Chimney, Oxfordshire

Chimney
Chimney Meadows on the River Thames
Chimney  Chimney shown within Oxfordshire
OS grid reference	SP3500
Civil parish	Aston, Cote, Shifford and Chimney
District	West Oxfordshire
Shire county	Oxfordshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Bampton
Postcode district	OX18
Dialling code	01993
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Oxfordshire
Ambulance	South Central
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Witney
Website	Aston, Cote, Chimney and Shifford
List of places: UK • England • Oxfordshire

Chimney is a hamlet on the River Thames near Shifford Lock, 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Witney in Oxfordshire. It is part of the civil parish of Aston, Cote, Shifford and Chimney.

Chimney Meadows 620 acres (250 ha) is the largest nature reserve managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.

History

Chimney's toponym is derived Old English, meaning "Island of a man named Ceomma". A large Anglo-Saxon cemetery, in use from the mid 10th century to the mid 11th century, has been found west of Chimney Farm. Chimney has been a small settlement since then. There were about 18 households in the 13th century, and the population reached a peak of 46 in 1821. In 1931, the last year for which separate figures are available, the population was 24.

Until the 19th century Chimney was a township in the parish of Bampton. It was made a separate civil parish in 1866. In 1931 the parish was united with Aston and Cote to form Aston Bampton, which was united with Shifford in 1954 to form the parish of Aston Bampton and Shifford, later renamed Aston, Cote, Shifford and Chimney.

Sources

• Crossley, Alan; Currie, C.R.J. (eds.); Baggs, A.P.; Chance, Eleanor; Colvin, Christina; Day, C.J.; Selwyn, Nesta; Townley, Simon C. (1996). A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 13: Bampton Hundred (Part One). Victoria County History. pp. 6–62, 80–86. 

External links

• BBOWT: Chimney Meadows nature reserve
• Map sources for Chimney, Oxfordshire