| Crowmarsh Gifford | |
|---|---|
 St Mary Magdalene Church | |
  Crowmarsh Gifford Location withinOxfordshire | |
| OS grid reference | SU6189 |
| Civil parish | |
| 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 | Crowmarsh Gifford Community Site |
| |
Crowmarsh Gifford, commonly known asCrowmarsh, is a village in thecivil parish ofCrowmarsh, in theSouth Oxfordshire district, in the county ofOxfordshire, England. It is beside theRiver Thames opposite themarket town ofWallingford, the two linked byWallingford Bridge. Crowmarsh parish also includes thehamlet ofNewnham Murren, which is now merged with the village; the hamlet ofMongewell, and the village ofNorth Stoke 2 miles (3.2 km) to the south.
After theNorman Conquest of England most of the land was granted to Walter Giffard, laterEarl of Buckingham. It later came into the possession ofWilliam Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke and remained with his heirs until passing back tothe Crown. Nearby Newnham Manor was originally granted byWilliam the Conqueror toMiles Crispin, but by 1428 was owned byThomas Chaucer, son of the poetGeoffrey Chaucer. After his death it was passed to his daughter Alice, wife ofWilliam de la Pole, 4th Earl of Suffolk. Other land was granted toBattle Abbey.
TheChurch of England parish church of SaintMary Magdalene is said to have been built in about 1120. The north door, south door, three windows in the south wall,chancel arch andfont are allNorman. A northtransept with a pointed arch was added in about 1200. The building was restored in 1836 and 1868.[1] In 1139 KingStephen built a wooden fort in Crowmarsh, the first of a series built in opposition toWallingford Castle, which supported his cousinMatilda during the civil war known asThe Anarchy. The forts were probably dismantled as a result of theTreaty of Wallingford of 1153.[2] The castle at Crowmarsh consisted of a 20-to-25 m (66-to-82 ft) wide ditch surrounding an enclosure measuring 50 by 35 m (164 by 115 ft).[3]
In 1701 agriculturistJethro Tull invented his revolutionaryseed drill here. In 1770 nearbyMongewell Park was acquired byShute Barrington, thenBishop of Llandaff. He was buried in Mongewell Church. Mongewell Park later became the site forCarmel College. TheJacobethancountry house Howbery Court (also known asHowbery Park) in Crowmarsh was built in about 1850[4] for localMPWilliam Seymour Blackstone. It now houses the facilities of HR Wallingford Group.[5] NearbyNorth Stoke was the home of thecontralto singer DameClara Butt, who died there and was buried locally in St Mary's Church graveyard in 1936.
In 1931 the civil parish had a population of 248.[6] On 1 April 1932 the parish was abolished to form "Crowmarsh".[7]
In 1944 aRoyal Canadian Air ForceHalifax bomber with a full bomb load caught fire overWallingford. Most of the crew bailed out, but Flying Officer Johnny Wilding (USA) and Sergeant John Andrews (RAF) steered the plane away from the town, and attempted to land in the open fields of Crowmarsh, but crashed. They are commemorated by anobelisk at the junction of Wilding Road and Andrew Road in Wallingford.
Crowmarsh Gifford was the administrative headquarters ofSouth OxfordshireDistrict Council. The Offices were badly damaged by fire on 15 January 2015.[8]
