A History of Kidlington

(Text Courtesy of Kidlington Historical Society)

The village of Kidlington situated on the main Oxford to Banbury Road , is 4.2 miles north of Oxford City and 4 miles from Woodstock and Blenheim Palace . It lies between the River Cherwell to the east and the Oxford Canal to the west.

Until the Enclosure Act of 1818, the southern part of the parish consisted of a large area of common land and the village was known as Kidlington-on-the Green. Many of the older houses faced onto this green. There was also a 'Town Green' running along much of the present Mill Street .

Compared with a population of 1,300 in 1901, Kidlington and Gosford's population is now 17,500 and the village is the second largest in England .

Kidlington has a long history. Datable finds, ranging from fIrst century pottery to a bronze coin of Valentinian (364-375A.D.) were excavated at Campsfield in 1949. Roman coins have been found in Mill Street and north-west of the Parish Church . A Roman urn was found in a well near the church in 1840 and two Saxon spears found in Kidlington are in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford .

The name Kidlington was derived from the tun (Anglo-Saxon word meaning settlement) of the Kidlings or sons of Cydel - hence Cudelinga tun. By 1214 the spelling Kedelinton appears in a Calendar of Bodleian Charters.

When William the Conqueror came to Britain in 1066 he appointed one of his knights, a Robert d'Oiley, (as Constabularius) to build a castle in Oxford and within it to establish a chapel dedicated to St.George of Cappadocia. (St.George did not become the Patron Saint of England until 1222 but he was a popular figure with the Normans as a military saint.)

Robert d'Oiley was also instructed to establish a fraternity of secular priests and to them he gave several churches, including Kidlington. So we know there was a Saxon settlement with a small church in 1073/4. Records show that the Vicar of Kidlington was required to give 4lbs of wax to St George's Chapel each year. Robert d'Oiley took over the Saxon Manor House and probably enlarged it, surrounding it with a bailly or fortified enclosure.

In the Domesday Survey of 1086 Kidlington is shown to have a mill so we can think of this little Saxon community living near the River Cherwell with its small church, mill and Manor House, the villagers guided by the seasons and following a simple rural life style working in the meadows cutting hay for their beasts, sowing and then gathering the corn, collecting fruits of the harvest and working their strips of arable land. In 1129, Robert d'Oiley's nephew, also a Robert, founded Osney Abbey in Oxford which later became the third largest monastery in England. Twenty years later, he transferred the church and other property in Kidlington to Osney.

The fine parish church of St Mary the Virgin dates from 1220 and is admired for its fme medieval glass and ancient woodwork. The slender spire, known as "Our Lady's Needle" is a well-loved landmark. The tower contains a fine peal of eight bells. The church was extended about 1330 by Abbot Thomas of Kidlington and again about 1450 by Abbot Thomas of Hook Norton. The spire dates from the time of the later Thomas.

There were originally three Manor houses. One was in Church Street and was named Bury House and homestead in the enclosure award of 1818. It was awarded to the Duke of Marlborough and is thought to have been demolished during the time of the 5th Duke, 1817- 1840.

Bailey Manor, a moated house with fishponds was at the end of Crown Road . It was partially demolished about 1840 and the remaining structure was known as Moat Cottage. It now stands in the Grovelands estate and has been enlarged.

Hampden Manor in Mill Street, the home of the Hampden family from 1395 to 1553, was later owned by Sir William Morton, the Royalist commander of Sudeley Castle in the Civil War, and after the war a famous judge. A later occupant was John Pudsey Welshman Sydenham, a popular social reformer chiefly noted for his association with the Otmoor Riots.

During the building of Blenheim Palace , its architect, Sir John Vanburgh, quarrelled with the Duchess of Marlborough. It is said that the square tower in the grounds of Hampden Manor was built by Vanburgh as a "thank you" when he stayed at the Manor during the building of the Palace. Another person associated with Hampden Manor was Thomas Beecham, famous for his pills. Thomas lived with his uncle in Kidlington and for a time was a jobbing gardener at the Manor.

One of the finest buildings in the village is the Old Rectory in Mill Street . It is notable for its paired diagonal chimney stacks and the 16th century stone mullioned windows. Alongside is a fine circular dovecote mentioned in 1290/91.