| Sutton Courtenay | |
|---|---|
 All Saints' parish church | |
  Sutton Courtenay Location withinOxfordshire | |
| Population | 2,421 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SU5094 |
| Civil parish |
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| 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 | Sutton Courtenay Parish Council |
| |
Sutton Courtenay is a village andcivil parish in theVale of White Horse district ofOxfordshire, England. It is situated on the south bank of theRiver Thames 2 miles (3 km) south ofAbingdon-on-Thames and 3 miles (5 km) northwest ofDidcot. The2021 census recorded the parish's population as 3,055,[1] a rise from 2,421 in 2011.[2]
Historically part ofBerkshire until1974 boundary changes, Sutton Courtenay is home to some important structures, such asthe Abbey, theManor House,All Saints' Church, a twelfth-centuryNorman hall, theSutton Bridge, andDidcot power station.
A Neolithic stonehand axe was found at Sutton Courtenay.Petrological analysis in 1940 identified the stone asepidotisedtuff fromStake Pass in theLake District, 250 miles (400 km) to the north. Stone axes from the same source have been found atAbingdon,Alvescot,Kencot[3] andMinster Lovell.[4] Excavations have revealed rough Saxon huts from the early stages ofAnglo-Saxon settlement of Britain,[5][6][7] but their most important enduring monument in Sutton was the massive causeway and weirs that separate the millstream fromSutton Pools. The causeway was probably built by Saxon labour. In 2010 theChannel 4Time Team programme excavated a field in the village and discovered what they then thought was a major Anglo-Saxon royal centre with perhaps the largest great hall ever discovered in Britain.[8]
Written records of Sutton's history began in 688 when KingIne of Wessex endowed the new monastery at Abingdon with themanor of Sutton. In 801 Sutton was made aroyal vill,[9] with the monastery at Abingdon retaining the church and priest's house. It is believed that this was on the site of the Manor in Sutton Courtenay[10] and whereAlfred the Great was married in 868.[11] TheDomesday Book of 1086 shows that the manor ofSudtone ("south" of Abingdon) was owned half byWilliam I and farmed mainly by tenants who owed him tribute. There were three mills, 300 acres (120 ha) of river meadow (probably used for dairy farming) and extensive woodlands where pigs were kept.
Most historians believe thatMatilda, the elder of the two legitimate children ofHenry I of England, was born in Winchester; however John M. Fletcher argues for the possibility of the royal palace at Sutton (now Sutton Courtenay) in Berkshire; the queen had been delivered of a child that died, and it seems likely that she stayed for the birth of Matilda the following year.[12] Sutton became known as Sutton Courtenay after the Courtenay family took residence at the Manor in the 1170s.Reginald Courtenay became the first Lord of Sutton after he had helped negotiate the path of the future king,Henry II, to the throne.[12]
Sutton Courtenay was involved in the marriage ofMaud Holland in the 1360s.Edward the Black Prince agreed withHugh de Courtenay, 2nd/10th Earl of Devon that Maud would marry Devon's grandsonHugh Courtenay. Devon promised to award Maud an annuity of 200marks and the manors of Sutton Courtenay andWaddesdon in Buckinghamshire. In return Edward promised to pay Devon four lots of 1,000 marks at 6-monthly intervals. The arrangements receivedpapal dispensation fromPope Urban V and the approval of the English king, the Black Prince's father,Edward III. The wedding had taken place by February 1365, when the manors were granted to Maud.[13]
In the past agriculture, a localpaper mill (employing 25 people in 1840)[9] and domestic service were major sources of employment in the village. TheDidcot power stations are in Sutton Courtenay parish. Didcot A power station closed and the de-commissioning process began on 22 March 2013. Also in the parish are several large quarries that have been used for gravel extraction and then used forlandfill taking domestic refuse from London via a rail terminal. Now the main employers include local scientific establishments and Didcot Power Station. There are many commuters usingDidcot railway station,London being 45 minutes away. At one timeAmey plc had its head office in Sutton Courtenay.[14] In 2003 Amey had been in financial trouble and was bought by Spain's largest construction firm,Ferrovial Servicios. At the time it employed about 400 people at Sutton Courtenay.[15]
In August 1998 theTudor Revival mansion Lady Place, former home of nutritionistHugh Macdonald Sinclair, was destroyed by fire.[16] On 30 January 2008 there was an explosion and fire at Sutton Courtenay Tyres and petrol station, which led to about 100 nearby houses being evacuated for fears thatacetylene cylinders might explode.[17] On 23 February 2016 a large section of the former boiler house at Didcot A power station collapsed while the building was being prepared for demolition. Four demolition workers were killed and five others were hospitalised.[18]
In theNorman era, the oldest surviving buildings of the village were built. TheNorman Hall is one of the oldest buildings in the village, being built in about 1192[12] in the reign ofRichard I. Across the road from the Norman Hall isThe Abbey, actually the former rectory. Its 14th-century Great Hall has an arched oak roof. TheManor House was formerly known as Brunce's Court when it was the home of the Brunce family, one of whom,Thomas Brunce, becameBishop of Norwich. It is a five-gabled, two-winged house which has had many additions over the centuries but originated as the great medieval royal hall, frequented byKing Henry I and then taken over by theCourtenay family, who gave their name to the village. All Saints' parish church was also built at this time (see below), and is a fine example of local Norman andMedieval architecture.
The Abbey is a medievalcourtyard house, across the road from the Norman Hall and the Manor House, which has been recognised byHistoric England as a building of outstanding historic andarchitectural interest.[19] It is considered to be a 'textbook' example of the English medievalmanor house,[20] and is aGrade I-listed building.[21] The Abbey has its origins in the 13th century as arectory ofAbingdon Abbey. Several construction phases took place during the Middle Ages, carried out by prominent figures likeSolomon of Rochester,Thomas Beckington andWilliam Say, but it wasn't until the 17th century that the current plan was completed.[22] It was probably during theVictorian era that the house acquired the name 'The Abbey'.[23] From 1495 to 1867, The Abbey was in possession ofSt George's Chapel atWindsor Castle, who leased the estate among others toJohn Fettiplace.[22]
After being inhabited byEvelyn St. Croix Fleming, the estate was bought byDavid Astor in 1958, who leased it to theOckenden Venture which offered sanctuary to refugees and displaced children. In the 70s, The Abbey was lent to the exiled BishopColin Winter to house theNamibia International Peace Centre. In 1978, theAstor family sold the house and in 1980 it came into possession of The New Era Centre, a charity which use it as aspiritual retreat and conference centre.[24]
In 1912 the thenPrime Minister,H. H. Asquith, choseThe Wharf (which he built in 1913) and the adjoining Walton House for his country residence. Asquith and his large family spent weekends at The Wharf where his wifeMargot held court overbridge and tennis. She converted the old barn directly on the river which served for accommodation for the overflow of her many weekend parties. A painting of the period by SirJohn Lavery (now in theHugh Lane Gallery inDublin) showsElizabeth Asquith and her young friends lounging in boats by the riverside. Asquith signed the declaration that took Britain into theFirst World War here. The house has a blue plaque in honour of Asquith.[25] He and his family remained in the village after he resigned as Prime Minister. He is buried in All Saints' parish churchyard (see below).
The earliest parts of All Saints' parish church include the 12th-centuryNorman west tower and responds of the chancel arch.[9] The most easterly arch of the south arcade is pointed but has zig-zag ornament. On the tower door are crusader crosses inscribed by soldiers either hoping for or giving thanks for a safe return from theCrusades. The main south door has a brick southporch andparvise built with money left to the poor of the parish byThomas Bekynton. Other fittings include a 17th-century wineglass pulpit, a carved mid-12th century font withfleur-de-lys pattern and three late 14th-centurymisericords. The church was nearly destroyed during theCivil War when munitions stored by theParliamentarian vicar exploded in the church.[12][26]
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The churchyard is the burial place of Eric Arthur Blair (1903–50), better known by his pen nameGeorge Orwell. As a child he fished in a local stream. He requested to be buried in an English country churchyard of the nearest church to where he died. However, he died in London, and none of the local churches had any space in their graveyards. Thinking that he might have to be cremated against his wishes, his widow asked her friends whether they knew of a church that had space for him.David Astor was a friend of Orwell and was able to arrange his burial in Sutton Courtenay, a "classic English country village" as Orwell had specifically requested, as the Astor family owned the manor of Sutton Courtenay.[27] With approval from the local vicar and encouragement fromMalcolm Muggeridge, arrangements were made. The churchyard also contains the graves of David Astor,Horace Freeland Judson andH. H. Asquith,Earl of Oxford and Asquith. Asquith so much loved the simplicity of the village that he chose to be buried there rather than inWestminster Abbey.
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