| Clifton Hampden | |
|---|---|
 Parish church of St Michael & All Angels | |
  Clifton Hampden Location withinOxfordshire | |
| Area | 7.78 km2 (3.00 sq mi) |
| Population | 662 (parish, includingBurcot) (2011 Census) |
| • Density | 85/km2 (220/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | SU5495 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Abingdon |
| Postcode district | OX14 |
| Dialling code | 01235 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Clifton Hampden & Burcot Parish Council |
| |
Clifton Hampden is a village andcivil parish on the north bank of theRiver Thames, just over 3 miles (5 km) east ofAbingdon inOxfordshire. Since 1932 the civil parish has included the village ofBurcot, 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Clifton Hampden.[1] The2011 Census recorded the parish population as 662.[2]
Thetoponym was originally simply "Clifton", meaning "tun on a cliff" inOld English. There is no documentation for the "Hampden" part of the name from before 1726.[1] In theAnglo-Saxon era Clifton belonged to theBishop of Dorchester. After theNorman conquest of EnglandWilliam the Conqueror transferred the see toLincoln, with its properties including Clifton.[1]
TheChurch of England parish church ofSt Michael and All Angels was a chapel of Dorchester parish until the 19th century. The oldest parts of the church include thearcade of the southaisle, which was built in about 1180. Elsewhere in the church are three 13th centuryEarly Englishlancet windows. The south aisle ends in aDecorated Gothicchapel that was added in the 14th century. ThePerpendicular Gothic arcade of the north aisle is later.[3] In 1843–44 the church was rebuilt to the designs ofGeorge Gilbert Scott, who ornamented thechancel as a memorial to the benefactor who funded therestoration.[3]
Clifton Hampden Manor was originally the parsonage, and was designed by Scott in about 1843-46 for Henry Hucks Gibbs, who in 1896 becameHucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham.[4]
By the early part of the 13th century the parish was being farmed with anopen field system. In the 15th century it was a three-field system and the fields were called East, Down and Ham. In 1726 the same fields were called Upper, Middle and Lower, respectively. The land wasinclosed in 1770.[1] From at least the early part of the 14th century there was a ferry across the Thames between the village andLong Wittenham.[1] Several cottages in the village survive from the later part of the 16th and early part of the 17th centuries.
By 1726 the village had threepublic houses. By 1786 there was one called theFleur de Lys, and this was still in business by 1864. The Plough beside Abingdon Road was a public house by 1821;[1] it still trades under the same name but is now a restaurant. In 1736 theParliament passed the first of severalActs to turn the main road between Abingdon andDorchester into aturnpike. The section through Clifton Hampden ceased to be a turnpike in 1873.[1] In 1922 theMinistry of Transport classified it as theA415 road. In 1928,Oxfordshire County Council built a new bridge for the A415 beside the 15th century one.
In 1822 theThames Navigation Commissioners built the1⁄2 mile (800 m) long Clifton Cut, a navigation that bypasses a shallow and difficult stretch of river.[1] It ends withClifton Lock,1⁄2 mile (800 m) above Clifton Hampden ferry. In 1867 the ferry was replaced by theClifton Hampden Bridge, a brick structure designed byGeorge Gilbert Scott.[5] This was a toll bridge until 1946, whenBerkshire and Oxfordshire county councils took it over.The Barley Mow just on the far side of Clifton Hampden Bridge is in Long Wittenham parish. In 1889 the novelistJerome K. Jerome featured the village and the Barley Mow, in his bookThree Men in a Boat.[6]
Round Clifton Hampden, itself a wonderfully pretty village, old-fashioned, peaceful, and dainty with flowers, the river scenery is rich and beautiful. If you stay the night on land at Clifton, you cannot do better than put up at the "Barley Mow."
In 1844, theGreat Western Railway opened an extension fromDidcot toOxford. The GWR opened a station on the main road between the village and Culham. The station is closest to Clifton Hampden but it is in Culham parish and the GWR called itCulham. The Church of England school was built in 1847 and affiliated to theNational Society for Promoting Religious Education. It had only one schoolroom until 1909, when an infants' room was added. In 1934 the school was reorganised as a junior school, with senior pupils being schooled in Dorchester. Since 1951 it has been a Church of Englandvoluntary controlled primary school.[7] Thevillage hall was built in 1896.[1] When the bandRadiohead formed, and at that time called itself "On A Friday", it practiced in this hall.
In 1941,[1] theFleet Air Arm opened Royal Naval Air Station,HMSHornbill, between Culham railway station and Clifton Hampden village. Most of the airfield is in Clifton Hampden parish, butHornbill was generally called RNAS Culham. TheAdmiralty closed the airfield in 1956[1] and transferred it to theUK Atomic Energy Authority in 1960. The former airfield is now the Culham Science Centre,[8] an 800,000 square metre scientific research site that includes two nuclear fusion experiments:JET andMAST. TheSTART Nuclear Fusion Experiment was also conducted on the site until MAST succeeded it in 1999.
Clifton Hampden has a village shop and sub-post office[9] and aGPs' practice,[10] Clifton Hampden andBurcot have aWomen's Institute.[11] Clifton Hampden Cricket Club play in the Oxfordshire Cherwell League.[12] The village also has alongbowarchery society.[13] A pedigree herd ofalpacas, the "Lost City Alpacas", is kept at the village.[14]
On 20 July 1944 aUSAAFLockheed P-38F Lightningphoto-reconnaissance aircraft from nearbyRAF Mount Farm attempted a forced landing at Clifton Hampden, but hit treetops in The Coppice and crashed into a field. The aircraft, which was carryingdrop tanks, exploded and burned on impact. Witnesses reported that one of the Lightning's twin engines had stopped and the other was barely turning.[15] The pilot,2nd Lieut Robert Mitchell of the 22nd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron,7th Reconnaissance Group, was killed. He is buried at theUS military cemetery nearCambridge.[15]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
