Black Bourton
Coordinates: 51°43′59″N 1°35′24″W / 51.733°N 1.590°W
| Black Bourton | |
 Black Bourton
Black Bourton shown within Oxfordshire |
|
| Population | 274 (2001 census)[1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SP2803 |
| Civil parish | Black Bourton |
| District | West Oxfordshire |
| Shire county | Oxfordshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | OX18 |
| Dialling code | 01993 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Witney |
| Website | Black Bourton village |
| List of places: UK • England • Oxfordshire | |
Black Bourton is a village and civil parish about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Carterton, Oxfordshire. The village is on Black Bourton Brook, a tributary of the River Thames.
Contents |
[edit] Churches
The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary the Virgin was originally built about AD 1190.[2] The five-bay arcade between the nave and north aisle survives from this time. In the 13th century the chancel, nave and north aisle were remodelled and a north chapel was added.[2] Early English Gothic lancet windows in chancel, nave and north chapel date from this time.[2] The north doorway of the north aisle dates from the 14th century.[2] In the 15th century the bell tower was built into the nave and the stone pulpit was built.[2] The tower has a ring of five bells, but currently they are unringable.
The architect E.G. Bruton restored the building in 1866.[2] During the restoration a number of late 13th century wall paintings.[2] were discovered inside the church. At the time these were whitewashed over again, but in 1932 they were uncovered again and restored.[3] On the south wall is St Richard de Wych of Chichester (canonized 1262), with, below, the Adoration of the Magi, the Angel appearing to St Joseph, and the Massacre of the Innocents, all with foliage borders.[4] On the north side of the nave over the arcade are paintings of Saints Peter and Paul, the Baptism of Jesus the Coronation of the Virgin,[5] and the stoning of Saint Stephen.[6]
A Primitive Methodist congregation was established in the village in the 19th century and built its own chapel in 1861.[7][8]
[edit] Social and economic history
The influential romantic novelist Maria Edgeworth was born in Black Bourton in 1767. A cul-de-sac in Carterton is named "Edgeworth Drive" after her. The painter William Turner was born in Black Bourton in 1789.
Bourton Place was the manor house of the Hungerford family.[7] It was demolished in about 1800.[7]
The village school was designed by the architect Sir George Gilbert Scott and built in 1865.[7]
In 1873 the East Gloucestershire Railway between Fairford and Witney was opened. It provided Alvescot railway station 0.5 miles (800 m) west of Black Bourton on the road to Alvescot. The Great Western Railway took over the line in 1890 and British Railways closed it in 1962.
[edit] Amenities
Black Bourton has a gastropub and hotel, The Vines.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ "Area selected: West Oxfordshire (Non-Metropolitan District)". Neighbourhood Statistics: Full Dataset View. Office for National Statistics. http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do;jsessionid=ac1f930b30d73ec370d62b6f4444bc01a4cf1c94ffa8?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=8&containerAreaId=790500&nsjs=true&nsck=true&nssvg=true&nswid=1020. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 458
- ^ Painted Church website: The Baptism of Christ/SS.Peter & Paul: Black Bourton, Oxfordshire
- ^ Townley, 2006, pages 94-99
- ^ Painted Church website: The Coronation of the Virgin, Black Bourton, Oxfordshire
- ^ Painted Church website: The Stoning of Stephen: Black Bourton, Oxfordshire
- ^ a b c d Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 459
- ^ Oxfordshire Churches & Chapels: Black Bourton
- ^ The Vines
[edit] Sources
- Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). Oxfordshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 458–459. ISBN 0 14 071045 0.
- Townley, Simon C. (ed.); Colvin, Christina; Cragoe, Carol; Ortenberg, Veronica; Peberdy, R.B.; Selwyn, Nesta; Williamson, Elizabeth (2006). A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 15: Bampton Hundred (Part Three). Victoria County History. pp. 73–101. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=117007&strquery=richard. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
[edit] External links
Media related to Black Bourton at Wikimedia Commons
