WENDLEBURY
The parish (1,154 a.) lies along the road from Oxford
to Bicester, (fn. 1) which is three miles distant and its
nearest market-town. The parish boundaries are
mostly very irregular and were no doubt drawn
along the limits of already existing fields; the northern boundary follows for part of its course the
northern edge of the site of the Roman town of
Alchester. (fn. 2) On the east Wendlebury is divided from
Merton by the Bure, a tributary stream of the River
Ray. No boundary changes have been recorded. (fn. 3)
Wendlebury lies in the area of the Oxford Clay; its
soil is chiefly clay, overlaid in places with gravel. (fn. 4)
Plot maintained that objects buried in the ground at
certain places were petrified and preserved. (fn. 5) The
main road from Oxford to Bicester, made a turnpike
in 1793, crosses the parish and once ran through the
village: (fn. 6) in 1938 it was widened and straightened
so as to leave the village to the east of it. The Roman
road leading south from Alchester, called 'Buggestret' in the 13th century, crosses the north-east
corner of the parish. (fn. 7) A network of footpaths connecting Wendlebury with all the neighbouring
villages was confirmed by the inclosure award of
1801. (fn. 8)
The Bletchley-Oxford section of the former
L.N.W.R. passes through the parish. In 1851 three
railway labourers were returned in the census as
lodging in the village, presumably when the railway
was being constructed. (fn. 9)
The site of the Roman town was peculiarly damp (fn. 10)
and the Saxon settlers, for this and superstitious
reasons perhaps, made their settlement to the southwest, close to the western boundary of the later
parish, with all their fields lying to the east. A feeder
of the Ray runs southwards along the village street
and provided an ample water-supply. The Saxon
Wændel had his burh or fortified house here and
gave the village its name. (fn. 11) Its position on an important highway did not compensate for its small
amount of land and the medieval village never became large. (fn. 12) In the 17th century it had two gentlemen's residences: the rector's with its six taxable
hearths and Henry Trafford's with seven. There
were also two substantial farm-houses, for each of
which four hearths were returned for the tax of 1665,
and ten other smaller dwellings were listed. (fn. 13) But
there were evidently many more which were not
taxed. (fn. 14) In the early 18th century 32 houses were
recorded, 49 in 1851, and 67 in 1901. (fn. 15) By 1951 these
had been reduced to 50. Six council houses were
built between 1918 and 1954. (fn. 16)
The appearance of the present village (1955) with
its dwellings mainly built of the local rubble stone
or mellowed red brick of local manufacture is harmonious and, on account of its open stream, unusual.
A few of the cottages and probably the core of the
Manor House date from the 17th century. The last
was modernized in the 18th century. The present
house is of two builds, consisting of a west and an
east block with a continuous roof over both. The
east block is built of coursed rubble, the west has
been faced with ashlar. At the back there are some
mutilated rough-cut battlements which are said to
date from the early 20th century. (fn. 17) The chief interior feature is an 18th-century staircase in pinewood.
The old Rectory, standing to the east of the manorhouse, was rebuilt in 1840 for £1,150. (fn. 18) It is
a two-storied house, built of coursed rubble with
ashlar quoins. The 17th-century parsonage was
described in 1634 as a house of six bays of building
with extensive outhouses; in 1679 it consisted of
seven bays including its kitchen and dairy and was
flanked by three gardens. (fn. 19)
The 'Red Lion' is an 18th-century building of
coursed rubble. It is of two stories with three hipped
dormer windows in a slate roof. A 19th-century
drawing shows it with an outside flight of steps. (fn. 20)
The house was sold in 1732 to Elizabeth Jarvis of
Chesterton, and the terms of the sale imply that it
had become an inn during the ownership of the
seller. (fn. 21) Manorial courts were held there in the 19th
century. (fn. 22) Two licences were issued in 1735, (fn. 23) one
perhaps to the 'Plough', the 19th-century name of
the village's second public house. (fn. 24)
The parish's only outlying farm-house, Starveall,
formerly Lone Farm, lies in the extreme south. (fn. 25)
Alchester, excavated by Francis Penrose of
Chesterton in 1766, was one of the earliest Roman
settlements in Britain, and was a commercial centre
rather than a military post. (fn. 26)
Wendlebury's only inhabitant of note was George
Dupuis (d. 1839), rector and progressive farmer. (fn. 27)
Manors.
Before the Conquest WENDLEBURY
was held by 'Asgar', who is to be identified with
Esegar the staller, Sheriff of Middlesex, (fn. 28) rather
than with Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia. (fn. 29) The Conqueror
granted the village to Geoffrey de Mandeville, (fn. 30)
whose grandson of the same name was created Earl
of Essex by King Stephen. The overlordship of
Wendlebury followed the descent of the earldom in
the Mandeville family, and in 1236 passed with it to
Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford. (fn. 31) It then
followed the descent of the De Bohun earls of Hereford and Essex until the death of Humphrey de
Bohun in 1373. Eleanor, his elder daughter and
coheiress, brought one of the 2 knight's fees of
Wendlebury to her husband, Thomas of Woodstock,
youngest son of Edward III, who held the overlordship of this fee until his death in 1397, when it
reverted to his widow. (fn. 32) Eleanor, together with a son
and daughter, died in 1399. (fn. 33) The overlordship
of 1 fee in Wendlebury reverted to the Crown,
which granted it probably in 1400 to Eleanor's
daughter Anne and her husband Edmund, Earl of
Stafford, with the rest of her mother's lands. (fn. 34)
Edmund possessed the overlordship at his death in
1403, (fn. 35) but there is no later mention of it and it may
be assumed to have lapsed. Of the overlordship of
the other knight's fee in Wendlebury nothing is
recorded after 1373. If it passed to Mary de Bohun,
the younger coheiress, it would have been merged in
the Crown after the accession of her husband, Henry,
Earl of Derby, as King Henry IV.
In 1086 Wendlebury was held of Geoffrey de
Mandeville by 'Sasualo', (fn. 36) who was doubtless the
Norman ancestor (fn. 37) of the Oseville family, who were
mesne tenants of Wendlebury until the mid-13th
century, and who commonly bore the name 'Saswallus' or Sewel. A Sewel de Oseville made a grant
to the Templars of a stream in Wendlebury between
1156 and 1166 (fn. 38) and was probably already holding
2 knight's fees there of the Earl of Essex. (fn. 39) Another
Sewel, perhaps his son, was lord of Wendlebury in
1196, (fn. 40) and a third of the same name, who appears
to have been a minor in 1220, (fn. 41) was in possession of
the 2 fees in Wendlebury between 1236 and 1255. (fn. 42)
This last Sewel is said to have enfeoffed Ralph de
St. Amand with his property in Oxfordshire and
Berkshire, but Ralph died in 1245, and Sewel was
the lord of Wendlebury as late as 1255. In 1256,
however, Aymer de St. Amand, Ralph's son, came
of age and obtained possession of the Oseville manor
of East Ilsley (Berks.), (fn. 43) so that it is likely that he
received Wendlebury about the same time by virtue
of some agreement between his father and the former
lord. In 1279 Aymer was mesne tenant of Wendlebury. (fn. 44) Guy, Aymer's son, succeeded him in 1285,
but died only two years afterwards, and was followed
by his brother Aymer. The mesne lordship of
Wendlebury then followed the descent of the barony
of St. Amand until the early 15th century. (fn. 45)
Thomas Poure, who died in 1407, was stated to
hold his lands in Wendlebury of the heirs of Aymer
de St. Amand, the last of the direct male line, who
had died in 1402. Thomas was a minor, and in 1406
Aymer's widow Eleanor had claimed his wardship,
since his father Sir Thomas Poure (see below) had
held Wendlebury manor of Aymer's manor of East
Ilsley. Thomas had in fact been in Aymer's custody
for a short while in 1400, but had been abducted,
so Eleanor claimed, by William Gernon of whom
the Poures held in Black Bourton. (fn. 46) The successors
of the St. Amands do not appear to have maintained
their claim to mesne lordship, and in 1428 the immediate lords of the tenants to Wendlebury manor
were not known. (fn. 47)
By the end of the 12th century the St. Fey family
were tenants of one of the 2 knight's fees of Wendlebury. Walter de St. Fey gave land in Wendlebury
to Thame Abbey in 1196 and his son Hamon added
to his gift in 1202. (fn. 48) The Hamon who held the fee
in 1243 (fn. 49) was probably the latter's son, and he
appears to have died by 1255, (fn. 50) leaving his daughters,
Isabel, wife of William de Grenevile, (fn. 51) and Eleanor,
wife of Geoffrey de Lucy, who divided his lands.
Eleanor held the fee in 1279 (fn. 52) and she was still alive
in 1285. (fn. 53) The descent of the St. Fey fee in the 14th
century is obscure: in 1316 it was held by a certain
John son of Peter, (fn. 54) and in 1428 by William Pepyr, (fn. 55)
perhaps a kinsman of the John Pepar of Wendlebury
who was receiving an annual pension from Bicester
Priory in the early years of Henry VI's reign. (fn. 56)
The de Pavely family of Paulerspury (Northants) (fn. 57)
appear to have been the tenants of the second knight's
fee in WENDLEBURY at the beginning of the 13th
century. According to later evidence it was granted by
Geoffrey de Pavely (d. 1217) to William de Stanford
on his marriage to Geoffrey's sister Maud. (fn. 58) William
was probably the William son of Aumary who held
1 fee in Wendlebury in 1243. (fn. 59) William's daughter
and heiress Alice de Stanford held the fee in 1255, (fn. 60)
but in 1258 she conveyed it to Nicholas de Sifrewast
and his wife Anne. (fn. 61) They in turn enfeoffed Richard
Poure of Charlton-on-Otmoor before 1279. (fn. 62) Another mesne lordship was thus created and was
claimed by Nicholas and his descendants at least
until 1346. (fn. 63) Richard Poure was dead by 1283 (fn. 64) and
was succeeded by his son William (fn. 65) and eventually
by Sir Thomas, who died about 1398, leaving a son
Thomas and a daughter Agnes. (fn. 66) Thomas, a minor
at his father's death (see above), died in 1407, (fn. 67) and
his estates passed to his sister. She married, firstly,
William Winslow, who died in 1414, and secondly
Robert Andrew, who was said to hold only ½ knight's
fee in Wendlebury in 1428. (fn. 68) Robert died in 1437,
and Agnes, who was still alive in 1441, was succeeded by Thomas Winslow, her son by her first
husband. In 1458 Thomas and his wife Agnes granted
the manor to their daughter Elizabeth and her husband John, son of James Terumbere or Towker. (fn. 69)
John and Elizabeth seem to have died without issue,
for the manor passed to Isabel, one of Elizabeth's four
sisters and coheiresses, and her husband Humphrey
Seymour. From Humphrey it descended to his son
Simon or Symond, who died about 1524, (fn. 70) and to
Simon's son Alexander. Alexander was dead by 1556
when his widow Isabel was claiming her dower in
Wendlebury. (fn. 71) Isabel and Alexander's second son
and heir was John Seymour, but what happened to
the manor is not clear. (fn. 72)
According to Dunkin it was the Pavely-Seymour
manor which was purchased by Lord Williams of
Thame, (fn. 73) but the later descent of the advowson,
which had followed this manor since the 13th century, suggests that it came into the possession of the
Dormers. In 1560/1 John and William Dormer sold
it, with the advowson, to William Smyth (or Haddon), a yeoman of Cottisford. The manor passed to
Richard Stanley, and later to Thomas, son of Roger
Hitch of Kempston (Beds.), who was living in
Wendlebury in 1574. (fn. 74) In 1618 he leased 4½ yardlands, 3 of which were accounted part of the ancient
demesne land of the manor, to his son John, (fn. 75) and
in 1621 John sold it to William Payne. (fn. 76) The manor
seems to have been breaking up, for in 1653 1½ yard
land demised to Philip Holman for 99 years
were said to have been formerly part of it and to have
been sold by Thomas Hitch. (fn. 77) In 1656 Philip Holman held the manor, a manor-house, and 4½ yardlands. (fn. 78) In 1717 it was assigned in trust to William
Dyer and leased to Toby Chancy. (fn. 79)
The manor held by Lord Williams of Thame
passed, on his death in 1559, to his daughter Margaret and her husband Henry, later Lord Norreys
of Rycote. (fn. 80) Henry died in 1601 and was succeeded
by his grandson Francis, later Earl of Berkshire, the
son of William Norreys, who had died in 1579. (fn. 81)
From Francis, Earl of Berkshire, the manor descended through his daughter Elizabeth to the Bertie
earls of Abingdon, (fn. 82) who held it until 1764. In that
year the manorial estate was purchased by Sir Edward Turner of Ambrosden from the trustees of
Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Abingdon, for £3,350. (fn. 83)
The manor was again sold by Sir Edward Turner's
heir Sir Gregory in 1771 to John Pardoe, who had
been Sir Edward's steward, for £3,150, (fn. 84) and in 1799
it was purchased by John Coker of Bicester from
Pardoe's executors. (fn. 85) It remained in the Coker
family until 1856, when it was sold by Lewis Coker
to John Leman, (fn. 86) from whom it was purchased in
1862 by the Queen's College, Oxford, (fn. 87) which is at
present the chief landowner. Manorial rights have
lapsed.
In the 17th century the 'overlordship' of the manor
was said to have been held by the Spencers of
Yarnton. (fn. 88) This is presumably a reference to the
right of the Spencers as lords of Ploughley hundred
to receive 2 quarters of oats from Wendlebury. (fn. 89)
The 'overlordship' probably followed the same descent as Ploughley hundred and Hampton Poyle
manor and passed to the Tilsons and from them,
in 1795, to the Annesleys. (fn. 90) In the 1820's Arthur
Annesley of Bletchingdon was actually holding the
court leet and view of frankpledge of Wendlebury
manor, (fn. 91) although the Cokers were lords of the
manor. This situation may have been a consequence
of the death of John Coker in 1819 and the succession to the property of an absentee nephew. Statements that the dukes of Marlborough were lords of
the manor appear to have arisen from the fact that
they held the early title-deeds of the manor after
1765, when the custody of the deeds was delivered to
George, Duke of Marlborough, by Sir Edward
Turner on condition that they should be produced
if required to defend the Turner family's title. (fn. 92)
Lesser Estates.
In 1279 Thame Abbey held
5 virgates in Wendlebury, (fn. 93) but in 1317, when
Edward II confirmed the abbey's possessions, this
estate was not included, (fn. 94) and the abbey held nothing
in Wendlebury at the Dissolution. In 1293 Rewley
Abbey held 8 virgates and 20 acres of meadow in
Wendlebury, (fn. 95) and at the Dissolution it had an
estate there worth £1 14s. 6d. in rents. (fn. 96) In all
probability Rewley had acquired the Thame estate
between its foundation in 1281 and 1293. A sale or
exchange between the two houses is the more likely
because Thame was closely concerned with the
foundation of Rewley and supplied its first abbot
and monks. (fn. 97) After the Dissolution Rewley's estate
was granted to Thomas Pope of Wroxton. (fn. 98)
Notley Abbey, Bicester Priory, and Studley
Priory also held small estates in Wendlebury in
1279, (fn. 99) and retained them until the Dissolution,
when Notley's lands appear to have been merged
in the manor which Sir John Williams acquired. (fn. 100) In
1540 Thomas Pope was granted the former Bicester
and Studley properties. (fn. 101) The latter was subsequently
granted to John Croke, (fn. 102) and the former to Roger
Moore of Bicester. (fn. 103) Moore sold the estate to John
Waterhouse of Bignell in 1542; in 1547 Waterhouse
sold it to John Denton of Blackthorn; (fn. 104) and in 1556
Denton sold it to John Marten of Rousham, (fn. 105) after
which it cannot be traced. A house in Wendlebury
was known in the early 18th century as Prior's
House, (fn. 106) and had perhaps belonged to Bicester.
Economic and Social History.
Sewel de
Oseville's manor (fn. 107) seems to have suffered from the
Conquest, for although there was land for 8 ploughs
in 1086, there were only 2 worked by 3 serfs in demesne and a further 3 shared by 4 villeins (villani)
and 5 bordars. There was meadow (8×2 furls.), and
pasture (15×2 furls.) in addition, which may account
for the fact that the holding was then worth £5
as before the Conquest. (fn. 108)
By the end of the 13th century there had been
considerable changes. The demesne land had increased: in 1279 Richard Poure held a virgate,
Eleanor de Lucy 4 virgates, and the Abbot of Thame
5 virgates—of which the last holding passed to
Rewley Abbey soon afterwards. (fn. 109) There had been
some sub-infeudation: eight free tenants, six of them
virgaters and two half-virgaters, now held of different lords for rents varying from 1s. to 13s. 4d.
a year for a virgate. The serfs had been succeeded
by villeins; there were 13 altogether, of whom 5 held
a virgate or more, and the rest half-virgates, the
most usual rent being 6s. 8d. the virgate. Labour
services are not recorded and had no doubt been
commuted. In all, 27 virgates, including the rector's
land (i.e. 6¾ carucates), appear to have been under
cultivation compared with a recorded 5 carucates
two centuries earlier. (fn. 110)
Early 14th-century tax assessments show that the
community was fairly prosperous: there were 24
contributors in 1316 and 23 in 1327. The total assessment of £4 8s. 9d. in 1316 and the later assessment
to the 15th fixed in 1334 at £5 2s. 8d. Place Wendlebury among the more flourishing villages of Ploughley Hundred. (fn. 111) If it suffered from the Black Death
as severely as some of its neighbours, it would appear
to have recovered by 1377, when there were 60 contributors to the poll tax. (fn. 112) The relative prosperity of
the village may be attributed to its good arable land,
and it is significant that in the 18th century the
virgate or yardland in the parish was estimated to
contain only 15 statute acres. (fn. 113)
At the beginning of the 13th century the arable
was divided into two open fields, East Field and
West Field, and a virgate given to Thame Abbey in
1202 consisted of 9 acres in the one field, 13½ acres
in the other, 4½ acres of meadow, and 2 butts for a
messuage and curtilage. (fn. 114) Two late 13th-century
charters (fn. 115) give extensive lists of field-names, including those of Alchester (Alcestre), Cattesbrein, Gurefen, and La Hardelonde. Many survived for centuries: by 1666 Gurefen, for instance, had become
Garfine or Garven, and by 1801, Carvens; (fn. 116) while
Hardelonde is found in the 17th and 18th centuries
as Ardland. Many also throw light on the original
character of the land—names such as Longmerse,
Wythybedde (willow bed), Rediforlong, and Fernforlong.
There is no record of the date of the change to
three fields: in the early 17th century they were called
North, South, and West Fields; and later in the
century they were described as the fields 'towards
Bicester', 'towards Charlton', and 'towards Weston's. (fn. 117) The last-named lay in the angle of the Oxford
road and a brook running southwards from Wendlebury village, and appears from Davis's map (1797)
to have been divided from South Field by a strip of
meadow or pasture. South Field and most of North
Field lay between this strip and another brook running south-east from Alchester. A detached part of
North Field, called 'old Chester' in the 17th century,
lay immediately east of the site of the Roman town
beyond a second belt of meadow, and a long narrow
strip of pasture lay on the right of the Oxford road,
going south-west from the village. (fn. 118)
A three-course rotation was followed in the 17th
century: every year one field was sown with wheat
and barley, and another with pulse, while the third lay
fallow. In 1615 it was estimated that an acre of corn
was worth 10s. in an average year, while pulse was
worth 6d. a cock. To every yardland there belonged
4 acres of meadow, and each acre usually produced
ten cocks of hay worth 6d. a cock. (fn. 119) By 1636 it had
been found that the common pasture was seriously
overburdened with stock, and a new body of regulations was drawn up which imposed a stint of
6 cattle, 1 calf, and 1 horse to the yardland in the
moors, 2 more cattle or horses being allowed after
1 August. Twelve sheep to the yardland could be
put on the fallow field and commons between 24 August and 18 October, and 20 between then and
26 April. (fn. 120) The strips in the open fields were called
lands in the 17th century, but by the 18th century
the term 'ridgers' was the one most commonly
used, (fn. 121) perhaps because on the wetter lands of
Wendlebury the ridges were very high. (fn. 122) Three
'ridgers' were equal to 1 acre.
Stukeley's account of the site of Alchester throws
some light on farming methods in the early 18th
century. The site of the city was a common belonging to the inhabitants and everyone had a portion
to plough up. 'Whence,' he wrote, 'the land is racked
to the last extremity and no great care taken in the
management.' Because of the 'prodigious blackness
and richness of the earth', however, it bore very
good wheat crops. (fn. 123)
Records of population at this period give 101
adults in 1676, and '160 souls including children
and hired servants' in 1774. A report of an early
18th-century incumbent described the village as
consisting of two small streets with 32 contiguous
houses. (fn. 124)
Two substantial families can definitely be said
to have lived in the village over a long period—the
Traffords and Vennimores. Henry Trafford inhabited the largest house in 1665 (fn. 125) and his successors
continued to be freeholders under the earls of
Abingdon throughout the 18th century. (fn. 126) By 1801
the family was clearly much reduced, but it continued to live in the parish until at least 1832. (fn. 127)
A Vennimore held property as early as 1558 (fn. 128) and
the family only sold its land shortly before 1774. (fn. 129)
Another family, the Bees, who were mercers and
hosiers of Oxford and London, held property from
the mid-17th century well into the 18th century. (fn. 130)
In the 18th century, according to one account, the
parish consisted of 32 yardlands; according to another, there were 34 yardlands or about 1,200 acres
of arable and pasture. (fn. 131) A late 18th-century list of
the farmers in the parish gives nine, with farms
ranging from 2 to 5½ yardlands. (fn. 132) Ten or 10½ yardlands, or about a third of the parish, belonged to
the Abingdon manor. (fn. 133) When the manor was sold
in 1764 it consisted of eight farms, the largest of
3 yardlands or 52½ acres of arable, the smallest of
½ yardland or 9¼ acres of arable. (fn. 134) Rentals for 1753–4
and 1761–2 show that the annual value of the rents
collected in this period varied between £133 and
£165, the greatest part of which came from rack
rents. (fn. 135) Early in the century copyholding was the
normal method of tenure. In 1728 there were nine
tenants, all copyholders except for one leaseholder
for lives. (fn. 136) By the 1750's leaseholding had increased
and rack-renting had begun. In 1753–4, for example,
there were four tenants at a rack-rent, and the nine
other tenants, three of whom were smallholders or
cottagers, were copyholders or leaseholders for
lives. By 1761–2 there were only two rack-renters. (fn. 137)
At this time there were four freeholders, of whom the
Queen's College was probably the largest, compared
with 36 in 1636. (fn. 138)
By the custom of the manor, as stated in 1764, (fn. 139)
copyholds were to run for two lives, but it was provided that if the first party died in possession of the
land, his widow should 'enjoy the estate for her life,
provided she live chaste and sole'. Both parties paid
heriot on taking up the estate.
There were two major changes in the 19th century: the open-field husbandry was superseded by
modern farming methods and population increased
considerably. Comparatively little land had been
inclosed before the general inclosure of 1801. The
'Great Close' is mentioned in 1764, (fn. 140) and there are
references to Shenstone Close and Little Close, but
the suggestion made earlier in the century to turn
the 200 acres of common pasture (excellent land)
into meadow, and the poor meadow-land into common, came to nothing. (fn. 141) The late inclosure is partly
to be explained by the good quality of the arable
ground of which the manor chiefly consisted. On
this account it was thought in 1764 that the advantage to be derived from its inclosure would fall
far short of that to be expected from inclosing
Chesterton. (fn. 142) In fact, although the land was valued
at 24s. an acre after inclosure compared with 10s.
before, the increase in value was not as great as in
some of the neighbouring villages. (fn. 143)
Eleven persons received allotments by the award; (fn. 144)
there were also allotments for glebe, tithes, and
church land, and the poor. John Coker, the lord of
the manor, got about 500 acres of the 1,160 inclosed; William Tanner and Richard Curtis, tenants
of the Queen's College, received over 100 acres each;
four others round about 20 acres and the rest even
smaller holdings. Inclosure does not seem to have
led to a loss of population, though it may have
caused poverty, for in 1811 it was estimated that
there were between 30 and 40 families, composed of
'farmers and paupers' and the total population had
risen from 146 in 1801 to 181 persons. (fn. 145) The change
did not affect the old rotation of fallow–wheat–beansbarley, which continued to be practised by most
farmers. Only the Revd. George Dupuis, while
cautious in ploughing down the old high ridges,
introduced a seven-course rotation: fallow-wheatbeans–barley–clover–vetches–wheat. (fn. 146) In common
with the rest of the Bicester area much of the arable
land of Wendlebury was converted to pasture in the
late 19th century—a trend which continued in the
20th century except during the abnormal conditions
of the two World Wars. In 1939 most of the parish
was permanent grass; (fn. 147) today (1956) out of 977½
acres of cultivated land 837½ are grassland and the
rest arable. (fn. 148)
The character of the village has always been rural
and agricultural. An attempt was made in 1790 to
set up a brewery, but after being for some years in
the hands of William Hartin, a yeoman farmer of
Merton, the business failed and was put up for
auction in 1809. (fn. 149) In 1820 it was purchased by a
Bicester brewer. (fn. 150) The census of 1841 records that
out of 241 persons living in the village, 203 had been
born there; that the rector took pupils, that a local
auctioneer lived in the village, and that there were
a village baker, shoemaker, farrier, carpenter, and
wheelwright. (fn. 151) In 1851, of 54 agricultural labourers,
six were women and two were children under fourteen. Eight girls were described as general servants;
they probably worked at either the Rectory or Wendlebury House (the home of a solicitor), the only
two large establishments in the parish, or with the
two substantial farmers. (fn. 152) The population reached
its peak in 1861, when there were 257 inhabitants.
Thereafter there was on the whole a steady decline
in the number of villagers and by 1901 there were
196 and 67 inhabited houses. The decline continued
in the early years of the 20th century, but in 1951
there were 178 inhabitants compared with 148 in
1931. (fn. 153) During this century many of the villagers
have found work in Oxford, and at the nearby
military depot at Arncot.
Church.
It is probable that the church of Wendlebury was originally a chapel of ease to the neighbouring church of Chesterton, to which it paid a
pension throughout the Middle Ages. (fn. 154) By the early
13th century, when Wendlebury church is first recorded, Wendlebury was a separate parish. (fn. 155) The
advowson in the 13th and 14th centuries belonged to
the Pavely family. They were a prominent Northamptonshire family, who also held land in other
counties, and seem to have died out in the late 14th
century. (fn. 156) They held the advowson because of their
rights in the manor. In 1279 the Hundred jurors
expressly said they held only the advowson and no
land. (fn. 157) The first recorded presentation was made in
about 1215 by Walter de Godarville, guardian of
Robert de Pavely. (fn. 158) Sir Robert de Pavely presented
in 1340, and the next known presentation was in
1402 by Joan Chetwind, perhaps an heiress, who
presented again in 1414.
In 1418 Robert Andrew, the second husband of
Agnes Poure, who was also connected with one
of the Pavelys' Northamptonshire manors, (fn. 159) was
patron. When the manor was settled on John and
Elizabeth Terumbere in 1458 the advowson was
granted to John's father James Terumbere, (fn. 160) who
presented in 1461 and 1473. In 1485 Humphrey
Seymour was patron, and the advowson passed with
the manor to William Haddon (or Smythe), who
sold the presentation in 1578. (fn. 161) In 1605 Thomas
Hitch, who had bought the manor, presented; and
Thomas Aldrich, who held the presentation for that
turn, presented John Bird in 1614. (fn. 162) Bird (d. 1653)
seems to have bought the advowson, and may have
sold it to the Bee family, for Matthew Bee (d. 1674)
was the next rector and Thomas Bee was then three
times patron. (fn. 163) In 1700 John Bee sold the advowson,
and eventually it was bought in 1708 by the Dean
and Chapter of Christ Church. (fn. 164) They were patrons
until 1923, when the living was united with that of
Chesterton. (fn. 165) New College and Christ Church,
therefore, now (1956) present alternately.
In 1254 the value of the living was £5 6s. 8d., in
1291 £7, and in 1535 £11 9s. 4d. (fn. 166) At the beginning
of the 17th century it was reckoned to be worth
£80. (fn. 167) When George Dupuis became rector in 1789,
the nine principal farmers in the parish met at the
'Red Lion' and decided to offer him 200 guineas a
year for the lease of the tithes and glebe. The rector
accepted the offer, as it was ever his 'wish to live
upon the best of terms' with his parishioners. (fn. 168) At
the inclosure award of 1801 the tithes were commuted for 189 acres and the glebe, which in the 18th
century consisted of 1 yardland, (fn. 169) was exchanged for
25 acres, 19 of which lay in Bicester Field. (fn. 170) Dupuis
farmed the land himself, (fn. 171) and in 1831 the rectory
was valued at £210. (fn. 172)
In the 13th and 14th centuries the living, which
was of moderate value, was treated as a family living
by the patrons, the Pavely family, three of its
members becoming rectors. (fn. 173) The Rectory house,
however, was ruinous in about 1518 and the incumbent was non-resident. (fn. 174) He was David Griffith Bye,
apparently one of the many men of Welsh descent in
this part of Oxfordshire. (fn. 175) But 17th-century parsons
appear to have resided, for the Rectory had been rebuilt by 1634 and was occupied by Matthew Bee in
1665. (fn. 176) Many of his family were buried in the church
and his youngest son bought the neighbouring
rectory of Beckley. (fn. 177) Bee, or his successor Stephen
Cupper, bought an additional small house at the
other end of the village. It was first recorded in
1679. (fn. 178)
The parish continued to benefit from a resident
parson. During the first half of the 18th century it
was fortunate in having Robert Welborne (1730–
64). (fn. 179) In 1738 and 1759 he reported that he resided
constantly; preached each Sunday, held prayers on all
festivals and fasts; administered the sacrament four
times a year (sometimes to as many as 43 communicants); and catechized the children. (fn. 180) He was active in
raising money for the rebuilding of the church and in
making plans for the new building. (fn. 181) In the second
half of the century there was some falling off in the
amount of duty performed by the rector. Joshua
Kyte (1764–88), a tutor at Westminster School, said
in 1767 and 1768 that he had not hitherto resided
above two months in the year, though he intended
to in future. A curate, a student of Christ Church,
was paid £36 a year to minister to the parishioners
—'industrious farmers and labourious cottagers'. (fn. 182)
Communion was now administered on two festivals
only, and there was no catechism as the children
could not read. Communicants numbered about 20.
In 1774, however, the rector was again resident. He
once stated that he often held prayers on saints' days
and festivals for his family only, as his parishioners,
'whose support depends on unremitting labour, are
seldom able to attend these days'. (fn. 183) By 1793 communicants were down to seven or eight, (fn. 184) a state of
affairs which may be partly explained by the report
of 1808 that except for the farmers the 30 or 40
families in the village were 'paupers'. At this date
the rector, George Dupuis (1789–1839), who had
had a curate paid £30 a year in 1789, was again
resident. (fn. 185) His successor, W. L. Brown, also resided
and in 1854 was catechizing adults every Sunday,
and the children were being catechized at school by
the schoolmistress. Monthly communion had been
introduced and communicants had risen to 30; his
congregation numbered 80 to 100 persons out of 240
inhabitants; he had a Sunday school and held evening
classes during the winter months, but lamented that
too few came. (fn. 186) A similar picture of hard work and
moderate success is found in 1866, when the congregation had increased to about 150 and there were
about 50 children in the Sunday school. The choir
had improved and the rector had plans for evening
classes for the elder children. (fn. 187)
The church of ST. GILES is an 18th-century
building of stone, comprising a chancel, nave, and
north transept. It replaces a medieval church of
13th-century date which was cruciform in shape
with two transepts and a western tower. The medieval church had an altar dedicated to the Virgin (fn. 188)
and a rood-loft approached by a staircase from the
north transept. (fn. 189) The structure gave continual
trouble, as the church was built on clay, and in 1639
the south transept was demolished as dangerous. (fn. 190)
By 1757 the whole building was considered to be
beyond repair (fn. 191) and a brief was issued authorizing
the collection of money for a new church. (fn. 192) In
March 1761 the old church was demolished and by
September the exterior of the new one was completed. (fn. 193) The medieval tower was kept, as well as
some early decorated windows and a doorway. Part
of the old materials were also used.
The foundations of the original church can still
be traced at the east end, as the new church is
10 feet shorter than the old.
The new church had a gallery at the back of the
north transept which was designed for use as a
choir and parochial library, while the ground floor
of the tower was to be used as a porch and place for
parish meetings. The south transept was reserved
for landowners and their sons, with the servants in
front. The wives and maid-servants and all children
sat in the north transept; labourers and tradesmen
sat on the south side of the nave and their wives
on the north side. (fn. 194)
Plans were made in 1863 by G. E. Street for the
partial rebuilding of what was then considered 'a
modern and extremely unsightly church', (fn. 195) but they
did not materialize. In 1866 the rector repaired the
chancel. (fn. 196)
The foundations of the new church were as
troublesome as those of the old one and the cracked
and leaning tower was reported unsafe; (fn. 197) it was
demolished between 1901 and 1902 together with
the south transept. Neither has been rebuilt. At
the same time the roof was renewed and new seating
installed (architect J. O. Scott). (fn. 198)
There is a plain circular font (fn. 199) and good wooden
altar railings.
When Rawlinson visited the original church in
the early 18th century he found a stone in the chancel
with a poem to John Birde (d. 1653), vicar of Bicester and rector of Wendlebury, and some armorial
glass. (fn. 200) The present church has inscriptions to several
rectors: Matthew Bee (d. 1674), Stephen Cupper
(d. 1676), John Bond (d. 1692/3), and Zachary
Hussey (d. 1719); an urn-shaped marble plaque to
Robert Welborne (d. 1764), a tablet to Thomas
Edgerton (d. 1785), and a marble plaque by Bossom
of Oxford (fn. 201) to George Dupuis (d. 1839). (fn. 202) There are
also inscriptions to other members of the Bee family, (fn. 203)
and one to Mrs. Rachel Stevens, daughter of Zachary
Hussey, who died at 94, beloved for her 'charity
and benevolence'.
Two coffins, one a rector's, were found when the
south transept was demolished in 1639. (fn. 204)
In 1552 the church was poorly furnished with a
chalice, two copes, and a vestment. There were three
bells and a sanctus bell. (fn. 205) The plate now includes a
small Elizabethan chalice and paten cover and a huge
bell-shaped chalice and paten of 1730, the gift of
Thomas Turner, rector. (fn. 206) Since the destruction of the
tower the three bells, two of the 16th century and one
of 1695, have been standing at the west end of the
nave. (fn. 207)
The registers date from 1579. Robert Welborne,
an 18th-century rector, made an alphabetical index
to them with comments from 1579 to 1738. (fn. 208) He
notes that the earliest gravestone in the churchyard
was dated 1667/8.
Nonconformity.
A number of Roman Catholics were recorded in the late 16th century. In the
1570's Richard Davey, gentleman, and his wife,
members of a prominent Roman Catholic family who
were patrons of the mission at Overy near Dorchester, were living in the parish. (fn. 209) In 1592 William
Bourne of Wendlebury, the brother of John Bourne
of Chesterton, (fn. 210) was one of the recusants at liberty
in the country, (fn. 211) and in the same year four others,
including Bourne's sister, were fined. (fn. 212) Some of the
names recur in 17th-century lists until 1612. (fn. 213) Except for a family living in the parish in about 1800, (fn. 214)
there seems to have been no later Roman Catholicism.
No record has been found of Protestant dissent
until the late 19th century, when there was a small
Methodist meeting-place, closed in about 1897. (fn. 215)
Schools.
In 1808 there was a dame school where
children paid 3d. each a week. (fn. 216) This was probably
the same school as the one mentioned in 1815, when
about a dozen children were being taught to read
and write. It was said to be difficult to support a
teacher in so small a village, and that parents needed
to send their children to work. (fn. 217) Nevertheless, a private school opened in 1826, (fn. 218) and in 1833 there was
a school with 10 pupils supported by a private
donation. (fn. 219) In 1838 there were about 25 children
receiving no schooling at all. (fn. 220) A National school
was opened in 1850 (fn. 221) for children aged three and
upwards; there were 40 pupils in 1854, (fn. 222) and new
school buildings were erected in 1863. (fn. 223) Average
attendance rose from 23 in 1871 to 52 in 1906. (fn. 224)
The school was reorganized as a junior school in
1927, when senior pupils were transferred to Bicester, and it became controlled in 1952. In 1954
there were 18 pupils, 6 more than in 1937. (fn. 225)
Charities.
In the reign of Edward VI certain
arable lands which had been given in the Middle
Ages to maintain a light in the church were confiscated by the Crown. (fn. 226) In 1549 they were granted
to a Londoner, (fn. 227) but in 1573 they were bought by
the rector, William Brownrig, who gave them to
trustees for the benefit of the poor. The income,
3s. 4d. a year, was distributed at Easter and All
Saints' Day. (fn. 228) In 1738 the income was £1 15s. and in
1790 the poor received £1 in bread at Easter. (fn. 229) After
the inclosure of 1801, when the trustees received an
allotment of 2½ acres, the income rose to £6 6s. a
year in 1824. At Christmas 1823 123 poor people
received 9d. each. (fn. 230) The rent of the allotment was
£4 16s. in 1870. (fn. 231)
By will dated 1626 William Eberton left lands to
the poor which in 1786 were producing £1 15s.
a year. (fn. 232) There is no further mention of this
charity.
Wendlebury shared the Bowell apprenticing
charity with Bicester and Chesterton, (fn. 233) but it was
reported 'long unused' in 1738. By that date three
donations amounting to £20 were held by the
churchwardens, (fn. 234) but both their origin and their
subsequent history are unknown. John Coker (d.
1819), lord of the manor, left £40 for blankets and
clothing for the poor. (fn. 235)
The Revd. G. D. Bowles, rector 1865–1902, left
£100, the interest to be spent on bread for the poor. (fn. 236)
In 1931 T. Holton, who had lived in Wendlebury
as a boy, left property to be sold for the benefit of the
poor. (fn. 237)