| Shifford | |
|---|---|
 St Mary's chapel | |
  Shifford Location withinOxfordshire | |
| OS grid reference | SP374019 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Bampton |
| Postcode district | OX18 |
| Dialling code | 01993 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Aston, Cote, Chimney and Shifford |
| |
Shifford is a hamlet in thecivil parish ofAston, Cote, Shifford and Chimney in theWest Oxfordshire district ofOxfordshire, England. It is on the north bank of theRiver Thames about 6 miles (10 km) south ofWitney.
There was a modestIron Age andRoman-era pastoral settlement east of what is now Old Shifford Farm.[1] It was abandoned around the end of the 1st century AD, but a new settlement was established slightly north of the old one toward the end of the 3rd century.[1] The Oxford Archaeological Unit excavated the sites in 1988–89,[1] after which it was excavated as a gravel pit parallel with Brighthampton Cut. Late Iron Age and Roman artefacts found at the site include ceramicloom weights and parts of pots and plates;[2]Roman coins from the 1st to the 4th centuries, but particularly the late 3rd to late 4th centuries;[3] copper items including brooches, a pin and a bracelet,[4] iron items, particularly nails;[5] lead items including weights, pot rivets and lead shot;[6] and stone items including severalquern-stones and awhetstone.[7] Bone fragments found at the site came mostly from cattle (16.4%), sheep and goats (10.7%) and horses (10.7%).[8] Farming at the site seems to have been mostly pastoral; there was little evidence of arable cultivation.[1]
The settlement arose by a ford across the Thames, from which it derived itstoponym ("sheep ford").[9] It was mentioned in a charter of 1005, when the estate was granted toEynsham Abbey. A 17th century tradition thatAlfred the Great held a council at Shifford arose from a reference toSifford in the 12th or 13th century poemThe Proverbs of Alfred, now thought not to refer to this place.[9] In the 17th century Shifford had between 15 and 23 houses. By 1881 the population had risen to 70 but by 1951, the last year for which separate figures are available, it had fallen to 27.[9][10] It is now a largelydeserted village.[11]
Shifford was historically ahamlet in theancient parish ofBampton.[12] Civil functions under thepoor laws from the 17th century onwards were administered separately for Shifford and other parts of Bampton parish. As such, Shifford became acivil parish in 1866 when the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws. In 1954, Shifford was merged with the neighbouring parish of Aston Bampton (which covered three other former hamlets of Bampton:Aston,Cote, andChimney) to become a new civil parish called Aston Bampton and Shifford.[13][14][15] The parish was renamed Aston, Cote, Shifford and Chimney in 1988.[16]
Shifford was never anecclesiastical parish but in medieval times it was adependent chapelry of Bampton. The chapel was later described as "Georgian"[17] and became derelict by the 19th century. In 1863 it was replaced with aGothic Revival one designed by the architectJoseph Clarke.[17] It is a Grade IIlisted building.[18]
A lock on the River Thames was built in 1898 half a mile upstream from Shifford. It is accessible on foot fromChimney, but not directly from Shifford.
A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 13: Bampton Hundred (Part One)
A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 13: Bampton Hundred (Part One)
Media related toShifford at Wikimedia Commons
