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Middleton Stoney

Coordinates:51°54′29″N1°13′30″W/ 51.908°N 1.225°W/51.908; -1.225
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Not to be confused withStoney Middleton.

Middleton Stoney
All Saints' parish church
Middleton Stoney is located in Oxfordshire
Middleton Stoney
Middleton Stoney
Location withinOxfordshire
Area7.50 km2(2.90 sq mi)
Population331 (2011 Census)
•Density44/km2(110/sq mi)
OS grid referenceSP5323
Civil parish
  • Middleton Stoney
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBicester
Postcode districtOX25
Dialling code01869
PoliceThames Valley
FireOxfordshire
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament
WebsiteMiddleton Stoney Village Website
List of places
UK
England
Oxfordshire
51°54′29″N1°13′30″W/ 51.908°N 1.225°W/51.908; -1.225

Middleton Stoneyis a village andcivil parishabout2+1⁄2miles (4 km) west ofBicester,Oxfordshire.The2011 Censusrecorded the parish's population as 331.[1]

The parish measures about 2 miles (3 km) north–south and about1+1⁄2miles (2.4 km) east–west, and in 1959 its area was 1,853 acres (750 ha). Its eastern boundary is Gagle Brook, a tributary of theRiver Ray,and its western boundary isAves ditch.[2]It is bounded to the north and south by field boundaries.

Archaeology

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The remains of aRomanbuilding from the second century AD, possibly a barn, have been found southeast of the former castle.[3]

Aves ditch is pre-Saxonand may have been dug as a boundary ditch.

Toponym

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"Middleton" is a commontoponymderived fromOld English.It means the middletūn(enclosure ortownship) of a group. TheDomesday Bookof 1086 records this particular Middleton asMiddeltone.Episcopalregisters record it asMudelingtonain 1209–19 andMiddellingtonin 1251. A document from 1242 included in theBook of Feesrecords it asMudelinton.[4]

The earliest known record of theaffix"Stoney" is from 1552. It may refer to stone pits in the parish, from whichJurassicCornbrashlimestonewas quarried to builddry stonewalls.[2]It differentiates the village and parish fromMiddleton CheneyinNorthamptonshire,about 12 miles (19 km) to the north.

Manor and castle

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Middleton Stoney existed by the time of KingEdward the Confessor,when one Turi held themanor.It was valued at 10hides.[2]

Middleton Stoney Castle was amotte-and-baileythat was first recorded in 1215. Its remains are east of All Saints' parish church[5]and are aScheduled Ancient Monument.[6]

Middleton Parkis aneo-Georgiancountry housedesigned byEdwin Lutyensand his sonRobertand built in 1938 for the9th Earl of Jersey.[3]It is aGrade I listed building.[7]

Parish church

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All Saints' parish church: mid-12th century Norman south doorway

The earliest parts of theChurch of England parish churchofAll SaintsareNorman,built in the middle of the 12th century. In about 1190 thechancelarch was inserted and the northaisleand three-bayarcadewere added in a transitional style between Norman andEarly English Gothic.In the 14th century the south aisle and its two-bay arcade were built. The nave has aclerestorythat was added in the 15th century.[8]

In 1805 atranseptalmausoleumwas added to the north side of the chancel for theChild-Villiersfamily. In 1858 the church wasrestoredunder the direction of the architectSamuel Sanders Teulon,under whom the west tower was rebuilt and the Jersey mausoleum wasNormanised.[9]

In 1860 a 14th-century Gothicbaptismal fontwas presented to the church.[8]On its base a 17th-century inscription saysThis fonte came/from the Kings/chapel in Islipp...and claims that Edward the Confessor was baptised in it.[10]If true, it would be aSaxonfont that was re-cut and Gothicised in the 14th century. It may have been salvaged from the Saxon chapel of the RoyalHouse of WessexatIslip,which was damaged in theEnglish Civil Warin 1645 and demolished in the 1780s.[11]

In 1868 the church was refitted to designs by theOxford DiocesanarchitectGE Street,who added avestry,reredos,choir stalls and newpulpit.[12]The church is aGrade II* listed building.[10]

The westtowerhas aringof six bells, all cast in 1717 by Henry III Bagley ofChacombe.[2]Mears and Stainbank of theWhitechapel Bell Foundryrecast the tenor and treble bells in 1883 and the fifth bell in 1885.[13]

CWGCsection in All Saints' parish churchyard

The parish churchyard has aCommonwealth War Graves Commissionsection with 27Second World Warburials. All but one are airmen fromRAF Upper Heyfordin the next parish, including 10 from theRoyal Canadian Air Forceand two from theRoyal New Zealand Air Force.[14]The exception is aRoyal Navyofficer,LieutConroy Ancil, who served on theescort carrierHMSStalkerand died in 1943.[15]

All Saints' is now part of the AkemanChurch of England Benefice,which includes the parishes ofBletchingdon,Chesterton,Hampton Gay,Kirtlington,WendleburyandWeston-on-the-Green.[16]

Economic and social history

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The parish'scommon landswereinclosedat the end of the 17th century.[17]In 1824–25George Child Villiers, 5th Earl of Jerseyhad the original village andmanor housedemolished to make way for him to expandMiddleton Parkeastwards.[17]The castle mound and All Saints' church remain isolated within the extended park.[17]His wifeSarah Villiers, Countess of Jerseydirected the building of new cottages on the edge of the park, each with a rustic porch and a flower garden.[17]These form the nucleus of the current village.[17]

The current village is at the crossroads of two main roads. The north–south road used to be the main road betweenOxfordandBrackley.In the 1920s it was classified as theA43.In the 1990s theM40 motorwaywas completed and the stretch of the A43 through Middleton Stoney was reclassifiedB430.The east–west road is the main road between Bicester andEnstone.In 1797 anAct of Parliamentmade this road into aturnpike.[2]It was disturnpiked in the 19th century and in the 20th it was classifiedB4030.

Amenities

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The former parish school, now the village hall

The village has apubthat used to be called the Eagle and Child. It is now theJersey Arms,ahotelowned by Shepherd Cox Hotels and operated as a Best Western SureStay Hotel.[18]

Middleton Stoney used to have a parish school.[2]The building is now thevillage hall.

Public transport

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Red Rose Travel bus route 25 serves Middleton Stoney, linking the village with Bicester in one direction, and withUpper HeyfordandLower Heyfordin the other. Buses run from Mondays to Saturdays, mostly at hourly intervals. There is no late evening service, and no service on Sundays orbank holidays.[19]

References

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  1. ^UK Census(2011)."Local Area Report – Middleton Stoney Parish (1170217727)".Nomis.Office for National Statistics.Retrieved6 August2018.
  2. ^abcdefLobel 1959,pp. 243–251.
  3. ^abSherwood & Pevsner 1974,p. 703.
  4. ^Ekwall 1960,Middleton
  5. ^Sherwood & Pevsner 1974,pp. 702–703.
  6. ^Historic England."Middleton Stoney Castle (1015164)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved6 August2018.
  7. ^Historic England."Middleton Park (Grade I) (1232948)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved6 August2018.
  8. ^abSherwood & Pevsner 1974,p. 702.
  9. ^Sherwood & Pevsner 1974,p. 701.
  10. ^abHistoric England."Church of All Saints (Grade II*) (1276839)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved6 August2018.
  11. ^Sherwood & Pevsner 1974,p. 664.
  12. ^Sherwood & Pevsner 1974,pp. 701–702.
  13. ^Davies, Peter (14 December 2006)."Middleton Stoney All Saints".Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers.Retrieved19 December2011.
  14. ^"Middleton Stoney (All Saints) Churchyard".CWGC.Retrieved6 August2018.
  15. ^"Lieutenant (A) Ancil, Conroy Henry".CWGC.Retrieved6 August2018.
  16. ^"About Us".The Akeman Benefice.Retrieved5 August2018.
  17. ^abcdeRowley 1978,p. 137.
  18. ^Jersey Arms
  19. ^"Service 25"(PDF).Red Rose Travel Ltd.Retrieved19 February2023– via Upper Heyford Village Website.

Sources and further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toMiddleton Stoney.
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