EDITORIAL NOTE
This volume, the sixth of the series of Victoria Histories of Oxfordshire, is
a further outcome of the partnership between Oxfordshire and the University of
London. The local committee under the chairmanship of Sir Charles Ponsonby
has been responsible for the preparation of the text, and the University of
London has borne the cost of its publication. In this case the local committee
has also taken responsibility for the final editing of the volume, which, with the
agreement of the Institute of Historical Research, was entrusted to an editorial
committee consisting of Professor V. H. Galbraith (Chairman), Mr. H. M.
Colvin, Professor H. J. Habakkuk, Dr. W. G. Hoskins, Miss K. Major,
Principal of St. Hilda's College, and Mr. L. Stone.
For financial support of the editorial and research staff the committee is
indebted to the generous subsidies of the University and City of Oxford and
of the Oxfordshire County Council: also to the Borough of Henley, the Oxford
colleges, and to many private subscribers, whose names are printed below.
As much property in Ploughley Hundred was held by corporate bodies, their
archives have provided an abundance of material for the agrarian history of
many of the parishes. A number of private collections have also proved of value,
and the records of the diocese and archdeaconry of Oxford, now easily accessible
in the Bodleian Library, have enabled the ecclesiastical history of the parishes
to be written with greater fullness and certainty.
The volume owes much to the kindness of governing bodies of many Oxford
colleges, to the incumbents of Oxfordshire parishes, and to others who have
given permission to use documents in their care. Particular mention may be
made of Mr. J. N. L. Myres, Bodley's Librarian, of Dr. W. O. Hassall and other
members of the Bodleian staff, of Mr. H. M. Walton, the County archivist, and
his assistant, Mr. S. G. Baker, who have assisted the History in every way in
their power. Thanks are due to the Governors of St. Bartholomew's Hospital,
to Mr. G. Elliott, Provost of Eton, and to the Dean and Chapter of Westminster
for their kindness in allowing access to their archives, and to their respective
archivists, Mrs. G. Whitteridge, Mr. T. Lyon, and Dr. L. E. Tanner, for their
courteous help. Among private owners especial thanks are due to Mr. T. CottrellDormer and Mrs. Stanley Barry for the trouble they have so willingly taken.
Valuable help has been given in architectural matters by Mr. H. M. Colvin
and on heraldry by Mr. P. S. Spokes. Mr. A. R. Charlton, Director of Education
for Oxfordshire, and Mr. J. Garne, Chief Education Officer for the City of
Oxford, have kindly supplied notes on the Oxfordshire schools. Mr. A. Cossons
has allowed the use of his unpublished paper on the Oxfordshire turnpikes, and
Mr. W. L. Brown has made an index of recent archaeological finds especially
for the Victoria Histories of Oxfordshire. Mr. W. H. Godfrey put at the committee's disposal the photographs in the collection of the National Buildings
Record, and the Revd. B. F. L. Clarke lent his notes on church buildings. To
all these and to many others who have given general help sincere thanks are
expressed. To others who have given specific information or help acknowledgement is made in the footnotes.
The illustrations owe much to Miss D. B. Dew's generosity in lending pen
drawings from the late Mr. G. J. Dew's collection, and to the Revd. W. H.
Trebble, Vicar of Bicester, in lending a lithograph of the interior of the church.
Much general assistance, often of a laborious kind, has been voluntarily given by
the Revd. E. P. Baker, Mrs. H. M. Colvin, Miss K. FitzGerald, Miss C. L. M.
Hawtrey, Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Kirby, Miss K. E. Moore, Miss Katharine Price,
Miss Ethel Savill, Miss Mary Savill, Mrs. Arthur Selwyn, and above all by
Miss Mary Barran, a part-time honorary assistant.