Nettlebed
| Nettlebed | |
|---|---|
 Pottery kiln, possibly 17th-century | |
  Nettlebed Location withinOxfordshire | |
| Area | 6.13 km2(2.37 sq mi) |
| Population | 727 (2011 Census) |
| •Density | 119/km2(310/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | SU7086 |
| 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 | |
| Website | Nettlebed Community |
Nettlebedis a village andcivil parishinOxfordshirein theChiltern Hillsabout4+1⁄2miles (7 km) north-west ofHenley-on-Thamesand 6 miles (10 km) south-east ofWallingford.The parish includes the hamlet of Crocker End, about1⁄2mile (800 m) east of the village. The2011 Censusrecorded a parish population of 727.[1]
Archaeology
[edit]It is claimed that in the 17th century a "Palæolithic floor" was found in Nettlebed Common.[2]Mesolithicflintmicrolithsand cores have been found in the parish.[3]
History
[edit]The earliest known records of the name "Nettlebed" are from the 13th century. TheInquisitiones post mortemrecord it asNetelbeddein 1252 and 1276. The name does mean a nettlebed: a place overgrown withnettles.[4]Nettlebed village is on an ancient route through theChiltern HillsbetweenHenley-on-ThamesandWallingford,which for centuries was part of a trunk route betweenLondonandOxford.The road between Henley and Wallingford was made into aturnpikein 1736 and ceased to be a turnpike in 1873.[5]It is now classified as theA4130.Nettlebed's strategic position led to its having severalpubs,innsandcoaching inns.They included the White Hart, which is 17th-century,[6]and the Bull Inn[7]and Sun Inn,[8]which are 18th-century. Only the White Hart in the High Street is still trading.[9][10]
Nettlebed had a sub-post officeandgeneral storein Watlington Street. It has now ceased trading and is a private house. In 2012 Thierry Kelaart and Patrick Heathcote-Amory, son ofSir Ian Heathcote-Amorywere married at St Bartholomew's parish church.Michael Middletonacted as father of the bride and guests included theDuchess of Cambridge.[11]The Old Priest House, on the High Street, is a Grade IIlisted building.[12]
Parish church
[edit]TheChurch of England parishofSaint Bartholomewwas originally achapelryof the adjacent parish ofBenson.There is a record of theEmpress Matildagiving thebeneficeof Benson, including chapels at Nettlebed andWarborough,to theAugustinianAbbey at nearbyDorchester, Oxfordshirein about 1140.[13]TheMedievalchurch building was replaced in 1845–46 by the presentGothic Revivalbrick building, designed by a member of theHakewillfamily of architects.[14]The only surviving part of the previous church is the lower stages of the brick west tower, which seems to be 18th-century.[15]
The church has some 20th-centurystained glasswindows, including two made in 1970 byJohn PiperandPatrick Reyntiens.One is thechanceleast window, in which a centraltree of lifeis flanked by fish on one side and butterflies on the other.[16]The other is thebaptisterysouth window in the southaisle.This shows a tree of life with birds perching in it including an owl, a hawk and a pheasant.[17]The tower has aringof six bells, all cast by Charles and George Mears of theWhitechapel Bell Foundryin 1846.[18]
Joyce Grove
[edit]The Scottish bankerRobert FlemingboughtJoyce Grovein 1903, along with its 2,000-acre (810 ha) estate. A new house was commissioned from the architectC.E. Mallowsin 1908. After Robert Fleming's death in 1938 the house and its grounds were given toSt Mary's Hospital, London.Joyce Grove was used as a convalescent home during the war, and more recently became aSue RyderCare Home.[19]
Pottery
[edit]Bricks, tiles and pottery were made in Nettlebed from the second half of the 14th century[20][21]until the 1930s.[citation needed]In the 15th century Nettlebed supplied ceramic tiles toAbingdon Abbey[20]and bricks toStonor House.[22]The name "Crocker End" means "Potter's End". One remaining brick "bottle kiln"is preserved in Nuffield. It may be 17th-century. It is aGrade II* listed building.[23]In 1674,George Ravenscroftobtained from Nettlebed, the sand used in the making of the firstflint glass.[citation needed]
Windmill
[edit]Nettlebed had what seems to have been the onlysmock millin Oxfordshire.[24]It used to be atChinnorbut was moved to a windier site at Nettlebed in about 1825. It was a slender octagonal building with fourcommon sailsand afantail.It burned down in 1912.[25]
Amenities
[edit]Nettlebed Folk Club
[edit]The village has a long-establishedfolk clubwhich holds concerts on Monday evenings from 8pm at The Village Club in Nettlebed High Street. The Folk Song Club is a volunteer run, non-profit organisation. It was founded in July 1975 at the Bull Inn. WhenBrakspear Breweryclosed the Bull Inn in 1991, the club moved to its present venue, which has capacity for 200 people.[26]Musicians who have performed at the club includeMartin Carthy,Fairport Convention,John Kirkpatrick,Ralph McTell,Show of Hands,Steeleye SpanandRichard Thompson.[26]The Club is also known for special performances such as its "Feast of Fiddles'" where a mix of leading national performers and local artists provide themed evenings. In 2002 the club won theBBCRadio 2 Folk Club of the Year Award.[27]
Transport
[edit]Thames Travelbus route X38 linksNuffieldwithWallingfordandOxfordin one direction andHenley on ThamesandReading, Berkshirein the other. It stops on theA4130main road at Nettlebed Green, near the brick kiln at the east end of the village. Buses run generally hourly from Mondays to Saturdays. There is no Sunday service.[28]
Notable residents
[edit]- Lucy Fleming,actress
- Peter Fleming,writer and traveller
- Celia Johnson,star of the 1945 filmBrief Encounter(also Peter Fleming's wife)
- Sir Ninian Stephen,Australian judge and later 20thGovernor-General of Australia,born in Nettlebed to Scottish parents in 1923 and emigrated to Australia in 1940[29]
See also
[edit]- Crocker End House– former rectory
Gallery
[edit]-
The White Hart -
![25 High Street. The façade is 18th-century but the house is probably 16th-century.[30]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Nettlebed_HighSt_25.jpg/120px-Nettlebed_HighSt_25.jpg)
25 High Street. The façade is 18th-century but the house is probably 16th-century.[30] -
AThames Travelbus on route X38 on theA4130 roadat The Green in Nettlbed -
Nettlebedpuddingstone -
Chancel east window byJohn PiperandPatrick Reyntiensin St Bartholomew's parish church
![25 High Street. The façade is 18th-century but the house is probably 16th-century.[30]](/translate/en.wikipedia.org?u=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFile%3ANettlebed_HighSt_25.jpg&t=hv)
References
[edit]- ^"Area: Nettlebed CP (Parish): Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics".Neighbourhood Statistics.Office for National Statistics.Retrieved1 December2013.
- ^"Early history".History of Nettlebed.Nettlebed Community.Retrieved1 September2017.
- ^Case 1952–53,pp. 3–10.
- ^Ekwall 1960,Nettlebed
- ^Rosevear, Alan."Turnpike Roads in England".
- ^Historic England."The White Hart Hotel (Grade II) (1369327)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved23 July2018.
- ^Historic England."The Bull Inn (Grade II) (1047383)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved23 July2018.
- ^Historic England."The Sun Inn Public House (Grade II) (1181154)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved23 July2018.
- ^https://www.thewh.co.uk/[bare URL]
- ^"The White Hart - Pub/Inn in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire - Visit Thames".www.visitthames.co.uk.Retrieved22 February2024.
- ^Nikkhah, Roya (30 September 2012)."Kate and the Middletons all smiles at wedding of family friend".The Daily Telegraph.
- ^Historic England."25, High Street, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire (Grade II) (1047382)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved21 November2023.
- ^Page 1907,pp. 87–90.
- ^Sherwood & Pevsner 1974,p. 714.
- ^Historic England."Church of St Bartholomew (Grade II) (1369329)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved23 July2018.
- ^Anonymous 2012,p. 3.
- ^Anonymous 2012,p. 4.
- ^Davies, Peter (17 January 2007)."Nettlebed S Bartholomew".Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers.Central Council of Church Bell Ringers.Retrieved1 December2013.
- ^Historic England,"Sue Ryder Home (1181065)",National Heritage List for England,retrieved15 December2016
- ^abMellor et al. 1994,p. 33.
- ^Mellor et al. 1994,p. 149.
- ^Mellor et al. 1994,p. 201.
- ^Historic England."Brick Kiln (Grade II*) (1181146)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved23 July2018.
- ^Foreman 1983,plates 66, 67.
- ^Foreman 1983,p. 127.
- ^ab"Nettlebed Folk Club".Retrieved23 July2018.
- ^"Previous winners".Radio 2 Folk Awards 2006.BBC Online.Retrieved7 February2011.
- ^"river rapids X38 X39 X40"(PDF).Thames Travel.Retrieved23 July2018.
- ^"Sir Ninian Stephen, Australia's former Governor-General and war crimes judge – obituary".The Telegraph.29 October 2017.ISSN0307-1235.Retrieved22 February2024.
- ^Historic England."25, High Street (Grade II) (1047382)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved24 July2018.
Bibliography
[edit]- Anonymous (2012).John Piper and the Church a Stained-Glass Tour of Selected Local Churches.Dorchester-on-Thames: Friends of Dorchester Abbey.
- Case, Humphrey (1952–53)."Mesolithic finds in the Oxford area"(PDF).Oxoniensia.XVII–XVIII.Oxford Architectural and Historical Society:1–13.
- Ekwall, Eilert(1960) [1936].Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names(4th ed.). Oxford:Oxford University Press.Nuffield.ISBN0198691033.
- Foreman, Wilfrid (1983).Oxfordshire Mills.Chichester:Phillimore & Co Ltd.p. 127.ISBN0-85033-441-1.
- Mellor, Maureen; Cowell, Mike; Newns, Sarah;Vince, Alan(1994)."A Synthesis of Middle and Late Saxon, Medieval and Early Post-medieval Pottery in the Oxford Region"(PDF).Oxoniensia.LIX.Oxfordshire Architectural and Historical Society.
- Page, William,ed. (1907). "The abbey of Dorchester".A History of the County of Oxford.Victoria County History.Vol. 2: Ecclesiastical History,etc.Westminster:Archibald Constable& Co. pp. 87–90.
- Sherwood, Jennifer;Pevsner, Nikolaus(1974).Oxfordshire.The Buildings of England.Harmondsworth:Penguin Books.pp. 714–715.ISBN0-14-071045-0.
External links
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| Authority control databases:Geographic |
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