| Ewelme | |
|---|---|
| Village andcivil parish | |
 Ewelme village seen from the south | |
  Ewelme Location withinOxfordshire | |
| Area | 11.50 km2 (4.44 sq mi) |
| Population | 1,048 (2011 Census) |
| • Density | 91/km2 (240/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | SU6491 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Wallingford |
| Postcode district | OX10 |
| Dialling code | 01491 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Ewelme community website |
| |
Ewelme (/ˈjuːɛlm/) is a village andcivil parish in theChiltern Hills inSouth Oxfordshire, 2.5 miles (4 km) northeast of themarket town ofWallingford. The2011 census recorded the parish's population as 1,048.[1] To the east of the village is Cow Common and to the west,Benson Airfield, the northeastern corner of which is within the parish boundary. The localgeology ischalk overlyinggault clay; the drift geology includes somegravel.
Thetoponym is derived fromAe-whylme,Old English for "waters whelming". It refers to the spring just north of the village, which forms the King's Pool that feeds the Ewelme Brook. The brook flows pastFifield Manor and then through nearbyBenson before joining theRiver Thames. It formed the basis of Ewelme'swatercress beds, which provided much local employment until well into the 20th century.[2]
Before theinclosure of 1863, there was no clear boundary between the parishes of Ewelme, Benson andBerrick Salome where they shared large open fields.[3] Ewelme Parish was within theHundred of Benson in 1086,[4] later renamed the Hundred of Ewelme.[5]
William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk,Lord Chamberlain of England, and his wifeAlice established the school andcloisteredalmshouses from their profits from the East Anglian wool trade[6] in 1437, and endowed them with estates in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Wiltshire.[7] Alice was the daughter ofThomas Chaucer,Speaker of the House of Commons, and a granddaughter of the poetGeoffrey Chaucer. Aslords of the manor, she and her father had both lived at Ewelme Palace which once stood in the village.
Ewelme School is said to be the oldest school building in the UK still in use as a local authority school.[8]Cynthia Harnett featured the school and church prominently in her children's novelThe Writing on the Hearth: the action in the book is set around the time the school was built.
The almshouses are officially called "The Two Chaplains and Thirteen Poor Men of Ewelme in the County of Oxford". There were originally thirteen almsmen; as of 2020[update] the charitable trust[9] runs 23 homes for men and women, in Ewelme and inMarsh Gibbon, Buckinghamshire.[10]
UnderKing James I, the original purpose of the position of Master of Ewelme Hospital was diverted in 1617 to support theRegius Professorship of Physic at theUniversity of Oxford; this was confirmed in 1628 by the attachment of the stipend to the chair.[11] At the same time, theRectorship of Ewelme was made to support the same university'sRegius Professor of Divinity, who then served as rector of the parish.[12]
_Medieval_Almshouses_-_geograph.org.uk_-_69735.jpg)
Thomas Chaucer, who died in 1434, his wife Matilda, and their daughter,Alice de la Pole, Duchess of Suffolk, are buried in theChurch of England parish church ofSaint Mary the Virgin adjoining the almshouses.[13] The tomb chest of Thomas and that of his wife Matilda Burghersh are topped withmemorial brasses showing him in plate armour and her in mantle, veil andwimple with their respective crests[14] (his a unicorn and hers a lion) at their feet.[15]
Alice'salabaster tomb, almost undamaged by time, consists of a canopy of panelled stone, below which is the recumbent effigy of the Duchess on top of the tomb chest which contains her remains; the space beneath the chest encloses her sculptedcadaver, which is viewed through elaborate reticulated arches. Hereffigy was examined byQueen Victoria's commissioners in order to discover how a woman should wear the insignia of theOrder of the Garter.
William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk was Alice's third husband; she was married first to Sir John Philip, and second toThomas Montagu, 4th Earl of Salisbury. Her five-year-old step-great-granddaughter,Anne Beauchamp, 15th Countess of Warwick, also died at Ewelme, but was buried atReading Abbey.Jerome K. Jerome (1859–1927), author ofThree Men In A Boat, lived at Gould's Grove just southeast of Ewelme. He and his wife Ettie (died 1938) are buried in St. Mary's churchyard; their tombstone reads "For we are labourers together with God. I Corinthians III. 9". Scenes in the2012 filmLes Misérables were filmed at the parish church of Ewelme.
The village is dominated by the nearby buildings belonging toBenson Airfield. Ewelme has apublic house, the Shepherd's Hut, controlled byGreene King Brewery. The village shop[16] is run by volunteers on a not-for-profit basis. EwelmeCricket Club was founded in 1933.[17]
Since 2006 Ewelme has hosted the annual Chiltern Chase, a charity run of two multi-terrain (cross country) courses: one of 3 miles (5 km) and the other of 6 miles (10 km).[18] Both races start and finish on Cow Common. Normally two charities benefit equally from the proceeds of the event.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Hunt, William (1887). "Chaucer, Thomas". InStephen, Leslie (ed.).Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 10. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 167–168.
