was awarded c. 49 a. in Hempton. (fn. 317) In 1874 the estate passed to Christ Church in exchange for lands in Sibford Gower. (fn. 318)

An estate called the Leadenporch (4 yardlands) was acquired by the dean and chapter of Windsor, apparently in Edward IV's reign. (fn. 319) Residual payments of 6s. 8d. made by the Windsor chapter to both the Duchy and Bicester manors for the Leadenporch (fn. 320) suggest that it may have been one of the freeholds created before Deddington manor was divided. Later the estate was included in leases of the Windsor manor, (fn. 321) and at inclosure in 1808 was treated with the manorial demesne as a single 8-yardland estate. (fn. 322) Thereafter Leadenporch farm comprised c. 156 a. around a newly built farmhouse in the fields, (fn. 323) passing with the rest of the Windsor estate to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1866.

The ancient farmhouse in New Street, from which the estate took its name, shows no trace of a porch, though it retains an early 14th-century doorway, a large two-light window, and much of the raised cruck roof-structure of the medieval single-storey hall house. The quality of the surviving detail reflects the status of the unknown freeholder who built the house. In the later 17th century it was converted into a typical three-unit regional house of two storeys, the changes including the addition at the north end of a parlour and cellar, and the insertion of fireplaces in the kitchen and hall, the latter accounting for the blocking and preservation of a medieval window. (fn. 324) By 1834, after the building of Leadenporch farm, the house was a beer shop, 'in a complete state of dilapidation' and partly falling down. Before 1843 it was 'neatly repaired', (fn. 325) and some of the surviving Gothic detail is perhaps of that period. Thereafter it was probably used as a private residence, though occupied for many years by Frederick Gulliver, farmer of both Tomwell and Leadenporch farms. (fn. 326)

Another estate, which belonged in the 15th century to the Blount family of Kinlet (Salop.) seems to have originated in a grant by Lucy de Chesney to Gillian de Tankerville of ½ hide in Deddington; (fn. 327) Lucy, a daughter of Ralph de Chesney, was the wife of Guy de Dive. (fn. 328) The Tankervilles seem to have remained in Deddington into the 14th century, adding to their estate. In 1430–1 John Gilbert gave to John Blount and Alice his wife a tenement called Tankerville's and various lands in Deddington, all bought of Roger Draper's son John. (fn. 329) After John Blount's death in 1442 the estate, occasionally called Blount's manor, and listed among the freeholdings of the Windsor manor, (fn. 330) passed to his younger son John, and in 1489 was sold by Charles Blount to John Bustard and John Billing. (fn. 331) From Bustard's son Anthony it was acquired in 1537 by Sir Thomas Pope, (fn. 332) and so passed with Pope's other lands to Christ Church. Its identity was preserved thereafter in college leases, which described it as a house and 6 yardlands. (fn. 333) Anthony Yates, lessee from 1536, was succeeded in the 16th century by William Pym. (fn. 334) John Higgins (d. 1641), lessee by the 1620s, was followed by his son Thomas until at least 1668; both called themselves gentlemen. (fn. 335) From 1710 until the later 19th century the Appletree family were lessees, (fn. 336) though by the mid 19th century the house was occupied by others, notably the town's leading doctor, Edward Turner. (fn. 337) At inclosure in 1808 Christ Church and William Appletree were awarded c. 90 a. for the 6 yardlands, which, with old inclosures, made up a farm of c. 100 a. in the 19th century. Christ Church sold the house and 8 a. to the Revd. D. G. Loveday in 1932. (fn. 338)

Blount's Farm, known in the 19th century as the Green, then the Poplars, and in the mid 20th century as Castle End, stands alone at the east end of the town, close to the castle. The house comprises a long front portion in two builds, with a central gabled porch dated 1647, and at the rear a passage, staircase, and service wings. The range south of the entrance porch, though rebuilt in the later 18th century, incorporates a late-medieval hall, and the original doorway of c. 1500 presumably gave access to a screens passage. The northern range, presumably built by Thomas Higgins to replace an earlier service bay, is consistent with the date on the porch and includes an unusually large and lofty hall and parlour lit by tall ovolo-mullioned windows. There are chambers on the first and second floors, the latter lit by large dormers. There are late 18th-century additions at the rear. (fn. 339)

Magdalen College held a small estate in Clifton, acquired in 1483 by the gift of Richard Berne (Barnes), a fellow. It seems to have originated in a grant of c. 1210 by Guy de Dive and his wife Lucy of ½ hide in Clifton and a residual payment was made to the Windsor manor in the 15th century. (fn. 340) The estate was held by a family named St. Paul by c. 1230 until the mid 14th century. In the 15th century, called 'Sympolle' or 'St. Paul's thing', it passed from the Dene family of Shutford (in Swalcliffe) to John Phipps of Banbury, whose heirs sold to Richard Berne. (fn. 341) At inclosure in 1808 Magdalen College and its lessee William Merry were awarded c. 40 a. of meadow for their 2½ yardlands of open-field land. (fn. 342) The house belonging to the ancient estate survives as Boulderdyke House, presumably named after some 17th-century lessees, the Bodendike family. (fn. 343)

On the suppression of St. John's hospital, Oxford, in 1457 Magdalen College also acquired land at Ilbury, which had been granted to the hospital by John of Barford in 1246, following upon an earlier grant of common pasture there by his father, Roger. (fn. 344) The king confirmed the gift by John of 2 yardlands in Ilbury and Worton, being a yardland which he had bought of Ralph, son of Roger of Glympton, and all the land which his mother Basile had bought of Henry of Worton. (fn. 345) By 1457 it comprised a few small closes containing much of the site of the earlier village. (fn. 346) Some lay west of Ilbury Lane, while a larger close, St. John's close, lay east of the lane. (fn. 347) Uncertainty over the bounds of Magdalen's property at Ilbury came to a head in 1549 in a dispute with Christ Church, when there was conflicting evidence over not only the tenure but also the location of St. John's close. An arbitration by justices of the King's Bench obliged Christ Church to surrender its rights to Magdalen, receiving in return a perpetually renewable lease of the close. (fn. 348) Uncertainty over the location and rent continued to arise, (fn. 349) until in 1885 Christ Church bought St. John's close for £50. (fn. 350) Magdalen's closes west of the lane were mostly leased to the Bustards, Chamberlains, and Dashwoods, successively owners of the rest of Ilbury; (fn. 351) Billing's close, however, which lay north of the village street, was separately leased after 1554, at first to John Billing. (fn. 352) In 1808 the inclosure commissioners treated the tenants of the various Magdalen closes as freeholders, (fn. 353) reflecting the prolonged confusion over the site of the deserted village.

The origins of a large freehold estate (16½ yardlands) held at inclosure by Samuel Churchill are obscure, though much seems to have been acquired by Bartholomew Churchill from the French and Burton families in the mid 18th century. (fn. 354) Samuel Churchill (d. 1841), awarded 309 a. for his freehold in 1808, (fn. 355) was declared a bankrupt in 1827. The Revd. W. C. Risley bought one of Churchill's two main farms, a holding of c. 110 a. attached to Deddington House, in 1839, (fn. 356) and it passed on his death in 1869 to his son Holford (d. 1903). (fn. 357) Deddington House (sometimes called Deddington Manor) appears to have been rebuilt early in the 19th century, probably by Samuel Churchill, but the Doric porch is a later addition. W. C. Risley, who leased the house from 1836, when he first came to the parish as vicar, made extensive additions and alterations, and also laid out a small park of c. 30 a. with the aid of the gardener from Aynho Park, a Mr. Browne. (fn. 358) Churchill's other main farm (Home farm, Clifton) was acquired by Samuel Field, from whom it was purchased in 1868 by Christ Church. (fn. 359)

The rectory estate, comprising 3 yardlands of glebe and the tithes, was acquired by the dean and chapter of Windsor on the appropriation of the living in 1353, and was occupied by their farmers or lessees until passing to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1866. (fn. 360) In the 14th century it was farmed for between £45 and £50, though deductions for the vicar's stipend and other expenses reduced its clear value by at least one third. (fn. 361) In the 17th century Thomas Appletree paid an annual rent of £32 a year, but a substantial entry fine. (fn. 362) At inclosure in 1808 the lessees were awarded 680 a. for glebe and tithes, (fn. 363) and thereafter the farms created on the estate were separately leased, one of them (Great House farm) still attached to the ancient rectory house. (fn. 364)

The house, called the Old Parsonage, the Great House, and now Castle House, because of its long association with the Castle manor, of which it was at times effectively the manor house, stands north of the church. Its nucleus is a towerlike structure of medieval origin, containing on its first floor a small chapel with stone seat recesses and a 13th-century piscina. In 1443–4 lead was purchased for a gutter between the 'chapel chamber' and the 'great chamber', and other alterations at that time included the making of a new screen ('enterclose') between the hall and the chamber, and a new stair and a small chamber next to the great chamber. (fn. 365) In 1497 repairs included a new 'groundsel' in the little gate adjoining the 'great gate' of the parsonage. (fn. 366) In the 17th century the medieval block was largely rebuilt, being heightened, refaced with horizontal bands of ironstone and limestone, and refenestrated, while a new wing was built on the south side and a new staircase added in a tall, balustraded projection north-east of the tower. The work may be attributed to the wealthy Thomas Appletree (d. 1666), whose initials survive on the rainwater heads with the date 1654. Appletree was an active parliamentarian and, as a member of the local committee for the sequestration of royalist estates, (fn. 367) was concerned in pulling down Holdenby House and Woodstock Manor, whose materials he was said to have used to add to his Deddington house. (fn. 368)

During the 18th century and early 19th Castle House was occupied by tenant farmers put in by the Windsor lessees, and suffered much damage and neglect. (fn. 369) In 1894 it was bought by H. R. Franklin, a local builder, who carefully restored the building with the aid of the architect Thomas Garner. The south front, with its bay window and porch, is chiefly of that date, though it incorporates older work. In 1911 the Ecclesiastical Commissioners sold the house to Franklin. After a fire in 1925 the east front was reconstructed. Most of the woodwork was introduced in the course of these and later alterations. (fn. 370)

Economic History:

Agriculture. Despite its urban characteristics Deddington was predominantly an agricultural community. Its well watered fields were typical of the red lands praised by Arthur Young, (fn. 371) and in 1591 local jurors described the soil as 'very fertile, yielding great store of corn and pasture'. (fn. 372) Except for Ilbury the parish remained uninclosed until 1808, but although ridge and furrow survives in many parts of the parish (fn. 373) the precise location of the open arable fields is uncertain. In Deddington township, as was usual in the region, the twofield system of agriculture was in operation in the early Middle Ages: 'both fields' were mentioned in 1291, and only half the demesne of William de Bohun (d. 1360) was cultivated each year. (fn. 374) By the early 14th century, however, though north and south fields of Deddington were sometimes mentioned, (fn. 375) houses and holdings were also described as lying in the 'Westhrop' or 'Esthrop' of Deddington, each division containing at least a north and south field. (fn. 376) Later evidence confirms that Deddington township contained two separate field systems, to which separate sets of officers (2 fieldsmen and 2 haywards) were appointed annually. (fn. 377) The two 'sides' were sometimes called the Upper (or Over) town and Lower (or Nether) town. (fn. 378) Medieval references to east and west fields (fn. 379) were probably to the two sides rather than to their subdivisions, since in the 16th century both sides remained divided into north and south fields only, at least for descriptive purposes. (fn. 380) By then, however, a four-course rotation of crops seems to have been observed, since in 1574 it was claimed that a grazing ground called the Crofts had 'for fifty years' lain common every fourth year, and was customarily 'hained' in the other years on St. Mathias's Day (24 Feb.) when the surrounding fields were sown. (fn. 381) By the early 18th century (fn. 382) both sides were divided into quarters which, perhaps because they were fairly flexible groupings of furlongs, were named after the crop they carried; thus both sides contained wheat, barley, peas, and fallow quarters, and on the eve of inclosure the rotation in each quarter after the fallow year was wheat, then barley, then peas or beans. (fn. 383) The boundary between the two sides of Deddington township lay roughly along the Oxford-Banbury road, though north of the town it lay slightly further east. (fn. 384)

Clifton, Hempton, and Ilbury were separately cultivated. Clifton's development resembled Deddington's; it had north and south fields in the earlier Middle Ages, (fn. 385) retained separate fieldsmen in the 17th century, (fn. 386) and by the 18th century had the same crop rotation as Deddington, in quarters described as the upper and lower quarters on the north side and likewise on the south. (fn. 387) Hempton contained east and west fields in the Middle Ages and evidently then, as later, shared a single field system with Barford St. Michael. (fn. 388) The men of Ilbury, too, may have shared in that system, since the small inclosed farm (c. 208 a.) that retained the name of the deserted village probably represented only part of the two open fields of Ilbury recorded in 1279; (fn. 389) four yardlands of arable and leys scattered throughout Hempton fields, known as Ilbury lands, were still held with Ilbury farm in the 16th century. (fn. 390) The inclosed farm, presumably created in the 14th century, (fn. 391) was almost entirely pasture. Between the early 17th century and the early 19th it changed little, except for the subdivision of some of the larger closes. (fn. 392) In 1808 the farm was enlarged by an award, for the open-field land in Hempton, of several allotments along its eastern boundary, (fn. 393) and in 1852 it comprised 268 a. of which only c. 100 a. were arable. (fn. 394)

The parish contained plentiful meadow land, mostly along the rivers and streams on the perimeter of the parish. In 1086 there were said to be 140 a. in Deddington carrying the high annual value of 10s. an acre, while in Ilbury there were 6 a. and in Hempton the meadow was 2 furlongs wide and 1½ leagues long. (fn. 395) Some of the demesne meadow seems to have been permanently inclosed, notably the Fishers (earlier Fishwere). These were two closes (c. 19 a.) on South Brook against the Oxford road, 'subject to be overflown with water' in the 16th century; (fn. 396) the vicar received the hay tithe from them until 1808. (fn. 397) Most of the common meadow was 'hained' each February, (fn. 398) and was subject to complex traditional lotting arrangements. Clifton meadow was redivided equally between the three manors each year, and tenants were then allowed, according to their holdings, so many 'mens mowth'. (fn. 399) The meadow rights attached to Blount's farm included 'the noble acre' in Great Mead and Sands Mead and an acre in every 12 poles and every 'set' in Bugbrook Mead. (fn. 400) Some copyholds on the Duchy manor were said to be 'hited', while some were 'unhited' or said to have 'no hight'. The 'unhited' yardlands had no share in the lot meadows and were allowed much smaller stints in the common pasture. (fn. 401) The phrase, not noticed elsewhere in north Oxfordshire, could mean unhidated, referring to yardlands exempt from the normal hidation; perhaps such yardlands had once belonged to the ancient demesne or 'inland' of 1086, and lacked common rights because they had earlier been associated with the lord's private meadow and pasture.

In 1086 Deddington was said to contain 30 a. of pasture, presumably permanent, (fn. 402) and there are later references to permanent pastures such as the Crofts and the Cow Leasow. (fn. 403) The grassland was augmented by blocks of leys scattered throughout the arable fields by the 16th century; these may have been convertible strips in origin, but by the 18th century seem to have been not only extensive but permanent. In 1715 fines were set for anyone ploughing up the ancient greensward, (fn. 404) which seems to have been divided into Lammas and Midsummer land, presumably becoming commonable on those feasts. (fn. 405) The grassland attached to the 4 yardlands of Appletree farm in 1778 comprised as many as 50 leys and 40 butts or yards. (fn. 406)

The demesne was scattered throughout the parish, but from an early date it apparently lay in much larger blocks than the tenants' land. In 1728 (fn. 407) the 4 yardlands of Earl's farm, part of the former demesne of the Duchy manor, comprised 252 ridges of arable in both 'sides' of Deddington and in Clifton field, but the land lay in only 54 separate pieces; moreover every piece was flanked by the lands of the Windsor and Christ Church manors, implying that before the tripartite division of Deddington manor in the late 12th century the demesne had lain in large blocks, sometimes containing as many as 30 ridges in a single furlong. The division of the blocks of demesne into three seems to have been carried out in a fixed order, the Duchy manor in each case receiving the middle piece. Other Duchy holdings in 1728 were made up of much smaller pieces, as were the holdings of other owners. Even on larger farms there seems to have been little amalgamation of strips: in the 16th century a 6-yardland farm belonging to Christ Church contained no more than 3 'lands' in any one furlong, while the arable of Blount's farm in 1777 (c. 80 statutè acres) lay in 239 separate pieces, the grassland in another 91 pieces. (fn. 408) Several larger holdings besides Earl's farm comprised land in several field systems, but by the 18th century there had been some reorganization so that most holdings were confined largely to one field system only. Thus Blount's farm, whose homestead stood at the eastern extremity of the town, comprised lands almost entirely in the east 'side' of Deddington, while Savage's and Maund's farms, whose homesteads were on the west side of New Street, comprised lands mostly in the west 'side'. (fn. 409) Earlier, however, both Savage's and Maund's had been larger holdings, including yardlands in the east side and Hempton respectively, (fn. 410) and their later subdivision on the basis of the location of their strips suggests a growing awareness of the inconvenience of scattered holdings.

Elizabethan orders in the joint court leet were largely devoted to the management of the common herd, but included provisions for the regular perambulation of the open fields to set marks and bounds, and in 1586 the inhabitants of Clifton were ordered to leave an unploughed boundary of 18 in. between every land. Every occupier of 2 yardlands was expected to provide one horse for 'furrowing the fields', while the smaller landholders were to provide their labour or victuals at the discretion of the bailiff and 'other masters of the town'. (fn. 411)

Crops of wheat, rye, oats, dredge, peas, and beans were being cultivated in Deddington in the late 13th century, (fn. 412) and wheat, barley, maslin, oats, and peas were all mentioned in later manorial accounts. (fn. 413) The introduction of a four-course rotation of crops presumably created space for legumes, but in the 16th century extra 'hitches' in the fallow field were made for pulse. (fn. 414) There was also a hitch for the poor, communally sown with peas, in the 16th century, and the custom seems to have continued until inclosure, for Arthur Young comments that the poor grew potatoes on the fallows, the farmers providing and manuring the land. (fn. 415) Vetches were sown in a horse hitch on the fallow in the early 18th century. (fn. 416)

Some idea of the livestock that the demesne could carry is given by an account of 1195, when the manor was in the king's hand and its custodian listed 54 oxen (for the 9 ploughs), 6 draught horses, 12 cows, 3 bulls, 24 sows, 3 boars, and 249 sheep. (fn. 417) A list of cows drawn up for tithe purposes in the early 14th century shows that 74 parishioners owned between them 126 cows; no individual owned more than 6 cows, and only six men owned 4 or more. (fn. 418) In 1432–3 only 37 men with 79 cows were accounted for, including one man, John Blount, with 12, but the tithe of Clifton and Hempton may have been omitted. (fn. 419) The cattle stint for a copyhold yardland in 1591 was 3 'rother cattle' and 3 plough beasts, apparently little changed since at least the 15th century; (fn. 420) artificers and other cottagers were allowed to keep one beast or horse only on the common. (fn. 421) In 1640, however, some yardlands on the Christ Church manor in Deddington could keep 2 horses and 2 beasts, others 2 horses and 3 beasts, while in Hempton the stint was 2 horses and 4 beasts. (fn. 422) In the late 17th century the rectorial tithe was valued on the basis of 4 cows to a yardland, though lower stints were recorded in the 18th century. (fn. 423) These cows formed the common herd in the charge of the fieldsmen. In Deddington, as elsewhere, the parish bull was the rector's prerogative, and in 1579 it was ordered that no one else might keep a bull longer than a fortnight after the feast of St. John the Baptist (24 June); by the 18th century the fieldsmen seem to have provided the parish bull out of revenues from keeping cow commons. (fn. 424) Pigs were not stinted, but their access to common pasture was severely restricted. (fn. 425)

Sheep evidently played an important part in Deddington's economy from the early Middle Ages. In 1454 it was complained that they were overburdening the commons, and that a Deddington and a Hempton man each had 200. (fn. 426) The stint in the late 15th century was 50 to a yardland, but had been reduced to 30 by the late 16th century. (fn. 427) Stints of between 30 and 40 were mentioned thereafter. (fn. 428) Although the precise number of yardlands in the parish is uncertain there was probably pasture for well over 4,500 sheep. Among the large flocks recorded were those of Thomas Appletree (d. 1666), who had more than 500, (fn. 429) and those of John Gregory of Hordley, who at times c. 1590 had some 200 sheep on hired commons in Deddington. Gregory, a prominent grazier, (fn. 430) was also associated at that time with Ilbury, (fn. 431) presumably because of its inclosed sheep pastures; earlier William Fox of Barford, a considerable sheepowner, had also held land in Ilbury, and in 1627 Justine Dormer was keeping a large flock there, though she lived in Steeple Barton. (fn. 432)

In 1086 Deddington, probably including Clifton but not Hempton and Ilbury, was assessed at 36 hides. At the Conquest there had been 11½ hides in demesne in addition to the 'inland' (presumably ancient demesne), and by 1086 the demesne was reckoned to be 18½ hides. The land was deemed sufficient for 30 plough teams, and was fully cultivated with 10 teams on the demesne, worked by 25 servi, and 20 teams worked by the tenants, 64 villeins and 10 bordars. The manor had increased in value from £40 to £60, making it one of the half-dozen most valuable estates in the county. The 10-hide estate at Hempton had land for 10 teams, but only 2 were in demesne while 7½ were held by 13 villeins and 4 bordars. Besides the valuable meadowland there was said to be woodland 1½ leagues long and 3½ furlongs wide; the manor's value had remained at £6 since the Conquest. The small settlement at Ilbury (1 hide and 1 yardland) had land for only 2 teams, and 1½ were in demesne worked by 2 servi, while 3 villeins held ½ team; the manor's value had risen from £1 to £2. (fn. 433) The later development of the Ilbury manor is described elsewhere. (fn. 434) Hempton manor appears to have merged in the early Middle Ages with Deddington manor, of which the three parts were each described later as lying in Deddington, Clifton, and Hempton. The economic development of Deddington manor is obscured by its tripartite division and its omission from the Hundred Rolls of 1279. The demesne may have been reduced slightly by 1195 when only 9 plough teams were in use. (fn. 435) By the late 13th century the demesne of the Dive manor was said to be only 8 yardlands (c. 80 field acres in each field) perhaps because of the creation of freehold estates. (fn. 436) In 1233, when Warin Basset's lands were confiscated, his Deddington manor, the later Bicester manor, was entrusted temporarily to William de Brisac who obtained leave to lease the demesne to the 'men of Deddington' or others for rent or on a crop-sharing basis. (fn. 437) Usually, however, in the prosperous 13th century the demesnes of all three manors were probably managed directly through a reeve or steward. In 1291 the prior of Bicester's reeve was found to have been negligent. (fn. 438) By the reign of Richard II all three Deddington manors were permanently let out at farm, sometimes with the courts, sometimes without, an arrangement which persisted for a century or more. Thus in 1395–6 Andrew Draper of Oxford held the Bicester manor and Clifton mill at farm for 20 years at £40 a year. (fn. 439) In the 15th century, however, the priory's bursars usually collected the rents of free and customary tenants through a rent collector, while leasing the demesne and mill by indenture, not necessarily to the same person. (fn. 440) In 1535 the total income was £32, of which tenants' rent amounted to c. £19. (fn. 441) Likewise the Castle manor, comprising the castle site, its park, the meadow called Fishwere, and a demesne of only 4 yardlands (fn. 442) was let to farm from its acquisition by the canons of Windsor in 1364, but the courts and their profits were administered directly by the canons' own steward until the mid 16th century. (fn. 443) Perhaps because the demesne was small it became customary for Windsor to lease Leadenporch farm with it. (fn. 444) The Duchy manor was being farmed in 1389–90 and 1421 for an annual rent of c. £30; (fn. 445) in 1438–9 and 1455–6 the demesne only was leased while a reeve accounted for the other profits, but in 1441 and again from the late 15th century the whole manor was farmed. (fn. 446)

Typical boon-works were owed by a free tenant of the Bassets in 1219, (fn. 447) but the earliest evidence of the range of customary services is an extent of the Castle manor in 1311. There were then 54 free tenants, many of them presumably holding burgages; the freemen were primarily rent-payers, but some also worked at harvest. There were 29 villeins paying in all 105s., and two cottagers paid 1s. each; the customary tenants could be called upon to work between Michaelmas and All Saints' Day 'as in ploughing for winter seed', whilst three of the villeins each ploughed half an acre for the spring crop. From Easter until 1 August the villeins could also be required to hoe and to mow the lord's meadow. (fn. 448) In 1327, when there were 27 villeins of whom 13 held 1 yardland each and the rest ½ yardland, the total rents were much the same but labour services were organized differently. The villeins either provided 4 men to work 5 days a week between 29 July and Michaelmas or paid their lord 10s. in cash and corn and rye to the value of 18s.; in addition they paid c. £1 18s. to their lord as an annual 'geld'. (fn. 449) In 1324 at the great bedrip (reaping) on the Bicester manor the prior provided two meals of bread, cheese, and ale for 64 labourers. (fn. 450) A villein of that manor paid as much as 10s. for his freedom in 1291, and at several courts in the 1360s the prior's steward called in vain on his tenants to apprehend five villeins who had fled the town. In 1395 the farmer of the Windsor manor managed to recover a runaway villein, but at great expense. (fn. 451) By then the decline of customary services was well advanced: in 1366 the prior agreed that one of his half yardlanders should pay 4s. a year instead of 'the old rent and services', (fn. 452) and by the mid 15th century the villeins had been enfranchized and only boon-works remained as a condition of copyhold tenure.

The leasing of their demesne farms by the manorial lords from the later Middle Ages provided opportunities for ambitious local men, of whom some had already profited by acquiring land that had passed from manorial control. A number of freehold estates were created before Deddington manor was divided, and a comparison of the three manors in the early modern period suggests that during the Middle Ages other freehold estates had been created, chiefly out of the Duchy and Windsor manors, since the Bicester manor passed largely intact to Christ Church. At inclosure in 1808 the open-field land comprised c. 158 yardlands in Deddington, Clifton, and Hempton; (fn. 453) in the 13th century the yardlands were reckoned to contain c. 20 field acres, and in 1640 the estimate was c. 18. (fn. 454) The Christ Church estate comprised c. 61 yardlands in the 16th and 17th centuries, (fn. 455) and was unchanged at inclosure; it was divided into copyhold (c. 23 yardlands) and leasehold, much of the latter presumably representing the former Bicester demesne. By contrast the Castle manor was quite small in the 17th century, comprising only 22½ yardlands, of which 18½ were copyhold both then and at inclosure. (fn. 456) The Duchy manor in 1591 comprised an uncertain amount of leasehold and 28½ yardlands of copyhold. By the early 17th century there seem to have been only a few copyholds, (fn. 457) and in 1728 the estate comprised 16¾ leasehold yardlands and 9 of copyhold, and was the same overall size at inclosure. (fn. 458) Though some of the principal freehold estates created in the Middle Ages seem to have been re-acquired by one or other of the manorial lords, there were still some 40–50 yardlands in 1808 that belonged to other owners. Except for Samuel Churchill's estate of 16½ yardlands most were holdings of 2 yardlands or less, often held with other leasehold and copyhold properties.

The emergence of a group of leading townsmen who had benefited from the acquisition of such land or of demesne leases is evident in the later Middle Ages. The lessees of the Windsor manor included two of the founders of the town's guild, notably John Colles who lived in a house called New Hall in New Street, while his son was for a time part-owner of Leadenporch House in the same street. (fn. 459) John Somerton (d. 1446), another of the guild's founders, held land in Deddington in chief as well as of the Duchy and Bicester manors. (fn. 460) William Billing, merchant (d. 1533), and his son John held several freehold and leasehold estates in the parish, (fn. 461) as did the Pope family, whose properties included the lease of the Leadenporch estate. (fn. 462) The parish's assessment for the subsidy of 1523–4 was far heavier than those of large neighbouring villages such as Bloxham and Adderbury, and even of the market town of Banbury. (fn. 463) In 1523 a total of £34 16s. was paid by 104 inhabitants (71 in Deddington, 25 in Clifton, 8 in Hempton), of whom William Billing paid as much as £10 10s. and Margaret Pope and her son Thomas a total of £4 13s. 4d. The following year 98 parishioners paid £27 12s. 10d., of which Billing contributed £11. (fn. 464) In 1526 he was one of only three persons in Wootton hundred whose lands were worth £50 a year. (fn. 465) Besides Billing there were many substantial yeomen in the parish, notably Thomas and John Appletree who each paid £2 8s. in 1524.

By the 16th century the more prominent local farmers were calling themselves gentlemen. When Thomas Appletree, whose grandfather called himself plain 'husbandman', died in Castle House in 1666 he left rents worth £612 a year and plate valued at £112; there was a coach in his stable-yard, virginals and an organ in his parlour, and oil paintings on his walls. (fn. 466) His chief estates were the Windsor manor and rectory; earlier and later Appletrees gave their names to two Christ Church farms, and long occupied a third, Blount's. (fn. 467) The long, easily renewable, college leases allowed such families to retain substantial farms for generations, treating them much like freehold; the principal Christ Church farms such as Savage's, Blount's, Appletree's, Maund's, and the college's farms in Clifton and Hempton, retained their integrity into the 19th century (fn. 468) and formed the basis of the prosperity of many Deddington families. Of similar status to the Appletrees were the Bustards, Drapers, Lanes, Stilgoes, and Churchills, whose surviving houses testify to the wealth of Deddington's Tudor and Stuart farmers.

By the late 18th century Deddington seems to have been regarded with disfavour by outside commentators: it was claimed that the rates were high because it remained uninclosed, attracting dispossessed small farmers from inclosed neighbouring parishes, and with large numbers of houses exempt from tax because of poverty. (fn. 469) In 1807, the year of Deddington's inclosure Act, (fn. 470) a surveyor reported to the Windsor chapter that the parish's grasslands in the open fields compared poorly with 'most of the commonable land in this county', while some of the arable was 'in a wretched state of cultivation'; he recommended inclosure to facilitate the growing of turnips and artificial grasses, and the drainage of meadow land. (fn. 471) Arthur Young reckoned that rents would rise from 12s. or 15s. to '40s. an acre all round'. (fn. 472) Under the award of 1808 (fn. 473) the Windsor chapter and its tenants were allotted 1,330 a., of which 983 a. went to the Revd. Robert Marriott as lessee of the manor and rectory, including 680 a. for rectorial tithes and glebe. Christ Church and its tenants were awarded 980 a., excluding the college's fourth share of Ilbury, and W. R. Cartwright and his tenants of the Duchy manor received 485 a. Most of the principal farmers held a mixture of freehold, leasehold, and copyhold land, and the chief individual beneficiaries of the award, apart from Marriott and Cartwright, were Samuel Churchill (369 a. for his freehold and a Christ Church lease), Sir Henry Dashwood (333 a. for a Christ Church lease and Ilbury farm, which was included in the award despite being an old inclosure), William Appletree (166 a. for freehold, Christ Church leasehold, and Windsor copyhold), and John Griffin (100 a., mostly for Christ Church leasehold); 5 others received between 50 a. and 100 a.

The inclosure commissioners tried to create integrated farms which could be worked conveniently from existing farmhouses in the town. When Henry Dean, lessee of Cartwright's principal Deddington farm (Earl's farm), was awarded small closes for his freehold and copyhold land they were laid out next to the Cartwright allotment, creating a single holding running north from the ancient farmhouse in the town to the parish boundary; William Appletree's lands, whatever their tenure, were replaced by allotments laid out side by side between Deddington and Clifton so that they were convenient both to his residence (Blount's Farm) and to Appletree Farm in Clifton; and Samuel Churchill's allotments comprised one large block of land adjacent to Deddington House and another linked to his house (Home Farm) in Clifton. The smaller landholders were fitted into the pattern with less regard to their convenience: the poor of Hempton, for example, were compensated for the loss of common rights with an allotment on the periphery of the old open fields, more than a mile from the village. Few farmhouses were built in the fields, except on Windsor's tithe allotments which were served from newly built farmhouses, Hazelhedge Farm in the north-east of the parish and Tomwell Farm in the south-west. (fn. 474) Windsor's Leadenporch farm was provided with a farmhouse in the fields by 1834. (fn. 475) Windsor's Great House farm, largely made up of allotments for rectorial glebe and tithes, continued to be worked from the ancient rectory house, Castle House, (fn. 476) until a new farmhouse was built on the Clifton road in the late 19th century. Inclosure hastened the end for some working farmhouses, notably Appletree's which became a school, (fn. 477) and a Christ Church farmhouse in the Market Place which became the Red Lion inn. (fn. 478)

Inclosure caused no immediate decrease in the number of small landholders. In 1807 there had been 98 proprietors in Deddington, of whom 58 were owner-occupiers and 66 were rated at less than £1. In 1812 there were 96 proprietors, of whom 64 were owner-occupiers and 57 were rated at less than £1. In 1824 the comparable figures were 102, 72, and 72. (fn. 479) Presumably only a small proportion were independent and selfsufficient farmers. In the long term inclosure led to an increase in farming efficiency, and many of the new farms were properly drained during the 19th century. (fn. 480) Land values rose, but when Christ Church raised entry fines in the 1820s the tenants protested. John Griffin went so far as to claim that his farm had been more productive before inclosure, but the real problem for Deddington farmers at that period was probably the falling price of grain, coming after heavy expenditure on fencing the new farms. (fn. 481)

The amount of land in corporate or nonresident ownership remained a feature of the parish, and in 1977 only a third of the farm land belonged to the resident farmers. (fn. 482) During the 19th and 20th centuries Christ Church greatly increased its Deddington estate, purchasing over 500 a. before the First World War; the college also made beneficial exchanges with W. C. Cartwright in 1885 and with the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, owners of the former Windsor estate, in 1942 and 1947. (fn. 483) When Christ Church sold its whole estate to Lord Wimborne in 1954 it comprised c. 1,604 a., including 5 large farms. (fn. 484)

Deddington, 1808

In 1851 there were 13 farms of over 150 a., 7 others of over 40 a., while 5 men with smaller holdings described themselves as farmers. Between them Deddington's farmers claimed to employ 116 men and 22 boys. (fn. 485) In the 19th century most of the larger farms were mixed, though there was a wide variety in the proportions of arable and grass: Blount's farm was almost all arable in 1828, while Hazelhedge farm in 1884 was mainly grass. (fn. 486) In 1914 almost two-thirds of the farm land was under grass, and the density of cattle and sheep was high for the county; the principal crops were wheat and barley, while 10 per cent of the arable was under oats. (fn. 487) In the 1950s there were 15 farms in the parish, excluding minor holdings; a trend towards larger units was already established, with Manor farm, Deddington, and Tomwell farm being under single management, and likewise Home farm, Deddington, and Manor farm (Clifton). (fn. 488) The farms sold by Christ Church were mostly described as 'high-quality grass', though some were mixed farms. (fn. 489) In 1977 there were said to be 7 holdings of over 100 ha., 4 of over 50 ha., and 7 smaller units; the specialist farms included 4 dairy, 2 cereal-growing, and 2 stock-raising. The cultivated area was almost equally divided between arable and grassland, the latter having been extended considerably in the 1970s; the chief crops were wheat, barley, and oats. (fn. 490)

Markets and fairs.

The market probably dates from the laying out of the borough in the 12th century; some of the plots granted out at that time were called 'chepeacreplaces', presumably alluding to the market. (fn. 491) In the 14th century (fn. 492) and until its cessation in the early 19th the market was held on Saturdays. By the 16th and 17th centuries it probably served the inhabitants of the immediate neighbourhood only, but butchers from towns such as Bicester, Banbury, Brackley, Chipping Norton, and Woodstock were frequently presented by the flesh-tasters for selling bad meat. (fn. 493) In the early 19th century the market was 'but thinly attended', and by 1830 had come to an end. (fn. 494) In 1846 an attempt was made to revive it as a cattle market, held on the last Tuesday of each month; at first the attendance was good, but by 1852 the market was again defunct. (fn. 495) A weekly corn market started in the town hall c. 1870 also failed. (fn. 496) In 1885 a Banbury auctioneer began a regular stock market in Deddington on Fridays, but the venture seems to have been short-lived. (fn. 497)

The earliest reference to a fair is a grant of 1393 to the canons of Windsor of two annual fairs, each lasting three days, beginning on 15 July and Martinmas (11 Nov.); the privilege was later cancelled or renounced. (fn. 498) In 1591 the fair on 11 November was still held, while another was held on St. Lawrence's day (10 Aug.). (fn. 499) The Martinmas fair was much the more important, being described in the early 18th century as 'a great fair'. (fn. 500) It continued until the 1930s, but by the early 19th century was held on 22 November. (fn. 501) It was renowned as the 'pudding-pie fair', so-called because of the pies of plum-pudding baked in a hard crust of pastry which were made for the occasion in large numbers. Until the early 19th century it was inaugurated by a band, headed by an old man with a lantern, who roused the town at 4 a.m. (fn. 502) In the 19th century the pudding-pie fair was primarily a cattle fair, to which droves of Welsh sheep and Irish horses were brought for sale, besides local horses and cattle. As late as the 1880s the fair was enlivened by the 'sweet music of the Kerry boys' and the 'expletives' of the Welsh drovers, but by then it was complained that local cattle were not brought for sale, and that apart from the sale of ponies it was 'a gradually diminishing pleasure fair for children only'. (fn. 503) In its heyday the centre of the Market Place had been reserved for pigs, sheep were sold in the Bull Ring, while the horses occupied the Horse Fair, where some of the iron tethering rings remain, and also stretched some distance up the road to Hempton. (fn. 504)

The August fair appears to have been less important; it probably lapsed in the early 19th century (when it was recorded as a cattle fair held on 21 August), (fn. 505) though it continued to be listed in some directories until the 1860s. (fn. 506) A third fair, on 11 October, was initiated in 1780, when the bailiff gave notice that there would be 'a statute fair for hiring servants and buying and selling cattle, to be continued annually'. (fn. 507) An ox was roasted whole in the market place, and this became a regular feature of the October fair. By 1863 only the November fair survived. (fn. 508)

Trade and Industry.

Although Deddington failed to attain maturity as an urban community, the continuance of the market ensured that a proportion of the inhabitants were tradesmen. Medieval references to a woolmonger, a draper, and a weaver, (fn. 509) and to a substantial sum owed by two Deddington men as customs duty in the port of London in 1338, (fn. 510) suggest participation in the wool and cloth trades. Such features as the 15thcentury vaulted cellar in New Street, and the foundation of a guild in 1445, also hint at the survival of a mercantile class. William Billing, the town's wealthiest inhabitant in 1523–4, was a merchant of the Staple. (fn. 511) In the 16th century the town's traders still claimed freedom from tolls as tenants of the Duchy of Lancaster. (fn. 512) At an unknown date before 1611 shops and stalls had been built by townsmen out of the revenues of charitable estates; (fn. 513) 15 shops belonging to the former guild were listed in 1591, but by then there were also two whole rows of shops described as decayed. (fn. 514) In 1623 the male inhabitants included 9 tailors, 5 mercers, 4 glovers, 2 weavers, a fuller, and a collarmaker; there were also 5 carpenters, 4 slaters, 4 smiths, 2 masons, 2 joiners, a glazier, and a wheelwright. (fn. 515) Five Deddington tradesmen, including two mercers and an apothecary, are known to have issued tokens in the 17th century. (fn. 516) Innkeeping, already important then, thrived with the increase of travel in the 18th century.

In the early 19th century and again in 1852 Deddington was described as 'almost solely agricultural', containing 'no staple manufacture'. (fn. 517) Weaving, which had continued on a small scale in the 18th century, had declined altogether. (fn. 518) Although the town contained several malt-houses and retained a reputation for its 'malt liquor', (fn. 519) brewing seems to have been unimportant as a source of employment. The few brewers in the mid 19th century seem to have run small concerns, one at the 'Old Malthouse' in Church Street, another in the Bull Ring, others attached to the Unicorn and Crown and Tuns inns, while a malthouse at Maund's Farm was vacant in the 1840s because of the 'stagnation of the trade'. (fn. 520) Clockmaking, carried on by the Fardon family from the early 18th century, ceased in the 1830s. (fn. 521) The building trades, however, continued to be well-represented, especially in the Hopcraft family which produced several generations of masons and builders. Robert Franklin (d. 1864), who established a highly successful builders' yard, was a carpenter and joiner by trade. In 1851 he was said to be employing 10 men, but his widow in 1871 employed 84 men and 8 boys. (fn. 522) Later the brothers H. R. and W. Franklin built and restored churches in many parts of the country, but the business came to an end in 1917. (fn. 523) The building tradition has survived in Deddington into modern times, with a long-established firm of builders' merchants occupying the timber yard which Franklin once held. (fn. 524) During the 19th century two brick-kilns were established on the Oxford road; the Hopcraft family seems at some time to have held both, and bricks and tiles were made at Deddington until the mid 20th century. (fn. 525)

The Mason family, recorded as locksmiths and ironmongers from the late 17th century, (fn. 526) established an axletree factory c. 1820, which was employing 24 men and 4 boys in 1851. (fn. 527) The firm exported its products to many countries, and is reputed also to have supplied axles for the royal coaches. (fn. 528) The factory was a considerable employer in 1871, (fn. 529) but was closed c. 1895 when the patent was sold to Walker's of Wednesbury (Staffs.). (fn. 530) Another factory established in the early 19th century made red earthenware in a barn in Clifton, but may have ceased on the bankruptcy of its owner, Samuel Churchill, in 1827. (fn. 531) Also in Clifton there was a small hat factory beside the Duke of Cumberland's Head, (fn. 532) employing only one labourer in 1851. Thomas Lardner made pumps and agricultural implements at Clifton from the 1840s, but on a small scale. (fn. 533) There were two smithies in Deddington in the later 19th century; in 1851 one of the blacksmiths employed 7 men and boys. (fn. 534) The gas works provided employment from 1863. (fn. 535) There was a succession of small printers in Deddington, notably J. S. Hirons, proprietor of Deddington's short-lived newspaper. (fn. 536)

Mercers and grocers were mentioned in Deddington in the 18th century, (fn. 537) and mid 19thcentury shops large enough to employ labour included those of 3 grocers and 2 drapers: (fn. 538) Churchill's and Tucker's shops in the Market Place were long-established family businesses, the former presumably dating at least from the mid 18th century when Bartholomew Churchill, hop-dealer and grocer, was a prominent figure in the town; (fn. 539) Tucker's survived in 1980. A furniture and drapery warehouse was established in the Bull Ring in the later 19th century by the Chislett family, and William Churchill ran a similar business, the Household Cash Stores. (fn. 540)

Mills.

In 1086 three mills in Deddington were recorded, (fn. 541) and by c. 1400 there were three corn mills, Clifton, Bobenhull, and West mills; reference at that time to 'fulling mill bridge' suggests that Deddington once possessed at least one more mill. (fn. 542) The latter may have been the mill belonging to Henry de Dive in 1272, but not included among the possessions of his successors; (fn. 543) a possible site may have been the Windsor manor's meadows called Fishwere, where there was not only a weir but probably, since they lay next to the Oxford road, a bridge. (fn. 544)

About 1180 Maud de Chesney gave a third of Clifton mill to Eynsham abbey, and in 1192 Ralph Murdac gave another third. (fn. 545) The remaining share was acquired by Philip Basset from Roger de Sampford in the 13th century and given to Bicester priory c. 1271. The rent of the mill was 40s. at that date, and Bicester priory continued to pay it to Eynsham abbey. In 1483, after payment had lapsed, there was an agreement between the two bodies that whereas the priory had formerly paid 40s. a year for Old Clifton mill, by then called Millstede by Thistleford and presumably disused, it would in future pay 20s. for New Clifton mill. (fn. 546) The mill passed with the Bicester manor to Christ Church, and was usually leased with the college's manor farm, and sublet to the millers. (fn. 547) The Merry family worked the mill for many years in the 18th century and early 19th. (fn. 548) In the 1830s it was described as a corn mill with two wheels working four pairs of stones, and its condition was thereafter regularly reviewed by the college. (fn. 549) Christ Church exchanged the mill for other property with W. C. Cartwright in 1885. (fn. 550) The mill was apparently still usable in the 1950s, and the wheel and other equipment remained in 1980. (fn. 551)

Bobenhull mill may have been the Duchy manor's mill on the river Swere. In 1583 the Duchy mill was leased to Nicholas Trippet, who built a new corn mill on the site of one that had fallen into decay in the mid 16th century. (fn. 552) In 1610 it was known as King mill or Old mill, and it remained in the Trippet family for much of the 17th century. (fn. 553) In 1660 Christopher Doyley of Adderbury asked leave of John Cartwright to convert Old mill into a paper mill. Michael Hutton of Hampton Gay made a similar proposal in 1684, and workmen were then engaged to make the conversion. (fn. 554) Paper was still made there in the early 19th century by the Emberlin family, (fn. 555) but by 1833 Mrs. Emberlin was in financial difficulties and in 1835 the mill's equipment was put up for sale as bankrupt stock. (fn. 556) Though paper makers and the paper mill continued to be recorded until the later 19th century, in 1851 Sophia Emberlin, who lived at the mill, was said to be doing no business; (fn. 557) in 1871 only agricultural labourers seem to have lived on the site in 'Paper Mill Cottages'. (fn. 558) In the 1870s Zachary Stilgoe of the adjoining Adderbury Grounds farm bought the mill and reconverted it into a corn mill. The site was sold to Christ Church in 1907. (fn. 559) The mill has disappeared, but the cottages survive and some paper-making equipment has been preserved. (fn. 560)

West mill was granted to Eynsham abbey by William de Chesney in the mid 12th century, a grant later confirmed by Ralph Murdac and Guy de Dive. (fn. 561) The mill, also called Dotard's mill, was yielding 20s. rent to the abbey c. 1270, and the same name and rent were recorded at the Dissolution. (fn. 562) In the early 15th century, however, it seems to have been held of the king by Walter of Somerton, and in 1533 by William Billing. (fn. 563) In the later 16th century and early 17th it probably belonged to the Welchman family. (fn. 564) In the 19th century, usually known as Deddington mill, it was a corn mill, and for many years the millers were members of the Course family. (fn. 565) In 1926 the mill was sold in working order, (fn. 566) but probably became a private residence soon afterwards. Part of the wheel and other equipment survived in 1980. (fn. 567)

In the 14th century Bicester priory owned a horse mill, (fn. 568) and in 1580 a windmill was mentioned. (fn. 569) This was probably not the windmill built without licence c. 1584 by the Welchman family 'on the queen's style in the common field', (fn. 570) presumably in the Windmill field near Deddington mill recorded in 1808. (fn. 571) Another windmill, however, stood on the south side of the Hempton road until it was pulled down c. 1840. (fn. 572)

A mill at Hempton, presumably on the river Swere, was recorded in 1086, (fn. 573) but has not been traced thereafter. A water mill at Ilbury formed part of the manorial estate there in the 16th century, and was leased to the Lyne family; (fn. 574) the mill may have survived from the deserted medieval settlement, though it was not mentioned expressly in a survey of 1279. (fn. 575) It stood south of the Worton brook (South brook, Tomwell) c. ¼ mile west of Ilbury bridge; in 1619 it comprised three buildings, the mill wheel being turned by a stream (now a ditch) running south from Worton brook. (fn. 576) The mill survived in 1721, but by 1777 the field in which it had stood was called Burnt House close; (fn. 577) later it was called Mill ham. (fn. 578) The field contains indications of former buildings.

Local Government.

Although Deddington was regarded for a short period in the Middle Ages as a borough, its institutions and government were those of a normal rural parish. In the 13th century the lords of the three manors each had gallows and the assize of bread and of ale, the prior of Bicester claiming in addition the return of writs. (fn. 579) In accordance with what seems to have been an accepted medieval practice, (fn. 580) however, a joint court leet or view of frankpledge was held for the whole parish, presided over by a steward appointed by the three lords. (fn. 581) In 1615 an agreement between the three lords confirmed the single court with a jointly appointed steward and one bailiff, (fn. 582) but by 1632, alleging that their tenants were being oppressed, the chapters of Windsor and Christ Church were appointing their own bailiff and holding a separate court leet for their two manors. Richard Cartwright claimed in the court of the duchy of Lancaster that, as fee farmer of the Duchy manor, he was the king's representative to whose court leet the other two lords owed suit. With the aid of his father-in-law William Noye, the attorney-general, he obtained an order restoring the single court and recognizing his nominee as the only legitimate bailiff. (fn. 583) Thereafter the parishioners owed suit to a court leet held twice yearly in the name of all three lords.

One view was held near Whitsun, when those not in pledge were sworn 'into frith and gryth', that is into membership of a tithing; those born outside the parish paid 3d. to each lord when sworn, while natives paid only 1d. to the steward and 1d. to the homage. Any inhabitant not sworn into a tithing paid 4d. 'headsilver' to his lord. (fn. 584) The main view or 'law day' was held at Michaelmas. In the 14th century and presumably earlier this court was called a portmoot, but by the 16th century the descriptions court leet or law day were used indifferently. The town was supposed to have a tumbril and cucking stool to punish offenders against the assizes, but the lack of these instruments was presented regularly in the 16th and 17th centuries and a money fine levied instead. The court heard debt cases and breaches of contract, and occasionally pleas instituted by the 'little writ of right close'. (fn. 585) This writ was procurable only by tenants of ancient demesne, which Deddington was thought to be, (fn. 586) perhaps because it had been in the king's hands after the forfeiture of Odo of Bayeux. Officers appointed by the court included various tasters, and two constables and two tithingmen for Deddington and one of each for Clifton and Hempton. (fn. 587) The bailiff, still described in the 19th century as nominally the governor of the town but with no real powers, (fn. 588) was responsible for summoning jurors to the leet, looking after impounded cattle, and seizing felons' goods, which he was entitled to sell, keeping a quarter of the profits while the remainder was divided among the three lords. (fn. 589) Each lord also received any amercements incurred by his own tenants, but presumably paid the bailiff for collecting them, as in 1628 when Richard Cartwright paid 4s. in the pound. (fn. 590) By the 18th century the cost of the law day, borne by the three lords or their lessees, usually exceeded the amercements. (fn. 591) In the 19th century the law days were concerned chiefly with the presentment of encroachments on the manorial waste, followed by a dinner at the lords' expense; as late as 1914 the G.P.O. was amerced 10s. for ten telegraph poles. (fn. 592) After the extinction of the court leet the responsibility for roadside verges became a liability rather than an asset, and in 1954 the three lords surrendered their residual rights over them to the county council. (fn. 593)

The court leet, as the only occasion when the inhabitants met in a single assembly, was also used to regulate agricultural affairs. Thus a portmoot in 1474 decided the stint for a yardland, (fn. 594) and in the 16th century agricultural regulations made in the court were separately enrolled. There was a gap in the enrolments shortly before 1585 when a group of inhabitants complained that they had not been consulted over orders that might be 'repugnant to a common wealth'. (fn. 595) Agricultural regulation by the leet probably continued until inclosure.

The three manors each had a court baron or three-weekly court. (fn. 596) By the 15th century, however, the prior of Bicester's court, since the demesne was leased out and labour services were less in demand, met only three or four times a year, (fn. 597) and in the 16th and 17th centuries two sessions were sufficient to deal with the granting of freehold and copyhold leases and to collect manorial dues. (fn. 598) The same seems to have been true of the Windsor manor by that period, and in 1591 the homage of the Duchy manor reported that courts baron were held twice yearly, shortly after Lady Day and Michaelmas. (fn. 599) All three courts, usually under the supervision of a single steward, (fn. 600) continued to be held until the early 20th century, but by the 18th century many leases were granted out of court, and long before the abolition of copyhold tenure in 1925 the courts were moribund. Even their social function, providing a traditional dinner for the copyholders, (fn. 601) had declined on at least two of the manors by the late 19th century: from 1862 Christ Church and from 1887 the Ecclesiastical Commissioners began the move away from copyhold tenures by refusing to put in new lives. (fn. 602)

Before the full development of the vestry's role in local government the parish charity feoffees were acting to some extent as the community's governing body. (fn. 603) By 1819 an open vestry (fn. 604) was fully established as the ruling body of the parish, levying rates for poor-relief and church maintenance, and appointing all the usual parish officers except constables, who were appointed in the court leet until 1842. Vestry meetings frequently aroused criticism; (fn. 605) in the early 19th century the fortnightly, later monthly, meetings were devoted almost entirely to poor law matters and usually fewer than ten attended, but there were many more when controversial issues were discussed. Although the vestry had oversight of the whole parish the hamlets of Clifton and Hempton were treated as separate districts for many purposes: each had its own constable, surveyor of highways, and assessor, and paid separately to the county rate; each had an overseer whose accounts were separately audited. Until 1834, however, the hamlets shared the Deddington workhouse, handing over regular sums and the surplus of their poor accounts to the Deddington overseers. (fn. 606) Deddington appointed two overseers, and from 1820 a paid assistant overseer, whose salary was at first £5 a year, but £45 by 1834. (fn. 607)

In 1736–7, in 58 weeks, poor-relief cost £161 in Deddington, £34 in Clifton, and £27 in Hempton. Costs in the year ending April 1767 were £226 in Deddington and £35 in Hempton; in the late 1760s there seems to have been a crisis, and £350 was spent in Deddington alone in 1769–70. (fn. 608) In 1776 the whole parish spent £463, in 1783–5 an average of £781, and by 1803 £1,458, roughly 18s. per head of the population. (fn. 609) It was suggested in 1796 that Deddington's expenditure was high because the parish was uninclosed and had many small proprietors, (fn. 610) but in 1803 expenditure per head was slightly below the average for the area and inclosure in 1808 brought no discernible improvement in the short run. In the early 19th century expenditure rose sharply, reaching peaks of over £2,000 in 1820 and 1828 and over £3,000 in 1832, when the cost per head (29s.) was among the highest in the area, (fn. 611) and the rate was as high as 5s. in the pound on a full or rack rental. (fn. 612)

In 1736–7 almost a third of the Deddington overseers' income of £164 derived from the town feoffees, (fn. 613) who continued to use charitable funds in aid of the rates until the early 19th century. Contributions from Hempton and Clifton towards the workhouse were also substantial, amounting in 1819–20 to c. £285 of Deddington's total receipts of £1,732. The chief categories of expenditure in the three townships were weekly payments, labourer's wages, the farm of the workhouse, and miscellaneous and 'casual payments'. In Deddington in 1736–7 regular weekly payments accounted for almost half the total expenditure; probably, as in Hempton in 1740, such payments were mostly to widows. In 1803 Deddington had 90 adults, mostly able-bodied, on out-relief, while Clifton had 15 and Hempton only 3 children. The number so relieved fell to only 80 in the whole parish in 1813 and only 65 in 1815. (fn. 614) The payment of wages by the parish was well established by the mid 18th century. The earliest accounts (1736) mention roundsmen or 'yardland men', the latter name suggesting that men may have been allotted to farmers according to holdings rather than rate assessments. From the names and numbers of employers (over 30) it appears that the surplus labour was distributed throughout the parish, though each man was paid the parish's share of his wages by the overseer of his own township. The total of such payments was small in the mid 18th century, only £18 out of Deddington's expenditure of £208 in 1742–3. At that time there were no payments to roundsmen between the hay harvest and the end of the year and labourers hardly ever worked as roundsmen for any full week. The parish share of their wages was then 6d. a day, but later contributions varied from 2d. to 10d. according to current prices and the labourer's capacity.

In 1820 employers had regular quotas of apportioned 'constant' men and those who filled and paid in full their quota were allowed the cheap labour of roundsmen. The vestry ordered that men seeking work should meet for hiring under the town hall at 6.00 a.m. on Mondays; by 1823 the hirings were twice weekly, (fn. 615) and in 1832 in the winter months some 60 men were reporting daily for work. (fn. 616) Those unhired were either found work by the overseers on the roads or in stone breaking (in 1795 some 40 or 50 men were working in the stone quarries) or they were sent out as roundsmen. (fn. 617) Employers in 1824 were obliged to take all or none of the roundsmen, who in 1828 were being allotted to them on the basis of rating assessments. (fn. 618) With the temporary legalization of labour rates in 1831 (fn. 619) Deddington adopted the Cropredy plan; ratepayers were obliged to employ a quota of all labourers, their full wages being set off against new rating assessments based on a standard 30s. an acre. This plan was first revised and then abandoned after a short trial, probably because it appeared to favour large farmers as against small tradesmen. (fn. 620) Standard wages for a man with fewer than two children varied from 6s. (1821) to 9s. (1833) but farmers were reluctant to pay full wages for the casual labour provided by the overseers and in 1828 the vestry agreed that the employers' contribution should be limited to 4s., (fn. 621) the parish paying the rest. In 1833 unemployed labourers were allowed 2d. a day less than those who got work; the latter had half their wages paid by the parish. (fn. 622)

In 1737 the parish workhouse was estimated to have cost £50 in the year, excluding a small rent. Perhaps, as later, it stood on the east side of New Street; (fn. 623) in 1808 it seems to have been a group of properties north of the Plough inn, in various hands; (fn. 624) later the parish apparently owned the workhouse, for in 1836 it was sold, along with 6 parish houses in Clifton, by the guardians of the new Woodstock Union. (fn. 625) The workhouse was usually farmed, the master receiving an agreed capitation fee weekly for each inmate; in 1742 there were only three or four inmates, but 18 in 1796 and 26 in 1803. (fn. 626) In the early 19th century the capitation fee varied from 1s. 3d. in 1822 to 2s. 9d. in 1828, an unusually costly year. The inmates were to be provided with a pint of beer a day, meat thrice weekly, and 'a good fire and a candle to go to bed by'; they were to have a coat or gown for attendance at church, and the children were to be sent to school. (fn. 627)

Casual relief was given in money and kind, and rents were paid for some paupers; by 1820 some landlords were housing half a dozen paupers, and by the 1830s the parish owned pauper houses in both Clifton and Deddington. (fn. 628) In 1742–3 the Deddington overseers seem to have been providing work for the poor outside the workhouse by buying hemp, paying for spinning, and selling the cloth, but there was no hint of such enterprise later. Smallpox victims were placed in a parish pest house, in use by 1764; it stood west of the Banbury road on land owned by the feoffees, was still in use in 1855, but was ruinous in 1896. (fn. 629)

The tensions created by poverty came to a head in the winter months of 1834–5, when the vestry paid for the prosecution of nine parishioners who had created a riot; there was also a case of arson, and several men killed sheep belonging to the overseer and prominent farmer, Henry Dean. (fn. 630)

When poor law unions were formed under the Act of 1834 it was hoped that Deddington would become a centre, but a sufficient area could not be allotted without including Northamptonshire parishes and there was opposition from W. R. Cartwright of Aynho. Deddington was included in Woodstock Union and a later attempt to form a Deddington Union in 1858 was opposed by neighbouring parishes, unwilling to pay for another workhouse. (fn. 631) The closure of Deddington's workhouse after 1834 led to a dispute about the financial obligations of the hamlets; the Deddington overseers tried to force the Clifton overseer to hand over the surplus on his accounts by distraining on his cattle, but he appealed successfully to the assizes. The separate assessment of the two hamlets was pronounced to be illegal, however, and from 1837 a single rate was levied and administered by three overseers acting for the whole parish. (fn. 632)

The vestry's involvement in poor law matters was reduced by the formation of the unions, but as late as 1844, on the initiative of the Revd. W. C. Risley, it dealt with unemployment in the town by allotting 82 labourers among 24 farmers. (fn. 633) The vestry also supported emigration schemes, which it was empowered to fund. An earlier scheme, supported by subscriptions, had sent some 50 persons from Deddington to North America in 1831, but the death of most of them from cholera on board ship had temporarily 'damped the spirit of emigration in the district'. (fn. 634) Between 1836 and 1847 the vestry, despite Risley's opposition, raised over £230 for emigration. (fn. 635)

The vestry continued to arouse controversy for its handling of local government issues, such as the infilling of the town pool, but the role of other institutions, the town feoffees, the manorial courts, and above all the numerous voluntary societies established in Deddington in the 19th century, diminished its importance in nonchurch matters. Its residual governmental functions were taken over by the parish council in 1896. Deddington was included in Woodstock rural district in 1894, was transferred to Banbury rural district in 1932, and in 1974 became part of Cherwell district. (fn. 636)

Churches.

There was a church with a rector in Deddington by the late 12th century. (fn. 637) The advowson presumably belonged to the early manorial lords, and after the tripartite division of the manor became attached to the Duchy manor. In 1229 Ralph Hareng brought a successful action of darrein presentment against the abbot of Stanley, whose claim was based on a charter of Guy de Dive (d. 1214) and his wife Lucy granting Deddington church to the abbey. (fn. 638) No abbot had presented, however: the last rector's patron was Ralph Murdac, while his predecessor, Reiner, had lived so long that none could remember his institution. The heirs of Ralph Murdac, effectively Ralph Hareng and his wife Alice, were therefore declared to be the patrons. (fn. 639) Despite counter-claims by the descendants of Guy de Dive (fn. 640) the right of presentation continued to be exercised by successive lords of the Duchy manor until 1350, when William de Bohun granted the advowson to St. George's chapel, Windsor. (fn. 641) The rectory was then appropriated and on the death of the last rector in 1352 a vicarage was ordained. (fn. 642) The patronage remained thereafter with the dean and canons of Windsor, though for much of the 17th and 18th centuries presentations were made by the lessees of the rectory estate.

The rectory was valued at 30 marks in 1254, £40 in 1291, and £53 6s. 8d. in 1327; (fn. 643) it comprised 3 yardlands of glebe and all the tithes. (fn. 644) When the vicarage was ordained in 1352 the vicar was assigned a house, a stipend of 25 marks, and the hay tithes of the meadow known later as the Fishers. He was to receive legacies and oblations of wax, and was to provide the sacramental bread, wax lights, and a lamp continually burning, and was also to pay procurations and synodals. The dean and canons were to maintain the chancel and compensate the bishop and chapter of Lincoln for their loss of jurisdiction. (fn. 645) The vicarage was unchanged at the Reformation, (fn. 646) but its real value fell so that by the later 16th century the living was low in the scale of ecclesiastical preferment. The stipend was later increased, notably in 1660 by 20 marks, although the tenants of the Windsor estate refused to pay the extra charge for many years; in 1675 the living comprised £36 13s. 4d. from the impropriators and £1 6s. 8d. tithe from the Fishers. (fn. 647)

In 1707 the living was valued at c. £48, of which £40 was paid by the Windsor lessees and £5 came from a rent-charge given, probably recently, by a Dr. Chamberlain. (fn. 648) At inclosure the vicar received c. 3 a. for his tithes of the Fishers, and the land was later rented in small allotments to the poor. (fn. 649) In 1808 the net value of the living was only c. £52, but a local subscription aided by Christ Church, Oxford, was met by a grant from Queen Anne's Bounty in 1809, and further augmentations were made in 1814, 182334, and 1841. (fn. 650) By 1821 the gross value was £110, (fn. 651) and by 1851 c. £170, which included £65 from the Windsor lessees, £21 from Dr. Chamberlain's bequest, and c. £60 from various augmentations. (fn. 652) In 1884 the Ecclesiastical Commissioners granted an additional annual sum of £107 to the vicar, raising the value of the living to over £250, and at the same time made provision to pay £120 a year to a curate. (fn. 653)

Under the terms of the appropriation of 1352–3 the vicar was to be provided 'out of the rectory' with a hall, chamber, kitchen, and stabling for two horses, together with a garden near the church and some adjoining dwellings. (fn. 654) The vicarage house, which stood in the grounds of the rectory house close to the north side of the church, was ruinous by the late 17th century when it was removed by Thomas Appletree's executors 'for their own conveniency', while they built a new one on the south side of Church Street on land belonging to the vicar. (fn. 655) That house was in serious disrepair by the early 19th century, (fn. 656) and in 1822 was taken down and rebuilt to a design by William Rose, a local builder. (fn. 657) It comprises a three-storeyed house with a plain front of dressed stone, with sash windows and, above the original doorway hood, a circular window. In 1963 the house was sold and a new vicarage house built on the north side of Earl's Lane. (fn. 658)

The value of the rectory before appropriation attracted influential incumbents. Roger of Worcester (d. c. 1229) was brother of Ralph Murdac, lord of the manor, and later rectors included Aymer de Valence (d. 1260), the pluralist bishop of Winchester, Robert of Harrowden (d. 1318), protege of the Despensers, and William Aylmer (d. 1328), a wealthy cleric who employed a steward and bailiff to look after his scattered estates and benefices. (fn. 659) Although the medieval rectory house was evidently a building appropriate to the status of such men, it is likely that few were resident: certainly Roger of Harrowden was represented by a vicar, and William Aylmer employed two chaplains in Deddington. After the appropriation of the living the incumbents were less eminent, though several vicars were educated men, notably Thomas Gilbert, D.Cn.L. (instituted 1490).

Proctors or wardens of the endowments of various lights or altars were mentioned, and the saints commemorated included Mary, Peter, Catherine, and Margaret; there was a chapel of All Hallows, and bequests were made to the 'beams' (roods) of Our Lady and of St. Thomas. (fn. 660) A guild of the Holy Trinity was founded in 1445. (fn. 661) It was a corporate body with a hall and other property in the town, (fn. 662) and its members included leading townsmen and were presided over by a warden. The guild was associated with a perpetual chantry with two chaplains who were to pray at the altar of the Holy Trinity and St. Mary for Henry VI and Queen Margaret, for Richard Andrew, the king's secretary, a native of Adderbury, and for John Andrew and Lucy his wife. There were two chaplains at Deddington in 1526 with stipends of £5 6s. 8d. each, (fn. 663) but when the chantry was dissolved in 1548 it was served by one priest only; he worked also as a schoolmaster and was paid £6 a year. (fn. 664) The Trinity guild's property, which included the Hermitage, was at first leased by the Crown, but was later sold and in 1635 the freehold passed from Thomas Wickham of Fifield to John Lane of Clifton. (fn. 665) Some of the property came into the hands of the town feoffees. (fn. 666)

One of two townsmen sentenced to be hanged for their part in the Oxfordshire uprising of 1549 was Henry Matthew, a priest, (fn. 667) who, though neither the vicar nor the chantry priest, was presumably a local man whose livelihood had been affected by the recent religious changes; he was probably Henry Matthew, briefly vicar of King's Sutton (Northants.) in 1543, and before that may have been an Oxford friar. (fn. 668) In the 16th century there was notable stability in the service of the living: John Browne was vicar from 1543 until 1558, his successor conformed to the Elizabethan settlement, (fn. 669) and in the period 1570 to 1630 there were only three vicars, all probably resident.

In the 17th century Deddington became something of a centre first of puritanism and later of Dissent. William Brudenell, presented in 1630, was a puritan and was accused by some of his parishioners of failing to wear a surplice, tampering with the litany, forbidding bell-ringing on the Sabbath, and refusing to read the gospel at the traditional crosses during the annual perambulation of the parish. (fn. 670) Robert Harris, the celebrated puritan rector of Hanwell, lectured regularly in Deddington in the 1630s. (fn. 671) James Wyer, presented as minister in 1656, was ejected in 1664 and joined other ejected clergy in a strong Presbyterian group in Deddington. (fn. 672) Jeremiah Wheate (vicar 1673–97) strove to win back the nonconformists, but in 1682 complained to the bishop that he 'gave the Sacrament . . . and we were but nine in all'. (fn. 673) His efforts through the ecclesiastical courts to recover tithes and Easter offerings from reluctant parishioners (fn. 674) caused much ill-will in the parish. Richard Short (vicar 1700–46) commented soon after his presentation on 'the stubborn, factious, rude, and profane people I have to manage'. (fn. 675) Short and his successors, however, were mostly long-serving resident vicars who, by 18th-century standards, were zealous, adding midweek prayer readings to the two regular Sunday services, and administering Holy Communion to a steadily rising number of communicants. They seem to have left the nonconformists to themselves, but reported regularly that some of the Presbyterians attended church. (fn. 676) In 1780 the vicar was obliged to bring an action in the archdeacon's court against several of his congregation because of the great noise they made in the singers' gallery with bassoons and other musical instruments. (fn. 677)

Religious controversy played a prominent part in the life of Deddington in the 19th century. Successive vicars were faced not only by the growing strength of nonconformity but also by deep divisions within their own congregation between the low and high church parties. Richard Greaves (vicar 1822–36) was an Evangelical of the group gathered around the Wilsons of Over Worton. (fn. 678) In later life he became a Unitarian. His preaching filled Deddington church with hearers from surrounding villages who 'admired Calvinistic doctrine'. (fn. 679) Even greater was the celebrity of one of his curates in the 1820s, John Hughes, who attracted undergraduates from Oxford to hear him preach. (fn. 680) By the 1830s there were, in addition to two Sunday services, lectures on Thursday evenings and prayers on Friday mornings. (fn. 681) William Cotton Risley, J.P. (vicar 1836–48) was, by contrast, an orthodox Anglican and a conservative in politics, whose private means allowed him a certain freedom of action. He lived in and enlarged Deddington House, finding the new vicarage house too small for his household. (fn. 682) Though evidently a conscientious pastor he found 'much to contend with and regret' during his incumbency, (fn. 683) such as enraging the low church party by presenting an altar piece depicting the Dead Christ and the three Marys. After his resignation he lived on in Deddington rather as the squire, (fn. 684) in close touch with the bishop, (fn. 685) active in the parish, and, during the turbulent years that followed, a leader of a section of parishioners in such matters as opposition to 'low church' missions. (fn. 686)

His successor James Brogden (1848–64) later claimed that both Risley and his predecessor Greaves had been forced to resign because of hostility in the parish. (fn. 687) Brogden was a talented but unfortunate figure, (fn. 688) thrice sequestrated for debts incurred with local tradesmen, frequently neglecting his duties, (fn. 689) and later taking to drink. Bishop Wilberforce, though determined to be rid of him, was unable to satisfy the 128 petitioners who begged him to prevent the vicar's return after the third sequestration. Brogden refused to resign and continued to endure what he called 'the tedium of being crossed by the small minds of Deddington' until his death in 1864. (fn. 690) Chapels at Hempton and Clifton were founded without his aid, and during his long absences the parish church was served by the Wilsons of Over Worton, W. C. Risley, and a succession of curates nominated by the bishop (fn. 691) and stigmatized by the Evangelical party as 'Cuddesdon AngloCatholics'. (fn. 692) In 1851 the average attendances were said to be 229 at morning service and 287 in the afternoon, while others attended evening services in the two hamlets. (fn. 693) These relatively small congregations reflected not only the turmoil caused by Brogden but also the continuing strength of nonconformity.

In 1858 the restoration of the church was resolutely opposed by those who regarded the proposed replacement of the singers' gallery by choir stalls as a 'Puseyite and Romanist' plot, and the decision to proceed was carried only by 15 votes to 13. (fn. 694) In February 1859 one of the curates received what Risley called 'a Blackguard Valentine' accusing him of Popery, and in 1860 Risley's own altar-piece was removed by the churchwardens on the grounds that it was 'contrary to the homilies'; it was restored at the bishop's request, but does not survive. (fn. 695) The low church party was satisfied with Brogden's successor James Turner (1864–78), (fn. 696) who was an enthusiastic collaborator with local nonconformists, even appointing one as vicar's warden. (fn. 697) He outraged many parishioners, however, by turning the choir out of the new stalls and seating his family there, and by reading services from a lectern or an armchair in the corner of the nave, while his churchwarden, 'clad in a brown great coat', occupied the prayer-desk. (fn. 698) The sharpest conflict of his incumbency was over his closure of Clifton chapel in 1874. (fn. 699) The long incumbency of Thomas Boniface (1878–1924) saw the end of most of the traditional controversies; though criticism of the church's 'Puseyite' furnishings was continued by at least one influential parishioner into the 1880s, Deddington gradually ceased to be the scene of what once was labelled 'aggrieved parishionership'. (fn. 700)

The church of ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL (fn. 701) is a spacious building of local ironstone standing on high ground on the east side of the market place. It comprises an aisleless chancel, a nave of four bays with wide aisles, north and south porches, a west tower, and a small crypt beneath the east end of the south aisle. (fn. 702) The reconstruction of part of the church in the 17th century may have obscured evidence of the building's earlier development. There are no certain remains of the 12th-century church, (fn. 703) but there are indications of a major rebuilding in the early 13th century. The three western bays of the chancel, the north and south doorways, the circular piers in the nave arcades, and the string courses at the western end of the south wall are of that date. The east wall of the south aisle shows signs that the aisle was once narrower, but the widening had evidently been carried out before the early 13th century. The vaulted crypt or charnel house (12 ft. square) is a later insertion, probably of the 15th century. In the later 13th century the chancel was extended eastwards by one bay. The north aisle, though probably achieving its full width to match the south aisle in the 13th century, contains no features earlier than the piscina and blocked doorway of c. 1300 at its east end; its windows are 14th-century and later. The head of a niche of similar date survives above the screen, south of the chancel arch. (fn. 704) In the 14th century a piscina was placed in the south aisle and a three-light window in the south wall, east of the doorway; the nave arcades may also have been remodelled at that time. In the 15th century the nave was heightened to accommodate a clerestory, which included a window above the chancel arch. A large window was inserted in the south aisle, its mullions carried below the glazing to a window seat in the manner of Richard Winchcombe, the master-mason of Adderbury chancel (1408–19) and the Divinity School at Oxford (1424–40). Later in the century a clerestory was inserted in the chancel, and c. 1500 large east windows were inserted in both aisles. Another 15th-century window is in the south wall west of the porch. The medieval south porch, replaced in the 18th century, (fn. 705) was surmounted by an upper room or parvise, traces of whose stairway are visible in the adjoining aisle wall; the present porch dates from 1865.

The medieval tower, surmounted by a tall spire, 'the most noted of all Oxfordshire and seen the farthest', (fn. 706) fell in March 1634 and broke down 'a great part of the body of the church'. The estimated cost of the rebuilding, £8,250, suggests that the damage was extensive. A brief for the collection of contributions was granted in 1635. (fn. 707) The tower was partially rebuilt during the next few years, but work was suspended during the Civil War and not resumed until 1683 when Thomas Wood, an Oxford master-mason, contracted to complete it for £500 or £600. (fn. 708) The tower was rebuilt from ground level, and is a notable example of the continuity of Gothic design; it is nearly 31 m. high, of four stages, clasped by huge diagonal buttresses, and crowned by eight pinnacles. The statues of St. Peter and St. Paul high on its west front seem to have been salvaged from the old steeple and to have been partly renovated in the 17th century; they were crudely restored in 1966. (fn. 709) The west ends of both aisles were rebuilt after the fall of the tower and are pierced by elaborate Caroline Gothic windows; the north-west window of the north aisle may also have been rebuilt at that time. Medieval material appears to have been incorporated in the reconstruction of the arcade, but the use of glass as a packing course at the base of the easternmost pier of the north arcade implies post-medieval rebuilding; indeed the whole arcade may have been realigned, since its eastern respond partly blocks the former doorway to the roodloft. The octagonal piers towards the west of each arcade are later in date than the corresponding aisle walls, and, though 14th-century in general appearance, seem to be substantially of 17thcentury workmanship. If the arcades were rebuilt in the 17th century the clerestory, though Perpendicular in style, was presumably reconstructed at the same time. The north porch, with its unusual saucer-shaped Gothic vault, may also date from the 17th-century rebuilding. (fn. 710)

Until the Reformation the church contained several chantry chapels or altars, (fn. 711) of which the most important, that of the Trinity guild, was presumably in the north aisle, the present Lady chapel, which contains the monument of William Billing (d. 1533), who desired to be buried in the guild chapel. (fn. 712) Under the second window from the east in both aisles are the stone supports of stairs which presumably gave access to lofts over the screens enclosing the eastern chapels. The present south altar commemorates St. Thomas, recalling the medieval altar to him.

A school was held in the church from 1673 until the early 19th century, (fn. 713) probably in the south-west corner, which contained a hearth and was entered by a small doorway west of the porch. (fn. 714) In the 18th century the west end of the nave was occupied by a singer's gallery, (fn. 715) and another gallery was built at the west end of the south aisle in the early 19th century to seat the large congregations attracted by 'a popular preacher', (fn. 716) presumably Richard Greaves or his curate, Hughes. In 1840 a new gallery was built at the west end of the nave to house an organ. (fn. 717) In 1836–7 the arcades were 'restored to their original condition' by W. C. Risley, who at the same time gave a new pulpit and the controversial altar piece. (fn. 718) In 1838 the chancel roof was restored and its partially blocked windows opened up at the expense of Risley and the Windsor chapter. (fn. 719) Plans by Risley to restore the church to designs by J. M. Derick in 1842 were not carried out, (fn. 720) but in 1843 the nave roof was rebuilt by Robert Franklin. (fn. 721)

In 1858 a general restoration was begun under G. E. Street, the diocesan architect, but dissension between Brogden and his parishioners delayed its completion until 1865–8. (fn. 722) A new vestry was built north of the chancel on the site of an earlier vestry, (fn. 723) and an organ chamber inserted on the south side of the chancel, blocking a 13thcentury window. The south aisle was reroofed, a buttress added to its south wall, and the south porch rebuilt. The west window was unblocked and several other windows restored. The old box pews and galleries were removed, (fn. 724) the walls stripped of plaster, the floors ventilated and paved with Minton tiles, and ducted heating inserted. The whole church was reseated and choir stalls built in the chancel. The tower was restored in 1893 and the distinctive weather vanes replaced. (fn. 725) A new organ was installed in 1912 and the chancel repaved with Hornton stone c. 1930.

The range of three sedilia and a piscina with carved capitals in the chancel is late 13th-century. The medieval font was presumably a victim of the tower's fall or of later iconoclasm, since a new one was provided in 1664. (fn. 726) The chancel screen, though heavily restored, retains some 15thcentury workmanship. Most of the other woodwork dates from the mid 19th-century restoration. The stained glass east window was designed by C. E. Kempe, and in the Lady chapel are two windows designed by A. J. Davies of the Broms grove Guild, commemorating Emily Jones (d. 1923) and Mary Vane Jones (d. 1936), who left a trust fund for the upkeep of the chapel. (fn. 727) In 1574 the church contained heraldic glass commemorating Alice Delabere and her two husbands, Sir John Beauchamp (d. 1422) of Holt (Norf.) and John Blount (d. 1442) of Kinlet (Salop.), the latter a property holder in Deddington. (fn. 728)

There are two 13th-century tomb recesses in the south wall, one of them containing the effigy of a 14th-century lawyer conjectured, without much evidence, to be Ralph of Barford. (fn. 729) In the north aisle a Purbeck marble altar-tomb with a mutilated inscription to William Billing, merchant of the Staple (d. 1533), retains only the indents of effigies of himself and his wife, the metal having been sold by the sexton in the early 18th century. (fn. 730) A brass fixed to the eastern respond of the northern arcade was formerly in the nave; it depicts the upper part of a bearded man of Edward III's reign, and commemorated William Hale (or Hayly), one of the early farmers of the rectory estate and a benefactor commemorated by a distribution of alms in the parish. (fn. 731) In the south aisle are 17th-century brass plates to John Higgins (d. 1641) and his family, and in the north aisle brass plates to Job Nutt (d. 1679) and his daughter Barbara (d. 1687), and an ornate stone cartouche to Beata Belchier (d. 1686) and her husband Samuel. There are several tablets and inscriptions to members of the Appletree, Stilgoe, Churchill, and Cary families. Monuments lost since the 17th century (fn. 732) include one to William Pope (d. 1523) and Julian and Margaret his wives, showing their twelve children 'in picture', and another commemorating John Colles, one of the founders of the Trinity guild, (fn. 733) and his family. The churchyard, which was extended to the north in 1874 and to the east in 1907, (fn. 734) contains several 17th- and 18th-century table tombs, and an elaborate classical monument of 1845 to members of the Hitchcock family, signed by George Cakebread of Bloxham. A stone carved with the arms of Lane is inset in the south wall of the chancel.

During the Civil War all but one of the five bells, which were not in use, were requisitioned by Charles I and sent to his magazine at Oxford to be made into artillery, with the promise that they would be restored in material or money 'when you shall have occasion to use the same'. (fn. 735) In 1709 the parishioners belatedly petitioned Queen Anne for the fulfilment of that promise, but their request was opposed by the Board of Ordnance who could find no record of the incident and feared to set a precedent. (fn. 736) The present ring of six bells was cast in 1791, and the treble and second replaced in 1946. There is also a sanctus bell of 1649 by James Keene of Woodstock. (fn. 737) The church clock was the gift of the heirs of William Hudson; in 1953 the dial on the north side was added. (fn. 738)

The chapel of ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST at Hempton was built in 1850–1 at the expense of the Revd. William Wilson, D.D. of Over Worton. (fn. 739) There may have been a medieval chapel in the hamlet, since lands said to have been given for a priest and a lamp in Hempton church were granted away by the Crown in 1568. (fn. 740) In the 1840s the vicar, W. C. Risley, was paying a small fee to William Wilson the younger for serving the Hempton parishioners. (fn. 741) While the new chapel was being built evening services were held in a barn, fitted up at Wilson's expense, the congregation averaging 110 in 1851. (fn. 742) In 1861 the chapel site and some adjacent property were bought by trustees, including Bishop Wilberforce, (fn. 743) whose plans to consecrate the chapel as a chapel of ease to Deddington were never fulfilled, presumably because of its inadequate endowment. It remained a licensed, unconsecrated chapel, served by the local clergy, including P. R. Egerton, founder of Bloxham School, and several of his assistant masters. In the early 1860s a stipend of £40 was provided by the Spiritual Aid Society, and a smaller sum from an endowment by Dr. Wilson, but the living was so poor that James Turner, unable to find a curate to serve it, for a time closed the chapel. (fn. 744) In 1878 Hempton was being served, gratuitously, by a curate, (fn. 745) and later Thomas Boniface served it himself. Usually there was one service only, on Sunday evening. (fn. 746) In 1878 it was complained that there had been a revival of 'Romish practices' there. (fn. 747)

The chapel, designed by William Wilson the younger, the founder's son, and built by Robert Franklin and James Hopcraft of Deddington, (fn. 748) comprises a nave, chancel, north aisle, bellcot, and south porch in local ironstone. The north aisle was used as a schoolroom. The 12th-century font was transferred from Over Worton church.

The chapel of ST. JAMES THE GREAT at Clifton was built on the initiative and chiefly at the expense of the Revd. W. C. Risley, who laid the foundation stone in 1851 on a site given by Joseph Gardner. (fn. 749) There was a medieval chapel at Clifton, to which William Pope by will proved in 1523 left 6s. 8d. (fn. 750) Remains of what may have been that chapel were found in Pepper Alley at the east end of the village. (fn. 751) The separate perambulation of Clifton in the 17th century (fn. 752) perhaps preserved a memory of its earlier status as a chapelry. While the new chapel was being built a barn was used for services, which had an average attendance of 140 in 1851. (fn. 753) The chapel was consecrated in 1853, and was for long served by Risley himself. (fn. 754) Later a small stipend was granted by the Spiritual Aid Society, while the church's upkeep was provided for by a trust fund set up by Risley. (fn. 755) There was a curate in 1866, (fn. 756) but James Turner neglected Clifton and was admonished by the bishop in 1869. The curate appointed to Clifton in that year, G. E. Willes of Aynho, proved to be a high churchman and Turner eventually closed the chapel in 1874, published an extraordinary 'Apology' for having appointed him without proper investigation, and in support of his action produced a memorial signed by 430 parishioners, of whom many, however, were said to be Dissenters. The bishop demanded the keys of the chapel, but for a while Turner held a Sunday service there for a handful of supporters, while Willes held two services in the crowded schoolroom. (fn. 757) Clifton seems to have had its own curate thereafter, and in 1884 financial provision for a curate to serve either Hempton or Clifton was made. In the 1890s there were two services each Sunday at Clifton. (fn. 758) The chapel was declared redundant in 1974 and was sold the following year to a jewellery manufacturer. (fn. 759)

The chapel was designed by J. C. and George Buckler and built by Robert Franklin and James Hopcraft of Deddington; the stone was given by W.C. Cartwright of Aynho. (fn. 760) The building, in the Early English style, comprises a continuous nave and chancel with a south porch, a sacristy north of the chancel, and a bellcot.

Nonconformity.

A small Roman Catholic community survived in Deddington into the 19th century, despite the lack of a dominant papist landlord or resident priest. Four men named as recusants in 1577 included John Edmonds, who, with his son-in-law Anthony Appletree, was joint lessee of the Windsor estate. (fn. 761) Thomas Appletree (d. 1654) and his wife Jane were recusants, (fn. 762) but a later Thomas (d. 1666) was a prominent supporter of Parliament during the Interregnum. (fn. 763) The twenty or so recusants listed before the Civil War also included the families of Yates, Sheppard, and Woolfe. (fn. 764) Though no Roman Catholics were returned by the vicar in 1676, (fn. 765) members of the Philips and French families were mentioned as papists from the late 17th century. (fn. 766) Eighteenthcentury vicars regularly reported the presence of Catholics, the highest number being 23 in 1767. (fn. 767) In the early 19th century the small community was attended by priests from Radford or Tusmore, or attended the chapel at Kiddington. (fn. 768)

Deddington's strong Puritan tradition (fn. 769) encouraged the development of protestant nonconformity after the Restoration, and groups of Presbyterians, Anabaptists, and Quakers were established in the town. A report of 35 dissenters in all in 1676 was probably an under-estimate. (fn. 770) There were still over 60 in the town in the later 18th century, most of them Presbyterians. The coming of Methodism greatly increased that number, and by 1827 there were said to be c. 400 dissenters, almost a quarter of the population. (fn. 771) In 1851, despite the considerable success of the nonconformists, the established church still had the larger congregations on census day, (fn. 772) but in 1857 there were said to be c. 1,000 dissenters, nearly half the population of the parish. (fn. 773) A new vicar in 1866 said that dissent was decreasing and reported only c. 72 dissenters, presumably representing only formal chapel membership, since in 1872 about a quarter of the population was said to be nonconformist. (fn. 774) The uncertainty over numbers reflects the fact, sometimes admitted by vicars openly, that 'people liked to hear a good sermon anywhere', (fn. 775) and that many members of the established church in Deddington were only thinly divided from formal dissent, perhaps best described as 'conforming schismatics'. (fn. 776) The struggle between church and chapel for this ambivalent audience was a dominant feature of the town's life in the 19th century.

There seem to have been no more than one or two Quaker families in Deddington in the late 17th century, (fn. 777) and half a dozen in the 18th, including those of Hutton, the papermakers, and Fardon, the clockmakers; (fn. 778) Thomas and John Fardon's house was registered for meetings in 1731. (fn. 779) Though 10 Quakers were reported in 1805 there seem to be only 2 families in the local Quaker registers. (fn. 780) The 11 Anabaptists of 1682 had dwindled to 2 by the mid 18th century. (fn. 781)

The vigour of Presbyterianism in the town owed much to the ministry of Thomas Whateley of Hempton, ejected from Sutton-under-Brailes (Warws.) and the son of an eminent Puritan vicar of Banbury. (fn. 782) From 1669 and probably until his death in 1699, he held conventicles in his barn at Hempton with 35–40 hearers; he was also in charge of an influential meeting at Milton (Adderbury) and in 1690 it was suggested that the two meetings should be united. (fn. 783) Samuel Wells, ejected vicar of Banbury, also lived in the parish from 1665 until 1672. (fn. 784) In 1669 other conventicles were held in the houses of Timothy Bignall and Mrs. Wyer, widow of the former vicar. (fn. 785) Three years later Whateley's barn and the houses of Bignall and Philip Appletree were licensed. (fn. 786) John Appletree and two Bignalls were brought before the archdeacon's court in 1684. (fn. 787) A house belonging to Philip Ordway was registered for meetings in 1707. Both Ordway and Whateley objected to set forms of prayer; Whateley was at church in 1682 after prayers were over but avoided taking communion. (fn. 788) In 1738 there were said to be 28 Presbyterians, and in the later 18th century, 50 or more, some of whom came to morning services in church. (fn. 789) In 1775 Thomas Bissell's house was registered, but in 1814 Presbyterians were said to be attending the Methodist meetings. (fn. 790)

Presumably, however, they formed the core of the Independents or Independent Calvinists who met under the care of Obadiah Parker at John Harris's house in Deddington from 1820, and at a house in Hempton from 1828. (fn. 791) There were said to be 27 Independents and many more attenders in 1823, (fn. 792) but the Deddington chapel, at least, seems to have been disused in 1836. (fn. 793) It was 'reopened', with a day school attached, in the 1840s, (fn. 794) and in 1851 had average congregations of 110 and 130 at the two Sunday services. At that date the Hempton chapel, said to have replaced one opened in 1840, had an average congregation of 70 at its evening service. (fn. 795) In 1881 the old chapel in the Tchure belonging to the Harrises (now the Foresters' Hall) was replaced by a chapel in New Street, a stone building in the Gothic style with an octagonal west turret, designed by John Sulman. (fn. 796) In 1950 the combined membership of the Deddington and Hempton chapels was 25. (fn. 797) Hempton chapel, a small stone building in Chapel Lane usually called the Congregational mission hall from the 1880s, (fn. 798) was closed c. 1956, and Deddington chapel in the 1960s. (fn. 799)

Methodism came to the town when Charles Leonard and his brother John moved there from Hethe, Charles registering his house for worship in 1798. They found the district 'much addicted to drunkenness', and were met with violence at Clifton, where a 'promising project' had to be abandoned. In 1799, after a meeting at Barford, John Leonard was thrown into Hempton pond while Charles's house was damaged by rioters. (fn. 800) In 1800 a chapel was registered on the site of the surviving chapel in Chapel Square, (fn. 801) and by 1808 there was also a Sunday school attended by 50 or 60 children. (fn. 802) Although in 1811 the vicar was hopeful that the movement was declining, (fn. 803) Methodists built a small brick chapel in Clifton c. 1815, and registered a meeting house, apparently shortlived, in Hempton in 1822. (fn. 804) In 1823 there were said to be 34 Methodists in the parish, while 200 hearers also attended church. (fn. 805) In 1851 there were congregations of 160 and 147 at the two services at Deddington chapel on census day, while at Clifton the attendances were 50 and 40. (fn. 806) The Deddington Methodists joined the Wesleyan Reform movement of the 1850s and the chapel became the centre of the local Reform Union circuit. (fn. 807) John Calcutt, Deddington's postmaster, a leading Methodist in the mid 19th century, played a vigorous part in the town's political life, (fn. 808) as did J. E. Malings, chemist, in the 1870s, being for a time, controversially, the vicar's churchwarden. (fn. 809) In 1895 two Methodist preachers and six auxiliaries lived in the parish, (fn. 810) and Deddington retained a resident minister in 1980.

The chapel, a stuccoed building with Tudorstyle windows, seems to have been rebuilt in 1849. (fn. 811) For a time the Methodists also used the former public hall in Church Street as a Sunday school. (fn. 812) The disused Clifton chapel, a small brick and stuccoed building built in 1869, was still in use in the 1950s. The earlier chapel may have been the cottage called the Tabernacle in Pepper Alley, demolished in the 1950s. (fn. 813)

Primitive Methodists were said to have a chapel in Deddington by 1879, (fn. 814) perhaps the later Salvation Army barracks, established by 1898 and said to have been formerly a 'little Bethel'. (fn. 815) In 1890 the arrival of the Salvation Army was said to have caused a fall in church attendance. (fn. 816) The barracks in New Street, disused by 1932, are in brick with stone dressings.

Education.

A pre-Reformation school attached to the Trinity guild, and a mid-16th century school planned by Sir Thomas Pope are described elsewhere. (fn. 817) Despite a later tradition that Pope was the founder of the town's charity school, (fn. 818) it seems that his plans were never fulfilled. In 1673 a school house was 'made in the church' for Edward Kempster, the parish clerk, to teach in, (fn. 819) and in 1712 a charity school for 16 boys and 16 girls was recorded. (fn. 820) In 1718 a school for 20 boys supported by voluntary subscriptions was reported, and in 1727 it was said that reading and the catechism were taught at the expense of 'a private gentleman', the children paying 1d. a week each. (fn. 821) In 1738 the three manorial lords and neighbouring gentlemen were supporting a school for 20 boys, who were put out to apprenticeship after learning reading, writing, and arithmetic. (fn. 822) That this was the same charity school as that of 1712 is suggested by its description in 1778 as a school for 15 boys and 15 girls, (fn. 823) though intervening references were to a boys' school only (supported by voluntary subscriptions but no longer providing apprenticeships). (fn. 824) In 1784 the charity school was described as the only building in the town worthy of notice, but this may have been an error since in the early 19th century, as in 1673, the school occupied a corner of the church. (fn. 825)

In 1808 the school had 35 pupils, but was too small for the town's needs: the vicar reported with alarm that 50 or 60 children were being taught by 'illiterate men' at a Methodist Sunday school during church services. (fn. 826) In 1814 a local branch of the National School Society was formed to provide education for poor boys; in the first year c. £420 was subscribed and, apparently with much support from William Wilson of Over Worton, a school was opened which by 1815 had 100 pupils; the charity school was closed. A girls' school was 'fitted out' in 1815, and by 1816 the schools were teaching 141 boys and 94 girls; c. 20 children were drawn from neighbouring parishes which had been involved in the scheme from the outset. (fn. 827) No new buildings seem to have been put up, and perhaps from the first, as in 1832, the boys' and girls' schools were in premises, including a converted barn, attached to Appletree Farm on the south side of Hopcraft (formerly School) Lane. The site, owned by Christ Church, was held in the mid 19th century by W. C. Risley, the former vicar, who claimed to 'own' both schools. (fn. 828) An infants' school in Church Street had been started by Richard Greaves (vicar, 1822–36) and was bought by W. C. Risley in 1836; it is not certain how long it continued in use, though it was still described as formerly an infant school in 1876. (fn. 829)

In 1833 a master and mistress taught 100 boys and 90 girls daily at the national schools, and more on Sundays. There were said to be ten other schools teaching 110 infants at their parents' expense, and a Wesleyan Sunday school with 26 boys and 50 girls supported by subscriptions; the vicar complained in 1834 of his lack of authority over such private institutions. (fn. 830) There was at least one private 'ladies' school, presumably providing for the neighbouring gentry. (fn. 831)

Subscriptions to the National schools dwindled and by 1848 there were only 80 pupils, despite the growth of population since the schools were founded. (fn. 832) W. C. Risley, who was again planning new schools in 1842, meanwhile paid the schoolmasters' salary, presumably out of his own pocket. (fn. 833) In 1848 a new appeal was launched to build improved schools on a new site. They were designed by William Hambley of London and completed in 1854 on a site on the Banbury road given by W. C. Cartwright. The building was financed by a government grant of £400, £50 from the National Society, and subscriptions of £750, including £100 from Dr. William Wilson of Over Worton, who earlier had given a site in Church Street which was sold when it was found unsuitable. (fn. 834)

The new schools attracted immediate praise, (fn. 835) but when the sequestrated vicar, James Brogden, returned to Deddington he instigated a troublesome dispute over the administration of funds; subscriptions were withdrawn and within a year the schools closed. (fn. 836) A simultaneous dispute over the use of the town's charitable funds for educational purposes was settled by a Chancery decree reserving half the surplus income of the charities for the National school, provided that no dissenting child was excluded on conscientious grounds. (fn. 837) The schools reopened in 1856 and had an average attendance of 90 boys and 90 girls, paid for from annual subscriptions of c. £107 and school pence (c. £25), and taught by two certificated teachers and pupil-teachers. (fn. 838) In 1868 247 children of agricultural labourers were on the school register in winter, 191 in summer, the average attendances being 181 and 146. (fn. 839)

A government grant was first received in 1873. (fn. 840) A separate mixed infants' section was established c. 1875. (fn. 841) In 1890 the average attendance was 207, less than half the school's capacity; subscriptions yielded c. £105, the grant c. £160, and school fees c. £60. The school was endowed with a small rent charge out of Earl's farm, a Cartwright property, possibly the rent-charge recorded in the 1850s. (fn. 842)

In the early 20th century the infants' section of the school, though regarded as something of a model for teaching, suffered from cramped premises and in 1908 was moved into the former girls' school, while the remaining buildings were used for a mixed school. In 1918 there were 94 children in the mixed school, which continued to receive favourable reports thereafter. (fn. 843) In 1951 a new secondary modern school was built on the former windmill site on the Hempton road. The Windmill school was closed in 1971, and the older children of the parish thereafter attended the Warriner comprehensive school at Bloxham. Deddington's former national school continued as a voluntary-aided Church of England primary school, and in 1979 had 137 pupils. (fn. 844)

W. C. Risley was paying a schoolmistress in Hempton in 1841, (fn. 845) but she may have taught a Sunday school only: in 1850 both Hempton and Clifton had 'branch' Sunday schools. (fn. 846) Hempton chapel, completed in 1851, incorporated a schoolroom. In 1854 there were 40–50 pupils at a day school. (fn. 847) The school was in use until the early 20th century, but by 1911 the children of the hamlet were taught in Deddington or Barford. (fn. 848) Clifton school was built by H. R. Franklin in 1870 on a site given by W. C. Cartwright. (fn. 849) At first the day school had an attendance of 13 boys and 18 girls, and a night school was held twice a week in winter. There was a house for the single certificated teacher. (fn. 850) School pence were paid, and by 1873 an annual grant was received, which in 1902 was £38; average attendance was then 39. (fn. 851) The schools of Clifton and Deddington, though governed by separate trust deeds, were by the 1890s under joint management, with one fund for voluntary subscriptions. (fn. 852) From 1922 Clifton children aged 10 or over went to Deddington school. (fn. 853) Clifton school was closed in 1945, sold in 1958, and later demolished. (fn. 854)

Charities for the Poor.

In 1611 it was reported that rent from certain lands and tenements in Deddington, Bloxham, and Over Worton had, since time immemorial, been used towards the payment of fifteenths levied on the parish; that the rent of a house called the Hermitage was employed towards the relief of the poor; and that a town house or court house had been built by certain inhabitants with shops and stalls 'under and adjoining the same' to provide income for the payment of fifteenths and relief of the poor. (fn. 855) Some at least of this property seems to have belonged to the town's Trinity guild, whose possessions had included the Hermitage, a hall, and several rows of shops. (fn. 856) How the townsmen had reacquired the property is not clear, since after the dissolution of the guild in 1548 the Crown seems to have first leased, then sold, the former guild property en bloc to others. (fn. 857) Also reported in 1611 were a few small charities probably given in the later 16th century: a rentcharge of 10s. given by John Welchman and his son Edward out of Baker's house in Philcote Street, (fn. 858) £10 given by William Richson to the churchwardens, £5 given by William Johnson as a loan charity, and 10s. a year payable from a charity in Williamscot given by Walter Calcott (d. 1582), (fn. 859) also to be used for loans. In 1612 the Commissioners of Charitable Uses nominated 12 feoffees to administer Deddington's charities. Before 1627 the feoffees had acquired a further £17 stock by gifts of John Norwood and John and Richard Appletree (£5 each), and James Arys. (fn. 860) When Over Worton was inclosed in 1642 the feoffees were awarded 12 a. for their yardland there, (fn. 861) and when Bloxham was inclosed in 1802 they received 16½ a. When Deddington was inclosed in 1808 the feoffees, who owned a number of houses and cottages in the town, were awarded c. 14½ a. west of the Banbury road in exchange for their land in Deddington and Barford. (fn. 862) In 1810 they were given c. 12 a. adjoining that allotment by William Wilson of Nether Worton, in exchange for their Over Worton land, and Wilson also made a generous financial adjustment of £300. In 1818 the feoffees held, in addition to the above land, some small closes, 7 cottages, the town hall, and 3 butchers' stalls beneath it, the whole estate yielding a clear income of c. £140 a year. Most of the income was applied in aid of the poor rates, but new feoffees appointed that year, regarding their forerunners' dealings as improper, bought land in Church Street and built almshouses for 4 men and 4 women. They comprise a two-storeyed terrace of 4 tenements in ironstone rubble, with octagonal brick stacks and pointed wooden windows with Gothic tracery. On their completion in 1822 rules were drawn up which provided for an allowance of 4s. per week for men and 3s. for women; clothes were to be provided, but would remain the feoffees' property. (fn. 863)

The maintenance of the town hall and almshouses, with occasional contributions to the poor, left some surplus income which in 1850–1 the feoffees were accused of misappropriating, since no accounts had been published for many years. (fn. 864) The Charity Commissioners, supported by local agitation, referred the dispute to the Attorney General, and a Scheme of 1856 directed that half the surplus income should support a coal charity and half be applied to the National schools, provided that the children of Dissenters were not excluded. (fn. 865)

In 1871 the income was being spent as directed, the almshouses costing c. £77, and two sums of c. £44 being spent on coals and education. (fn. 866) In 1895, when a new Scheme renamed the charity the Deddington Charity Estates, leaving its objects unchanged, (fn. 867) the property comprised the Bloxham land, the Deddington land, of which part was let in allotments, the almshouses, the town hall, and the income from a mortgage on a Deddington house. Two small strips of land were sold in 1932, but the charity still owned over 40 a. in 1970. The Schemes of 1856 and 1896 remained the governing instruments, and the surplus income was spent on education and coals. In 1973 the income comprised c. £320 from interest and rent, including a payment for the town hall from the parish council, and there was a legacy of £500 in that year from the late Miss E. M. Smith. (fn. 868)

By will of Richard Cartwright (d. 1637) a rent charge of £6 1s. 4d. from Earl's farm was given as a bread charity. The rent charge remained in force in the 1960s, and, as in 1825, was distributed in bread by the vicar after Sunday services. (fn. 869) By 1969, when the charity was united with the Deddington Charity Estates, the rent charge had been redeemed. (fn. 870)

Footnotes