| Culham | |
|---|---|
 St Paul's parish church | |
  Culham Location withinOxfordshire | |
| Area | 8.29 km2 (3.20 sq mi) |
| Population | 453 (2011 Census) |
| • Density | 55/km2 (140/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | SU5095 |
| 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 | Culham Village, Oxfordshire |
| |
Culham is a village andcivil parish in a bend of theRiver Thames, 1 mile (1.6 km) south ofAbingdon inOxfordshire. The parish includesCulham Science Centre and Europa School UK (formerly theEuropean School, Culham, which was the onlyAccredited European School within the United Kingdom). The parish is bounded by the Thames to the north, west and south, and by present and former field boundaries to the east. It is low-lying and fairly flat, rising from the Thamesfloodplain in the south to a north-facingescarpment in the north up to 260 feet (80 m) above sea level.[1] The2011 Census recorded its population as 453.[2]
Thetoponym comes from theOld EnglishCula's hamm, referring to the village's position in a bend of the Thames. Culham is known to have existed by the reign of KingCoenwulf of Mercia early in the 9th century, by which time themanor belonged toAbingdon Abbey. Soon after theNorman conquest of England part of the manor was seized byWilliam the Conqueror, but the land was restored to the abbey and remained in its possession until thedissolution of the monasteries in 1538.[3]
The west wing of Culham Manor was built in the 15th century as amedieval grange forAbingdon Abbey. It ishalf-timbered, with a stone ground floor and timber-framed first floor. In 1610 it was extended with a new north front and east wing. The east wing was later demolished but the 17th-century north front survives.[3] The house is aGrade II* Listed building.[4] In 1685 adovecote was built for the manor house. It, too, is now Grade II* listed.[5] North of the house is a 17th-century sundial mounted on a 13th-century column.[6]
Several records suggest that Culham may have had a chapel since the 9th century. A parish church dedicated toSaint Paul was built in the 12th century. It wascruciform, having achancel,nave and north and southtransepts, and had features from theEarly English andDecorated periods. There was atower, and this was demolished and replaced in 1710. In 1852 the whole church except the 1710 tower was demolished and replaced with a newGothic Revival building in 13th century style designed byJoseph Clarke.[7][8]
During the rebuilding,heraldicstained glass installed in the north transept in 1638 was transferred to a window in the north aisle of the new church. The tower has aring of six bells, but currently for technical reasons it is not possible to ring them. Mears and Stainbank of theWhitechapel Bell Foundry cast or re-cast five of the bells in 1921, and cast the present tenor bell in 1926. St Paul's also has a Sanctus bell cast in 1774 by Edne Witts ofAldbourne,Wiltshire.[9] St Paul's parish is now part of theBenefice ofDorchester.[10]
In 1486 brothers Sir Humphrey and Thomas Stafford sought sanctuary in the church after they had fled from the newly crownedKing Henry VII after the brothers were defeated at theBattle of Bosworth. On 14 May 1486, sixty of the King's men entered the church and arrested the two brothers who were tried for treason. Sir Humphrey Stafford was executed; however, Henry pardoned the younger brother Thomas.[citation needed] Culham House is a mid-18th-century brickGeorgian house, built to replace an earlierrectory. It was probably designed and built byJohn Phillips of London.[11]
| Culham Inclosure Act 1810 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act for inclosing Lands within the Manor and Parish of Culham, in the County of Oxford. |
| Citation | 50 Geo. 3. c. cxl |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 24 May 1810 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
In 1416–22 the Abingdon Guild of theHoly Cross builtCulham Bridge over the narrow Back Water between the village and Abingdon to carry the main road between Abingdon andDorchester.[3] In theEnglish Civil War,Royalist forces encamped on Culham Hill until June 1643, defending Culham Bridge. In May 1644 the Royalists withdrew from Abingdon andParliamentarian forces took the bridge, from which they were able to intercept supplies to the Royalist headquarters in Oxford. In January 1645 a Royalist force tried to recapture the bridge and destroy it. The skirmish, known as the Battle of Culham Bridge, ended in a Parliamentarian victory and the Royalist commanderSir Henry Gage was mortally wounded.[3] Most of the parish was farmed in anopen field system until Parliament passed aninclosure act, theCulham Inclosure Act 1810 (50 Geo. 3. c. cxl).[3] In the late 19th or early 20th century Culham had a brickworks.[12]
In 1736 theParliament passed theBerkshire and Oxfordshire Roads Act 1735 (9 Geo. 2. c. 14), the first of severalacts to turn the Abingdon Road into aturnpike. It ceased to be a turnpike in the 1870s.[3] In 1922 theMinistry of Transport classified it as theA415 road. In 1928Oxfordshire County Council built a new bridge for the A415 beside the 15th-century one. The old bridge is now aGrade II* listed building.[13] Road traffic between Culham andSutton Courtenay crossed the Thames via Culham Ferry until 1807, when Sutton Bridge was built. In 1809 theThames Navigation Commissioners built the3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) long Culham Cut, a navigation that bypasses a difficult stretch of river past awatermill at Sutton Courtenay. Sutton Bridge was extended to span the cut, andCulham Lock was built on the cut just above the bridge.[3]
In 1844 theGreat Western Railway opened an extension fromDidcot toOxford, passing through the eastern part of the parish. The GWR opened a station on the main road and called itCulham, although it is1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) east of the village, slightly nearer toClifton Hampden.Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed the station building, and it has recently been restored byNetwork Rail. It is served byGreat Western Railway. In 1795 Culham had at least threepublic houses: the Nag's Head, the Sow and Pigs (later called the White Lion, but closed in 2009) and the Waggon and Horses (closed in 2015). In 1846 the Railway Hotel was added next to Culham railway station 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the village, and in 1894 a parish boundary change transferred the Nag's Head to Abingdon.[3] The village school was built in 1850 and reorganised as an infants' school in 1924. Oxfordshire's smallest primary school, it shares a headteacher with nearby Clifton Hampden CE Primary School and is threatened with closure.[14]
In 1851Samuel Wilberforce,Bishop of Oxford founded the Diocesan Training College for Schoolmasters (Culham College). The building was designed byJoseph Clarke and completed in 1852. The building was altered and extended in about 1960.[15] The college became Culham Institute,[16] a charitable research organisation associated with theChurch of England housed in the Educational Studies Department ofOxford University. In 1978 theEuropean School, Culham was founded in its former buildings before closing in 2017. Since 2012 the entire campus has gradually been subsumed by theEuropa School UK.[17]
In 1941[3] theFleet Air Arm opened Royal Naval Air Station,HMS Hornbill, between Culham railway station and Clifton Hampden village. Most of the airfield is in Clifton Hampden parish, but HMS Hornbill was also called RNAS Culham. ARoyal Observer Corps Post was also constructed, in a field east of Tollgate Road, adjacent to a pre existentPillbox, just up the hill from the rifle range, next to the river.[18] TheAdmiralty closed the airfield in 1956[3] and transferred it to theUK Atomic Energy Authority in 1960. The former airfield is now theCulham Science Centre,[19] an 800,000 square metre scientific research site that most notably includes two major nuclear fusion experiments:JET andMAST.[20] TheSTART Nuclear Fusion Experiment was also conducted on the site until MAST succeeded it in 1999.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
