Great and Little Bourton
Bourton chapelry (1,681 a.) lay in the south-west of
Cropredy parish between the River Cherwell on
the east and the Hanwell Brook, which for a short
distance is the county boundary, on the west; the
boundaries with Cropredy on the north and Hardwick on the south were partly artificial. (fn. 1) The
boundary of Bourton in 1552 ran from a spring
called Arbwell (probably the spring on the modern
parish boundary with Cropredy, north of Great
Bourton village) to the bridge called Sowbridge (i.e.
where the lane from Great Bourton to Cropredy
crosses the Sow Brook on the modern parish
boundary), then by a hedge called tenseclose to the
Cherwell, along the Cherwell to Hardwell (Hardwick) hedge, along the hedge to Hardwick gate (at
the top of Hardwick Hill on the Southam road),
then to Hanwell gate (at the south-west corner of
Bourton, on Hanwell Brook), then along Hanwell
Brook to Hills hedge, eastward along the hedge to
'Coventry way' (i.e. the Southam road) and so back
to Arbwell. (fn. 2) The bounds correspond closely with
Bourton's boundaries in the late 19th century, when
the Bourtons came to be regarded as a civil parish;
the ancient chapelry became an ecclesiastical parish
in 1872. (fn. 3) In 1932 the parish was reduced to 1,578
acres when a projecting portion to the south, containing Little Bourton House and Hardwickhill
House, was taken into Banbury borough. At the
same time Bourton was designated the official name
of the parish. (fn. 4)
A well-marked ridge runs through Bourton from
north to south. Various parts of the ridge were
known by different names: Catbrainhill and Blakemorehill towards the north, and Stonehill, Hawkhill,
and Lousehill further south. (fn. 5) Other similar names
were Cockmorehill, Beanhill, and Fullowhill. (fn. 6) The
high ground lies on the Middle Lias, and the land in
the valleys lies on Lower Lias.
Along the ridge runs the Banbury-Southam
road; (fn. 7) the two settlements of Great and Little
Bourton stand on the ridge to the east of the road.
A road running east and west through Great Bourton
(not necessarily the present lane to Cropredy) was
called Stoney or Stanwell lane in 1700; (fn. 8) lanes at the
north-east and north-west corners of Great Bourton
village were called Crockle lane and Og lane in the
19th century. (fn. 9) The lane connecting Great and Little
Bourton was called Foxton or Foxden Way from
1697 onwards, (fn. 10) and connects with Mill lane, which
runs eastwards past Littlegood and Pewet Farms
to the site of Slat Mill; the mill once lay beyond
Pewet Farm between the canal and the river. (fn. 11) A side
road, running westwards from the Southam road
towards Hanwell, was called Hanwell Way in 1703. (fn. 12)
The chapelry was crossed from north to south by
the Oxford canal and Banbury-Birmingham railway. (fn. 13)
For the poll tax of 1377 121 Bourton inhabitants
were assessed, 81 from Great Bourton. (fn. 14) The
chapelry probably remained the third most populous
of the ancient divisions of Cropredy, although no
reliable figures are available before the 19th century. (fn. 15)
In 1801 the population was 433; (fn. 16) according to
estimates by the Vicar of Cropredy in 1808 there
were 61 families in Great Bourton and 31 in Little
Bourton. (fn. 17) The population rose, especially in the
period 1821–31 when the percentage increase was
28, to a peak of 593 in 1841. Thereafter there was a
slow decline (although the effects of the agricultural
depression were less notable here than elsewhere in
the district) to 406 in 1911. In 1961 the population
was 392. (fn. 18)
Great Bourton stands at the north end of the
chapelry on high ground between the 400 and 500 ft.
contours; to the east of the village the land falls
sharply into the Cherwell valley. The water supply
came from wells and springs, and there is no stream
nearby. (fn. 19) The place-name— tun by a burh'—first
occurs between 1209 and 1212, and Great Bourton
in 1265. (fn. 20) The predominant building materials in
the village were once ironstone and thatch; many of
the older buildings have been repaired or added to
in brick and blue slate, and few thatched roofs
remain. The church occupies a central position in
the village, and its tall 19th-century belfry and
vaulted gateway dominate the village street. Most
of the old houses lie along the south side of Cropredy
Lane and on the cul-de-sac running northwards
from that lane at the western entrance to the village.
The Manor House, an old house but not known to
have been a manor-house, stands to the west of the
cul-de-sac, and is a two storied, L-shaped building
in ashlar with the date 'H.T.M. 1685' (probably for
Thomas and Mary Hall or Hitchman) (fn. 21) over the
door. The house is a late and well-built example of
the regional two-unit plan, extended, probably in
the early 18th century, by the addition of a wing with
kitchen quarters. The house stands on a moulded
plinth, its doorway is dignified by a moulded architrave and a broken pediment, there is a newel stair
from cellar to attics in a rectangular projection between the hall and parlour, and there are good
mullioned windows on all elevations. (fn. 22)
Parallel to the lane, opposite the Manor House,
is Friar's Cottage, a two-storied ironstone house
bearing the inscription 'P.W.M. 1685' (possibly for
William and Martha Plant). (fn. 23) This house also is built
on the two-unit plan, but of a more advanced type
with a centrally placed entrance; there is a flat splay
five-light mullioned window to the hall, and a fine
doorway with rectangular head, moulded architrave, and a label with diamond-shaped stops. (fn. 24) A
third house of similar type and date is Spittel's Farm
at the opposite end of the village. It too is built on
the two-unit plan, with central entrance, and good
stone dressings to windows and doorway; its original
studded oak door survives. There is a kitchen
extension on the east, which bears the date 'W.J.
1787' (for William Jeffs). (fn. 25) The descent of the farm
attached to the house suggests that it, or its predecessor, was the residence of John or Thomas Gill,
who were assessed respectively on four and two
hearths for the tax of 1665. (fn. 26) Crock well Farm is also
a 17th-century house, built of ironstone on a similar
plan, and there are several other 17th- and 18th-century houses in the village. The most interesting
of the smaller houses is Boddington's Cottage, which
stands apart from the rest of the village, and is an
unpretentious single-cell house of two and a half
stories, with a very steeply pitched thatched roof;
the entrance is on the lateral wall close to the chimney, and on the opposite wall is a thatched projection
incorporating a newel stair and a large bread-oven;
there is a four-light stone mullioned window to the
hall. The house is not likely to have been built earlier
than c. 1690. (fn. 27) Bourton House, which stands on the
west bank of the Oxford Canal, facing Cropredy mill,
bears the date 'W.H. 1831'. It is a three-storied red
brick structure, and belonged to the Hadland family
from 1831 until 1931, when J. W. Hadland sold it to
Brig. B. N. Sergison-Brooke, who sold it in 1947 to
Major E. L. Donner. (fn. 28)
There are several outlying farm-houses built after
the inclosure of the open fields. Glebe Farm was
built for the glebe land in Bourton belonging to the
living of Cropredy; Littlegood Farm took its name
from a former furlong. (fn. 29)
Little Bourton hamlet lies about a mile to the
south of Great Bourton and straggles eastward from
the Southam road towards the railway line. The core
of the village lies between 400 and 425 ft., close to
the spring line; in addition to springs, water was
available from a number of wells. (fn. 30) As in Great
Bourton the predominant building materials were
ironstone and thatch, the latter usually replaced by
blue slate. Most of the older houses are grouped
together on both sides of a lane running eastwards,
but Old Manor Farm stands alone to the north-east
of the main group. It is probably a 17th-century
house in origin with a later wing; nothing has
been found to connect it conclusively with Little
Bourton manor. It is a two-storied house of ironstone rubble with slate roofs; the east range has
casement windows, the west range sash windows
and an elaborate stone moulded doorway with a
four-centered head, moulded hood, and spandrels. On
the north side of the lane is an L-shaped farm-house
of which the south wing was the original, probably
17th-century, house; it contains a number of threelight stone mullioned windows. At the end of the
lane running towards the railway is another 17thcentury farm-house, which is a good illustration of
the development of the regional two-unit plan in the
late 17th century: it has a central doorway on the
south side, a fireplace on each end wall and a staircase projecting from the north wall opposite the door;
another staircase beside the western fire-place may
be part of the original plan. There are two four-light
stone mullioned windows. (fn. 31)
In the late 18th century there were two inns in
Great Bourton and two in Little Bourton. (fn. 32) One of
the latter survives as the 'Plough' and is still called,
as it was from at least 1778, the 'Dirt House'. (fn. 33) An
unsuccessful attempt is recorded to remove a corpse,
possibly murdered, from a bedroom there in 1804. (fn. 34)
The Bourton inclosure commissioners met there on
one occasion, although their other local meetings
were held at the 'Brazen Nose' in Cropredy. (fn. 35) The
Great Bourton inns were the 'Bell' and the 'Red
Lion'; the former was thatched until burnt down and
rebuilt in the 1920s. (fn. 36) The 'Red Lion' became in
1782 the 'Royal Oak' and then from 1794 the 'Swan'.
A third Great Bourton inn, the 'Greyhound', is
mentioned in 1817. (fn. 37)
Great Bourton chapel was desecrated at the
Reformation and was not revived until the mid 19th
century, so that Bourton was more dependent than
the other chapelries on Cropredy, sharing in the
upkeep of its church, in some of its charities, and
(after violent opposition from many Bourton people)
in a joint National school. The absence of a church
encouraged the growth of nonconformity in the
Bourtons and it was in response that the chapel was
revived. The Bourtons were rather poor villages in
the Middle Ages, and were often described as such
later, although there is some evidence to the contrary: certainly for much of its history the chapelry's
leading figures have been small farmers paying rents
to non-resident landlords.
Manors and other Estates.
In 1086
Bourton was part of the Bishop of Lincoln's Cropredy
manor, (fn. 38) but its hidage is unknown. In 1279 no
episcopal demesne was reported, (fn. 39) but in 1316 the
bishop was returned as lord of BOURTON. (fn. 40) The
Bourtons were among the places where the bishop
alleged breach of free warren in 1333, (fn. 41) and in 1540–I his temporalities there were worth nearly £19. (fn. 42)
From 1547 the episcopal manor in Bourton is followed
the descent of Cropredy (fn. 43) and was surrendered to
the Crown in exchange by the Duke of Northumberland in 1551: at that time there were two free and
fifteen customary tenants. (fn. 44) In the late 16th century
the demesne manor was broken up and manorial
rights lapsed. (fn. 45)
GREAT BOURTON manor derived from the
holding of Maud Wake, who in 1201 held 3 fees of
the see of Lincoln; she was the Maud de Bussei who
in 1209–13 held 1½ fee in Shutford (in Swalcliffe)
and Bourton. (fn. 46) Her successors the Vipont family,
descendants of her sister Cecily, held 1 fee in
Bourton c. 1225. (fn. 47) The fee passed from the Viponts
to the Mowbrays: in 1397 Thomas Mowbray, Duke
of Norfolk, was holding a manor ('Sagesfee') in
Great Bourton as of Vipont, (fn. 48) as did his son John,
Lord Nottingham, in 1419, (fn. 49) and the latter's son
John Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk in 1460. (fn. 50) No
further reference to the mesne lordship has been
found.
The fee was held of the Viponts and Mowbrays in
two moieties. In 1279 one moiety was held by John
Kachelewe, whose family also held Mollington, and
the other by the assigns of William Hall (de la Sale,
de Aula). (fn. 51) These moieties were held in 1346 by
Elena 'Gasselow' (sic) and Robert Hall respectively. (fn. 52)
The Hall moiety passed to the Danvers family, and
was held in 1428 by John Danvers and in 1552 by
George Danvers. (fn. 53) The Kachelewe moiety passed
to the Raleigh family: in 1397 Thomas Raleigh died
seised of 'Sagesfee', (fn. 54) and subsequent lords were his
son Thomas (d. 1404), Thomas's son William (d.
1419), another William (d. 1460), and Simon (fl.
1552). (fn. 55) Simon Raleigh's rights came to Nicholas and
then to Mathew Plant, descendants of Thomas
Plant, one of the bishop's copyholders in 1552. (fn. 56)
William Plant sold off part of 2½ yardlands in 1697,
and more land before 1713. (fn. 57) Later the estate was
held by William's son Thomas, citizen, merchant,
and cooper of London (d. 1728), who was followed
by his surviving child Anna Maria Plant (d. 1742).
Her coheirs were Thomas Plant Hemmings, Mrs.
Priscilla Allet, Mrs. Alice Warner, and Mrs. Mary
Stockley, who in 1768 agreed to sell to William
Prowett. Hemmings and Thomas Plant Stockley
conveyed their quarters to Prowett in 1771, (fn. 58) and a
Private Act of 1777 authorized the sale of the shares
of Priscilla Allet and the four children of Alice
Warner, deceased. (fn. 59) The estate is first described as
the manor (or manors) of GREAT AND LITTLE
BOURTON in 1770 and 1771.
William Prowett, then a grocer of Holborn, had
already acquired land in Bourton in 1763 on the
death of his brother John, who had bought his
Bourton land from the Checkley and Hall families. (fn. 60)
William (d. 1794) appears as lord of the manor in
1792, his relict Elizabeth (d. 1825) in 1795 and 1799,
and their son, the Revd. John Prowett (d. 1851), in
1827. (fn. 61) The latter's surviving son, N. H. E. Prowett,
late of the Bengal Civil Service, had a rental of £264
in Bourton in 1876, (fn. 62) and had described himself as
lord of the manor in 1866. (fn. 63) A small portion of the
estate was eventually added to the Brasenose College
estate in Cropredy. (fn. 64)
LITTLE BOURTON manor appears to have
derived from the ¾ fee held in Bourton of the see of
Lincoln by Robert of Chacombe in 1209–13. (fn. 65) His
holding is mentioned c. 1225, and was held in 1279
by his descendant Nicholas of Seagrave, who was
said to hold in Little Bourton specifically. (fn. 66) Nicholas's
son, John of Seagrave, held the fee in 1300; John
died in 1325 and his son Stephen died in possession
of the manor two months later. (fn. 67) No later record of
the mesne tenancy has been found.
The mesne tenants of both the Chacombes and
Seagraves were members of the Danvers family
from Auvers in the Cotentin, (fn. 68) whose fortunes
originated in kinship and service to Alexander,
Bishop of Lincoln. Simon Danvers is the first of the
family known to have held land in Bourton, though
an ancestor Robert witnessed a grant of the advowson of the nearby Aston-le-Walls (Northants.) before
1222. (fn. 69) Simon is recorded as a tenant of Bourton
land in 1272 (fn. 70) and Robert Danvers was holding the
Seagrave manor in 1279. (fn. 71) Another Simon Danvers
of Bourton occurs from 1316 to 1333 (fn. 72) and held the
Seagrave manor or a part of it as ¼ fee in 1325. (fn. 73)
John Danvers of Bourton occurs in 1339 (fn. 74) and held
the ¾ fee in 1346; (fn. 75) his son Richard held land in
Little Bourton in 1369 (fn. 76) and his grandson John held
part of the fee in 1428. This John, son of Richard
Danvers, also held a moiety of the former Vipont
manor in Great Bourton. Part of his grandfather's
fee, however, had been alienated, for in 1428 the
priors of Chacombe and Clattercote held lands in
Little Bourton which were said to have been held by
William (rectius John) Danvers. (fn. 77)
It was presumably the same Little Bourton manor
with which William Fisher and his wife Anne dealt
in 1510, (fn. 78) but no connexion has been established
between the families of Danvers and Fisher, or
of Fisher and Mathewe, who apparently held the
manor in 1565. (fn. 79) In that year William Mathewe, his
wife Catherine, and their son Thomas sold Little
Bourton manor to Thomas Gardner. Josiah Gardner
of London, son of Thomas Gardner of Little
Bourton, deceased (both are described as gentlemen),
dealt with ¼ yardland in Bourton in 1648; (fn. 80) and there
are later references to landowners of the name in
Bourton. (fn. 81) Gardner's yardland came to Thomas
Wyatt of Cropredy in 1716 (fn. 82) and Charles Wyatt held
it at inclosure, (fn. 83) but manorial rights had lapsed.
In 1324 John de Clare died seised of property in
Great Bourton held of the Bishop of Lincoln as ⅓
fee; his son and heir was John, aged 14. (fn. 84) No further
trace of this property has been found.
Clattercote Priory, Chacombe Priory, and the
Hospital of St. John in Banbury all had interests in
medieval Bourton, (fn. 85) and their properties were absorbed in various post-Reformation manors. The
break-up of the Bishop of Lincoln's demesne manor
led to the formation of a number of small family
estates. Elizabeth I granted a lease of 'Walker's or
Gill's ground' in 1572–3, and granted it in fee (fn. 86) in
1599; in 1610 it came into the hands of Sir Anthony
Cope of Hanwell. (fn. 87) Cope in 1612 released a moiety to
Christopher Claridge, (fn. 88) whose family had leased a
copyhold from the bishop in 1552, obtained a lease
of another part of the former episcopal manor in
1576, (fn. 89) and held land in Bourton into the 19th
century. (fn. 90) Cope acquired other land in 1613 (fn. 91) and in
1614 sold a house and 2¾ yardlands to Thomas Gill,
another Great Bourton husbandman. (fn. 92) Richard Gill
had had the highest assessment in Bourton for the
1523 subsidy, and Thomas and William Gill had
been copyholders on the episcopal manor in 1552,
when William was tenant of Walkers ground. (fn. 93) The
Gills were soon styling themselves 'gentlemen';
Thomas Gill the younger bought 1½ yardland of
meadow in 1656 and 1658; (fn. 94) Thomas Gill of Great
Bourton disposed of a substantial personal estate in
his will dated 1659. (fn. 95) The latter's elder son, another
Thomas, founded a school in Great Bourton. (fn. 96)
Another Thomas, grandson of John Gill, mortgaged
the family property in 1723, and was followed by
his son and grandson, both also named Thomas; the
grandson sold the estate (82 a. after inclosure) to
William Jeffs, a Chacombe butcher (d. 1816) in 1772.
Jeffs's son William (d. 1860) was followed by his
daughter Mrs. Elizabeth Berner (d. 1864) and her
son A. B. M. Berner (d. 1901). In 1902 the property
was sold to George Thomas Amos of Great Bourton
(d. 1922). The Amos family also acquired a second
farm of some size, the nucleus of which (51 a.) was
allotted at inclosure to William Hudson of Farnborough (Warws.), grazier (d. 1809), whose nephew
was succeeded by his second cousin Edward Mold
(d. 1848). G. T. Amos's son G. W. Amos died in
1951 and the latter's brother and son sold the Amos
farms to Mr H. L. Cannon of Williamscot. (fn. 97)
At inclosure John Jordan of Armscott, a Worcestershire gentleman, received 87 a. in lieu of 3¼ yardlands; Jordan made subsequent additions from the
Clarson, Tims, and Checkley families. His cousin's
son, Richard Jordan, made an exchange of land in
1851 with Arthur, Duke of Wellington, who sold his
Bourton property in the same year to New College,
Oxford. The college built up a compact holding
of 232 a. (Bourtonfield) by purchases of a further
35 a. in 1871. It was in 1969 the largest estate in
Bourton. (fn. 98) The estate of Brasenose College in
Cropredy also extends into Bourton.
John Chamberlin (d. 1816) of Cropredy Lawn, the
inclosure commissioner, bought some 115 a. (later
Crockwell Farm), of which 44 a. had been allotted
to William Prowett at inclosure, 40 a. to Thomas
Walford, and another 16 a. to Thomas Gill.
Chamberlin's son, W. H. Chamberlin (d. 1852),
was succeeded by his kinsman John Chamberlin
Eaton (d. 1885) of Ancaster (Lincs.), surgeon; on
his window's death 109 a. in Bourton were sold to the
lessee Josiah Nichols. The estate was again sold in
1934 and in 1956. (fn. 99)
Richard Wheatley and his son John, both Banbury
ironmongers, accumulated over 100 acres (mainly in
Little Bourton) by various purchases (1744–86)
from the families of Borton (£220), Goode (£122),
Varney (£315), and Goodman (£680). Sophia Gunn,
only daughter of John Wheatley, tenant of Broughton
Castle, sold this farm to William Lovell in 1822, and
Lovell to John Elkington in 1835. (fn. 100)
Economic History.
There is no separate
survey of Bourton in Domesday Book. Later evidence
suggests that those parts of the Bishop of Lincoln's
estate which lay in Great and Little Bourton and
Hardwick (in Banbury) were closely associated, and
probably formed together a single unit, with tenants
in all three vills working on the demesne, which
appears to have lain in Hardwick. (fn. 101) The size of the
bishop's manor in the Bourtons is first clearly distinguishable in 1441 when it amounted to 23½
customary and 2 free yardlands; 14½ of the customary
yardlands lay in Great Bourton, 9 in Little Bourton. (fn. 102)
By the late 15th century the Hardwick demesne was
leased out for money rents to tenants in Hardwick,
Bourton, and elsewhere, and the connexion of
Bourton with Hardwick ceased when the Copes
shortly afterwards inclosed Hardwick and so extinguished Bourton's rights of common there. (fn. 103)
In 1279 the estates of the bishop's vassals
amounted to 18 yardlands and one acre in Great
Bourton, and 17 yardlands in Little Bourton; this
land was much split up into numerous small free
tenements under various lords; 14½ yardlands and
6 a. in Little Bourton were held by 11 free tenants,
all but one of whom (with 2 a.) held of the
Danvers estate. The yardland rents varied greatly. (fn. 104)
Only for one estate is there later medieval evidence:
in 1324 the de Clare estate in Great Bourton comprised 3 yardlands in demesne, valued at 24s. a year,
and 3 a. of meadow worth 10s., and there was one
free tenant holding a house and yardland for 10s. a
year, and 4 bordars, 3 of whom held a house and ½
yardland each, the other holding 1 yardland; their
total rent was 46s. a year, with works valued at 18d. (fn. 105)
In 1552 the Bishop of Lincoln's free tenants
(George Danvers and Simon Raleigh) each held 2
yardlands in Bourton, and his 15 copyholders held
26 yardlands there: there was one holding of 3, one
of 2½, nine of 2 yardlands, and one of 1½ yardland,
and one of 1 yardland; 14 yardlands were each held
at a rent of 10s. and the rents of the remainder ranged
up to just over 14s. Worksilver was paid at 3d. per
yardland. The customary tenants paid c. £17 8s. in
rent and the 2 free tenants a further £1 each. (fn. 106)
The Bourtons were relatively poor communities
in the Middle Ages. In 1306 24 people in Great
Bourton, and 12 people in Little Bourton were
assessed for tax at a total of only £1 9s. 5d. and 13s.
11¼d. respectively. (fn. 107) In 1327 24 Great Bourton
people were assessed at a total of £2 7s. 6d., six of
them at between 3s. and 4s., one man at 2s. 1d., and
the rest at less than 2s. In Little Bourton eight people
were assessed at a total of 16s., 2d., one of them at
3s. 9d., two at 2s. 3d., and five at less than 2s. (fn. 108) For
the later medieval taxes Great Bourton was assessed
at £1 8s. 4d. (only a little more than Coton) and Little
Bourton at 12s. 2d. The two assessments together
were less than those of Claydon or Williamscot,
although the Bourtons were well-populated hamlets. (fn. 109) By the 16th century, however, the Bourtons
were relatively more prosperous, and in 1523 35
people in the two villages were assessed at £4 11s. 8d.,
more than the total for Wardington and Coton. This
was partly due to one man, Richard Gill, who was
assessed at 32s. on goods; nine others were assessed
at between 2s. and 4s., 23 at less than 2s. but more
than the landless labourers' rate of 4d., at which only
two were assessed. (fn. 110)
For the hearth tax of 1665 30 people were assessed
on 48 hearths, and eight others, assessed on 10
hearths, were discharged payment on grounds of
poverty. Although the number assessed was high
only three houses had more than 2 hearths; (fn. 111) and
a selection of probate inventories confirms that
the villages were dominated by a number of small
farmers rather than a few wealthy men. (fn. 112) Although
at least two 17th-century farmers left personalty
worth nearly £200 the majority left much less; few
had many animals, and their wealth lay in their
crops. These were chiefly wheat, barley, and peas;
maslin and pulse occur less frequently, and oats not
at all. There seem to have been comparatively few
sheep in Bourton, and many farmers had no sheep
at all.
In 1734 there were four quarters in Bourton Field:
slightly earlier terriers refer to the upper and lower
sides of Bourton Field. (fn. 113) The four quarters of 1734
were: Mill quarter towards Slat Mill, Hills quarter
(mentioned in 1666) in the north-west, (fn. 114) Swans
quarter south of the village, (fn. 115) and Langland quarter
to the north of it. (fn. 116) There were several areas of old
inclosure in the field in 1778: (fn. 117) 4 a. in Hills Ground, (fn. 118)
adjoining Cropredy, Longcroft Closes at the side of
the Southam road, and Hardwick Grounds in the
south-east of Bourton. In 1671 it was estimated that
there were 65½ yardlands in Bourton, 4 of which
were then already inclosed. At about the same date,
17¾ of those yardlands were said to be in Little
Bourton. (fn. 119) In 1666 common of pasture was at the
rate of 4 cows, 24 sheep, and 2 lambs per yardland. (fn. 120)
An act for the inclosure of 57½ yardlands in Bourton was obtained in 1777; (fn. 121) the award was signed in
1778. (fn. 122) The Cropredy tithe books show that from c.
1670 onwards there was a large number of fairly small
estates in Bourton, (fn. 123) and that was still so in 1778:
the largest allotment (174 a.) of the 1,464 a. inclosed
was that to the Bishop of Oxford and his lessees in
lieu of tithe; 120 a. were allotted to William Prowett
of Adderbury, who was also lord of the manor. Only
two other allotments exceeded 100 a., those to
Richard Goodman of Williamscot (104 a.) and John
Gunn (102 a.); six other allottees received over 50
acres. There was a large number of very small allotments made mostly to inhabitants of Bourton; and
most of the larger proprietors were, and remained,
non-resident. The commissioners prescribed the
line of a covered drain to carry water from Butterwell
Spring (east of Great Bourton village) to the canal,
to provide the landowners with watering places for
their cattle.
In the post-inclosure period a number of mediumsized estates were formed (fn. 124) and there was a general
increase in rents. By the mid 19th century rents were
comparable with those elsewhere in Cropredy,
whereas earlier they had not been. In 1698, for
instance, the Vicar of Cropredy had certified that
although the nominal payment per yardland in
respect of tithe was 6s. many inhabitants paid 5s.,
and others what he could get off them. Later it was
agreed that some inclosed land in Little Bourton
should pay only 4s. per yardland because the land
was poor. (fn. 125) It is clear that in the 19th century some
of the Bourton farmers made good use of the red
land which Arthur Young praised so highly. In 1817
two men William Archer and John Haycock,
sentenced to death for burning barley- and haystacks of a neighbour with whom they had quarrelled,
were described as 'opulent farmers'. (fn. 126) Between 1851
and 1872 the rent of Cropredy glebe in Bourton was
twice increased. Later it was reduced, from 63s. per
acre to 50s. between 1880 and 1883, (fn. 127) and further
in 1891 and 1898. (fn. 128) The vicar, an interested party,
stressed the poverty of Bourton in the 1870s. (fn. 129)
At the beginning of the 20th century Bourton,
in common with other townships in the northern
corner of Oxfordshire, was predominantly pasture;
only 29 per cent. of the total cultivated area was arable.
In 1914 the arable was used for wheat (31 per cent.),
barley (14 per cent.), oats (12 per cent.). Swedes,
turnips, mangolds, and potatoes were also grown in
quantity. It is estimated that there were roughly 27
cattle and 34 sheep per 100 a. (fn. 130) Most of the farms in
Bourton remained fairly small; in 1939 only 3 out of
a total of 13 farms were over 150 a. (fn. 131) At the time,
considerable blocks of arable stretched along both
sides of the Banbury-Southam road, although there
was little or no arable to the east of the two villages. It
is probable that, as elsewhere in Cropredy parish,
considerable stretches of grassland were ploughed
up in the early years of the Second World War. (fn. 132)
The first certain indication of a mill in Bourton is
a reference to John the miller in 1225. (fn. 133) The mill
towards Bourton called Thoky's mill occurs in a deed
of 1370; it existed before 1325; (fn. 134) and probably took
its name from William Toky of Williamscot (d.
1349) (fn. 135) or one of his family. It was possibly identical
with Slat Mill, but may alternatively have lain in
Wardington; no recollection of its existence or name
survives. (fn. 136)
Slat Mill, (fn. 137) first mentioned as 'le sclattemylle' in
1482, was probably one of the five mills in Cropredy
in 1086. In 1482 John Mitchell of Cropredy granted
his rights to it, as tenant of the bishop, to John
Kelby of Rycote, whose stepson and successor, John
Parnell, citizen and draper of London, sold his rights
in it to Thomas Beysand of Wardington in 1521. In
1532 the latter leased it to John Halton, a Banbury
draper, for £3 10s. yearly. In 1549 the Malmesbury
clothier, William Stumpe, ceded his rights in it to
William Barnesley of Banbury, who was the bishop's
tenant there in 1552, at an annual rent of £2 10s. 8d.
for the mill and two small adjacent pastures. (fn. 138) The
tenure was converted to fee farm, and in 1602 the
two daughters of John Barnesley sold Slat Mill to
Calcott Chambre of Williamscot. (fn. 139) The mill then
descended with the Williamscot estate to the Taylor
and Loveday families, who paid the fee-farm rent of
£2 10s. 8d. to the Crown.
In the 17th and 18th centuries Slat Mill was
normally leased with Williamscot windmill; (fn. 140) the
two together were leased in 1660 to John Warning,
who was 'not to bring any wife to the mill at any
time' without William Taylor's consent. In 1663
Thomas Parsons, brother of Timothy Parsons who
leased Prescote Mill at the time, leased Slat Mill for
7 years; Uriah Falkner of Warmington (Warws.)
replaced Ralph Savage as tenant of both mills in
1706. Falkner was 'killed by his mill' in 1739. (fn. 141) At
inclosure in 1778 John Loveday's allotments were
'conveniently' laid out near the mill. From 1775 the
Allen family from Cropredy mill leased it until 1851,
and the Hadland family of Clattercote from 1860.
The mill was shortly before 1966 demolished.
A water-mill and windmill in the Bourtons passed
from William and Anne Sharman to George and
John Gardner in 1624. (fn. 142) Perhaps this water-mill was
the Mose Mill mentioned in Bourton together with
Slat Mill in 1636. (fn. 143)
A few Bourton inhabitants were engaged in textile trades: John Claridge (fl. c. 1660) was a
weaver, as were another John Claridge over 40 years
later, (fn. 144) and three others in 1685, in 1703, and 1715. (fn. 145)
Two weavers of Little Bourton (1713 and 1736), (fn. 146)
two 18th-century hempdressers, (fn. 147) a collar-maker, (fn. 148)
and a plush-weaver (fn. 149) have also been noticed. In 1851
there were nail-makers in the Bourtons, one of whom
employed seven men; apart from a few plushweavers and two cordwainers, occupations deserving
notice are two machine-makers, an iron founder, and
a surveyor. (fn. 150) Otherwise the parish remained mainly
dependent on agriculture until the 1930s, when
immigrants (including some from South Wales and
Tyneside) arrived to work in the Banbury aluminium
factory. (fn. 151)
Local Government.
Great and Little
Bourton formed a single unit for administrative
purposes. In 1776 £183 was raised by the rate; of
this nearly £10 was spent on the county rate, nearly
£100 on poor-relief, and c. £13 on rents for houses
for the poor. The villages had no workhouse. (fn. 152) Less
than ten years later the total spent on the poor had
more than doubled, compared with an average rise
of no more than a quarter in the rest of the hundred. (fn. 153)
By the beginning of the 19th century expenditure
had again doubled to £479 10s.; (fn. 154) most of the money
went on out-relief. In 1803, out of a population of
about 430 (fn. 155) 36 adults and 42 children were receiving
regular relief and 30 occasional relief; 15 of the
recipients were aged or infirm. At 5s. 9d. in the
pound the rate was slightly higher than that of other
rural parishes in the hundred, and expenditure of
about 21s. a head was higher than anywhere else
except Wardington. (fn. 156) By 1816 poor-relief costs had
gone up still further to £583 and in 1817–18 they
rose to a peak figure of £814, over 36s. a head. Thereafter costs were lower: in 1821 expenditure was
little over £1 a head but rose again between 1826
and 1831 when the total was £601, although the
figure per head remained much the same. In the year
before the implementation of the new Poor Law
expenditure in the Bourtons was only £394 and in
1835–6 was nearly £100 less. (fn. 157)
Church.
Architectural evidence shows that
Bourton church was in existence in the 13th century.
In 1279 reference was made to Gilbert, son of the
clerk of Bourton. (fn. 158) Until it fell out of use in the 16th
century, and again from its revival in 1863 until
1872, the church was dependent on the mother
church of Cropredy; in 1872 Bourton was constituted a separate vicarage; from 1928 to 1956 the
living was held in plurality with Cropredy; and in
1956 the benefices of Bourton and Cropredy were
united. (fn. 159)
In the Middle Ages Bourton may have been
considered inferior in status to the other daughter
churches of Cropredy, for in 1489 Richard Danvers
left bequests to the churches of Claydon, Mollington,
and Wardington, but to the chapel only of Bourton; (fn. 160)
in Roger Lupton's bequest of 1512 the churchwardens of Cropredy and Bourton were coupled
together; (fn. 161) and in the 1526 subsidy, Bourton alone
was not separately mentioned under Cropredy, and
was probably served by the curate or possibly the
second priest named under Cropredy itself. (fn. 162) The
chapelry had its own curate, however, in 1545. (fn. 163) No
reference has been found to a burial ground at
Bourton.
It seems that regular services ceased to be held
there at or soon after the Reformation, and that the
chapel was desecrated. No mention is made of the
chapel in a deed concerning the three other chapels
of Cropredy in 1564. (fn. 164) Entries for Bourton appear
in Cropredy parish registers as early as 1542, (fn. 165) and
(more significant) in 1544 four churchwardens appear
at Cropredy, (fn. 166) of which two are likely to have been
from Bourton, as in later times. In 1549 the chapel
was granted to Thomas Hawkins alias Fisher, (fn. 167) and
was subsequently used, with the permission of a
group of trustees, for various purposes, including a
school and a vestry room. In spite of the recollection
of Walter Gostelow of Prescote that in his youth
(c. 1620) Cropredy had four great churches and one
little chapel of ease (i.e. Bourton) (fn. 168) it seems clear
that by then the chapel had ceased to be used. In the
17th-century peculiar court the Bourton churchwardens usually made presentments with the churchwardens of Cropredy. (fn. 169) References to the parish
church and even to the 'parish church of Bourton' in
1619 and 1621 presumably refer to the church of
Cropredy itself. When the churchwardens of
Cropredy and of Great and Little Bourton presented
their clerk in 1620 for reading divine services without
being licensed, (fn. 170) they were probably presenting the
parish clerk of Cropredy.
For three hundred years the churchgoers from
Bourton used the north aisle in Cropredy church;
they paid a half share of the expenses incurred by
Cropredy church (in 1611 there is a reference to a
yearly contribution of straw), (fn. 171) and received a half
share of the Cropredy Bell Land profits. (fn. 172) They
continued to maintain their own churchwardens, (fn. 173)
and in 1830 the Bourton villagers gave notice that
they would pay no bills for their share of repairs to
Cropredy church unless their churchwardens approved them. (fn. 174)
In the mid 19th century an effort was made to
revive services at Bourton. From 1850 the chancel of
the former chapel, which served as a schoolroom, (fn. 175)
was used, with the bishop's consent, for a Sunday
evening 'lecture' by the curate of Cropredy; (fn. 176) but the
chapel remained unconsecrated, though the school
moved elsewhere in 1854. (fn. 177) The Anglican church
needed to assert itself to stem the advances made by
nonconformity in the village. (fn. 178) At a poorly attended
public meeting in 1861 it was agreed by seven votes
to three to build a church and exchange land with
the trustees of Bourton poor for a churchyard. (fn. 179) The
vicar, Hoste, was active in raising money both from
the parish and outside. (fn. 180) The original scheme to
build a new church was changed and the old chapel
was rebuilt and consecrated in 1863. (fn. 181)
The chapel was served by the Vicar of Cropredy
and his curate. Bishop Wilberforce (quoting Hoste)
wrote in 1865: 'I am sure that if we took the field
there in force with a resident incumbent and parsonage, the position of the Church would be immensely
strengthened.' (fn. 182) In 1866 Hoste purchased a site with
£500 given by his curate, C. Cubitt, and in appealing
to the Church Commissioners for help stressed his
anxiety lest the proximity of Banbury, 'a hotbed of
dissent', should affect Bourton. (fn. 183) He appealed to
Brasenose College, Oxford, in 1868, stressing the
need for 'the permanence of the ministry in that
quarter', and to the Diocesan Church Building
Society in 1869, when he claimed that the value of
land in the area had risen some 15 per cent, since the
rebuilding of the church and the 'consequent improvement in the parish'. With the help of subscriptions Hoste was able to build a parsonage in
1869; (fn. 184) it cost about £1,000, but the Vicar of Bourton,
Alfred Highton, found it inadequate and 'perfectly
mad', for it was built for a bachelor. (fn. 185) It was sold in
1955. (fn. 186)
The living created in 1872 was in the gift of the
Bishop of Oxford. Its endowment was meagre, consisting mainly of £33 6s. 8½d. yearly granted by the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners on a mortgage of the
glebe house, and £25 yearly provided, at the bishop's
request, by the Vicar of Cropredy. The latter payment ceased when in 1877 the Commissioners
endowed the living with a further £264. (fn. 187)
Hoste's curate, Cubitt, became the first Vicar of
Bourton, but resigned in a year. In 1878 his successor, Highton, was holding two services with
sermons on Sunday, administered the Sacrament
monthly and at great festivals to nearly 40 communicants, but noted that church attendance was
static; half the parish was habitually absent, and a
quarter were professed dissenters. He catechized
every Sunday at Sunday school, where he was helped
by five voluntary teachers, gave religious instruction
twice a week in school, and gave cottage lectures in
Lent and Advent. (fn. 188) Perhaps as a result of the labours
of Hoste and the 19th-century vicars of Bourton,
the village, once a centre of dissent, came to be
regarded as a 'Church' village. (fn. 189)
The church of ALL SAINTS (fn. 190) is a small stone
building of 13th-century origin, consisting of a nave,
chancel, north aisle, and south porch. In 1852 the
chancel arch was walled up, the chancel was used as
a schoolroom, the nave was a dwelling-house for the
schoolmaster, and part of the building was used as a
grocer's shop. (fn. 191) In 1862–3 the church was restored by
William White, architect, and the north aisle was
added to his designs. (fn. 192) Wilberforce thought it a good
restoration of the old chapel. (fn. 193) The rebuilding cost
£900. (fn. 194) The churchyard wall was constructed between 1877 and 1880 and the detached Gothic
campanile, Bourton's principal architectural ornament, consisting of a gabled timber belfry standing
on a vaulted gateway, was built at the south-west
corner of the churchyard. (fn. 195)
The glass in the east window is a memorial to Mary
Ann Gunn (d. 1862), that in the south window to
the Revd. Alfred Highton (d. 1906). The small bell
housed in a recess in the west wall of the nave was
made in 1673 by Henry Bagley. The larger bell in
the campanile was supplied by Messrs. Smith and
Sons of Clerkenwell, clockmakers, who also made
and fixed the clock. (fn. 196) Electric light was installed
in 1934, and electric heaters in 1957. The wooden
partition dividing the vestry from the church dates
from 1935. The slates on the chancel roof were
replaced by concrete tiles in 1954–5.
Bourton's share of the proceeds of Cropredy's
'Bell Land' amounted to £16 a year in the early 19th
century, and was used partly to pay for ringing the
Cropredy church bell, the remainder in aid of the
church rate. (fn. 197)
The Bourton register of baptisms begins in 1863,
of burials in 1864, and of marriages in 1872. (fn. 198)
Nonconformity.
Situated near to Banbury
and lacking a church and parson, the Bourtons
offered a climate in which nonconformity might
flourish. Three 17th- and 18th-century Quakers are
mentioned, (fn. 199) but it was not until the late 1780s, after
a visit by ministers of Lady Huntingdon's Connexion that a dissenting congregation was accommodated there, in the house of one Wimbush. (fn. 200) In
1790 a licence was obtained for a building owned by
William Claridge, a Great Bourton butcher. A chapel
built by Claridge on his own land was opened in
1792; it contained 92 free and 100 other sittings. (fn. 201)
Between 1797 and 1802 the Vicar of Cropredy
reported that this was the only meeting-house in his
large parish; that the minister, apparently resident,
was 'in no repute and his followers few', and that
many of the dissenters went occasionally to church. (fn. 202)
For a few years there were two dissenting congregations in Great Bourton: the registration of the
dwelling-house of John Williams of Great Bourton
in 1802 and of a building lately erected on his
premises in 1803 (fn. 203) may represent a split in the
original congregation; one of the four applicants in
1802 bore the same name, and another the same
surname, as the applicants in 1790. A John Williams
signed a certificate for an Independent meetinghouse at Wroxton in 1823. (fn. 204) In 1808 one meeting
had a resident minister, and about 13 families (12 of
them from the larger hamlet) attended; a small
school (fn. 205) was kept by the minister, whom the vicar
described as a Methodist. (fn. 206) There were still two
chapels in 1810 but no resident minister; the following year, however, there was apparently only one
chapel and no more than 15 families of 'Methodists'. (fn. 207)
In 1814 the vicar reported that about half the
inhabitants were dissenters, and that Antipaedobaptists, Presbyterians, and Methodists all attended
the same chapel. (fn. 208) A nonconformist source 10 years
later reported that the chapel had been 'variously
supplied' for some time and had inclined towards
Unitarianism, but that c. 1819, after a change of
manager, there had been a move towards Congregationalism; a Sunday school had been set up
and in 1824 the congregation numbered nearly 300. (fn. 209)
A further dissenting meeting-place, the house of
William Robbins, was registered in Great Bourton
in 1825. (fn. 210) The certificate, signed by the minister of
Wellesbourne (Warws.), described it as 'Revivalist'
and it was certainly for Primitive Methodists. The
congregation was probably responsible for the visit
of Joseph Preston, the Primitive Methodist, who
preached at Great Bourton in 1835. (fn. 211) No later
evidence of Primitive Methodism has been found.
The original society was for several decades
Independent, or mainly so; (fn. 212) in 1854 the Vicar of
Cropredy described it as such, and in 1866 he said it
was Independent in the morning and 'anything in
the evening'. He also admitted that half the people
in Bourton were dissenters. (fn. 213) In 1851 the afternoon
attendance at the chapel on census day was 80. (fn. 214) The
chapel remained private property until conveyed to
trustees by the Archer family of Little Bourton in
1860; it had come to the Archers by will (1825) of
Richard Archer's father-in-law, William Adkins of
Thorpe Mandeville (Northants.), who had purchased
it from William Claridge in 1803. New trustees
were appointed in 1891, but the congregation
gradually changed its nature: the local Wesleyan
superintendent wrote in 1923 that the Congregational
cause had died out, and the chapel was organized as a
Methodist society; the average Sunday attendance
was then about 35. (fn. 215) The decline in Congregationalism is said to have been due to a change of occupancy
and religious affiliation at the farm which ran the
chapel. (fn. 216) In 1924 the surviving Congregationalist
trustees sold the chapel, then very dilapidated, to
Wesleyan trustees. An adjoining cottage, once the
property of the Wimbush family and so possibly the
original meeting-place, was bought in 1928. There
were then 21 members and 35 regular hearers. A
new red-brick chapel was built in 1932, and in 1969
was supplied with preachers by Banbury's Methodist
minister. (fn. 217)
At Little Bourton the houses of James Varney,
John Townsend, and Thomas Cook were registered
as dissenting meeting-places in 1821, 1824, and 1843
respectively. (fn. 218) Townsend's house was at first used
by Independents and Cook's by Baptists, but neither
sect had a permanent influence in the village. The
Methodist chapel was erected in 1845 (40 free and 44
other sittings) on land conveyed by the Constable
family to local trustees who included two farmers
and one baker from Little Bourton, one of the
farmers being John Archer, owner of Great Bourton
chapel. (fn. 219) In 1851 the attendance on census day was
45. (fn. 220) The chapel was still in use in 1969.
Education.
The Bourtons enjoyed the right to
send 7 children to the free school at Williamscot. (fn. 221)
Under the will of Thomas Gill dated 1666 an endowed free school was set up in Bourton. (fn. 222) Attendance was free to all boys whose parents earned less
than £40 yearly; others could attend on payment.
The finances were not put in order until 1684 and
the school made a bad start: in 1688 George Hunt,
lately schoolmaster there, was presented for incontinence. In the same year Hunt accused two
others of teaching school without licence, and one of
them was shortly afterwards appointed by the
trustees 'to the school lately erected in Great
Bourton'; another master was appointed within a
year. (fn. 223) The original building was superseded in 1709
when the former chapel in Great Bourton was leased
to the school's trustees for use as a schoolroom. In
1718 Richard Rawlinson reported that the Revd.
Richard Gill, the schoolmaster, had spent more than
£50 on repairs and paid £60 for the lease out of his
own pocket. (fn. 224) In 1739 the Vicar of Cropredy dismissed this school, along with that at Williamscot,
as being 'of little use, through the incapacity of the
masters'. (fn. 225) In 1808 it was said that there were rarely
more than 20 children, some of whom came from
outside Bourton; those from Bourton received their
education free, others had to pay. (fn. 226) In 1814 the
school was attached to the National Society, and in
1815 it was reported that the master was about to be
instructed in Bell's system, and that attendance had
risen to about 60. There was also a Sunday school of
about 40 children at Bourton, supported by subscriptions of £8 from Mrs. Prowett and £2 from the
vicar. (fn. 227)
In addition to Gill's school a 'Methodist' minister
was keeping a school for four children in 1808 (fn. 228) and
in 1833 three other schools were reported in Bourton:
a small mixed day school for 20 children educated at
their parents' expense; a Sunday school, which had
been set up in 1823, supported by members of the
nonconformist chapel; (fn. 229) and a day and Sunday school
for girls endowed by John Jordan with £10 yearly. (fn. 230)
When A. W. Noel came to Cropredy as vicar in
1851, he found only one school in Great Bourton
besides Gill's, a dame school for girls supported by
Jordan's bequest of £10 yearly, which Noel's predecessor 'paid to a poor woman who kept a girls'
school in her cottage in Great Bourton'. The endowment of Gill's school, £19 after outgoings, was quite
inadequate to provide a good master; there were then
about 24 pupils. Noel brought about the establishment in 1854 of a National school built just inside
Bourton parish for boys and girls of both Cropredy
and Bourton. The 'tacit understanding' was that if
Gill's school were closed and its endowment applied
to the new joint school, the landowners of Cropredy
parish would themselves subscribe towards the new
school's maintenance. The people, however, objected
to the school's distance from the Bourtons; they held
exaggerated notions of the yield of Gill's charity,
which they probably felt was being diverted for the
benefit of Cropredy people, towards whom they
clearly felt some ill-will. They also mentioned
another £10 charity given c. 1850 by Thomas
Gardner which had not been paid, but which would
pay for a schoolmaster. At a meeting in 1857 the
Bourton householders voted 86 to 24 in favour of
restoring the old school; there were threats to pull
or burn down the new school and house, which (as
Noel remarked) 'they are very likely to do as there is
some very bad characters there'. The Charity Commissioners refused to accept the proposal to restore
the old school, which, if successful, might have made
the Anglican revival in Bourton impossible. (fn. 231)
Ultimately the new school was a considerable
success. (fn. 232)
Bourton Infant school was built, following the
threat of the establishment of a British school, to
accommodate a further 40 children, and opened in
1867; nearly £250 was subscribed, £50 each by Lord
Overstone and Bourton's curate, C. Cubitt. (fn. 233) The
school was conveyed to the vicar and wardens in
1904. (fn. 234) Up to 1928 there was a fairly consistent
average attendance of 21, (fn. 235) but by 1938 attendance
had dropped to 10. In 1962 the roll numbered 23;
the school closed in 1964. (fn. 236)
Charities for the Poor.
From 1709 the trustees of the ancient chapel received £4 a year for
the premises. (fn. 237) It is not known how the rent was
applied until 1797, when it was to be used for relieving the poor. (fn. 238) The school moved to new buildings
in 1854 and in 1858, after complaints that the chapel
rent, then £7 a year, had not been distributed for
many years, the Banbury County Court settled that
the income should be applied to the provision of fuel
and other articles for the deserving poor. (fn. 239) This
charity came to an end in 1863 with the reconsecration of the chapel.
A Mr. Chambre gave £20 before 1786, the interest
of 18s. to be distributed among the poor of Great and
Little Bourton. (fn. 240) The £20 was thought to have been
laid out on the Cropredy Bell Land charity (fn. 241) for in
1825 18s. was paid to the Bourtons out of the interest.
The money was distributed to poor widows at
irregular intervals. (fn. 242) In 1915 18s. was being distributed at the rate of 1s. each to poor widows and
widowers. (fn. 243) The money was still distributed in 1969.
A gift of unknown date by Miss Walker of £20 a
year for the benefit of 15 poor people was administered in 1966 by the Amos family, relatives of
the benefactor. (fn. 244)