| Stonor | |
|---|---|
 Whitepond Farm, Stonor | |
  Stonor Location withinOxfordshire | |
| Population | 304 (civil parish, withPishill &Russell's Water) (2011 census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SU7388 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Henley-on-Thames |
| Postcode district | RG9 |
| Dialling code | 01491 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Stonor (/ˈstoʊnər/) is a mostly cultivated and wooded village and formercivil parish, now in the parish ofPishill with Stonor, in theSouth Oxfordshire, district, in the county ofOxfordshire, England. It takes up part of the Stonor valley in theChiltern Hills which rises to 120 meters above sea level within this south-east part of the civil parish, it is centred 3.8 miles (6.1 km) north ofHenley-on-Thames.Stonor House close to thevillage centre has been the home of the Stonor family for more than eight centuries. The house and park are open to the public at certain times of the year. The house has a 12th-century privatechapel built of flint and stone, with an early brick tower. There are also signs of a prehistoric stone circle in the park, which gives the place name itsetymology.[2]
For most of its history Stonor was called Upper Assendon and was ahamlet in anexclave ofPyrton parish. On 1 October 1896 the detached part was made into a newcivil parish of Stonor, named after the adjacentcountry house atStonor Park. On 1 October 1922 the parish was abolished and merged withPishill to form "Pishill with Stonor".[3][4] In 1921 the parish had a population of 176.[5] During and after theEnglish Reformation the Stonor family and many other local gentry wererecusants. In 1581 theJesuit priestsEdmund Campion andRobert Parsons lived and worked at Stonor Park, and on 4 August 1581 a raid on the house found a press on whichRoman Catholic publications had secretly been printed. The elderly Lady Cecily Stonor, her son John, the Jesuit priestWilliam Hartley, the printers and four servants were taken prisoner, and in 1585 Hartley was exiled.[4]
Despite continued prosecutions and fines the Stonors and a number of Upper Assendon families remainedRoman Catholic throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, attendingMass at the Stonors' 12th century privatechapel. Between 1716 and 1756John Talbot Stonor,Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District usedStonor Park as his headquarters.[4] In the first half of the 19th century, the number of Roman Catholics in Upper Assendon increased, partly by local people converting, possibly aided by the fact that the only local school at the time was a Roman Catholic one endowed by the Stonors. The 1851 census recorded 50 Catholics in the village, but in the final quarter of the 19th century the numbers sharply declined.[4]
The house was built on the site of a prehistoric stone circle or henge and this has given it its name. The remains of the circle are still visible with one stone incorporated into the south-east corner of thechapel.[2]
The civil parish is more than 90% greenspace (10.61 km2) as at 2005 and had 139 homes in 2011.[6]
StonorCricket Club was founded in 1797. It has occupied its current ground overlookingStonor Park for more than a century.[7]
Media related toStonor at Wikimedia Commons
