Kingston Bagpuize

Kingston Bagpuize (/ˈbæɡpjuːz/)[1] is a village in the civil parish of Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor, about 6 miles (10 km) west of Abingdon. It was part of Berkshire, England, until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the population of Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor as 2,349.[2]

Kingston Bagpuize

St. John the Baptist parish church
Kingston Bagpuize
Location within Oxfordshire
Population2,349 (parish, with Southmoor) (2011 Census)
OS grid referenceSU4098
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townAbingdon
Postcode districtOX13
Dialling code01865
PoliceThames Valley
FireOxfordshire
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament
WebsiteKingston Bagpuize with Southmoor

Geography

The village is next to the junction of the A420 (Oxford–Swindon) and A415 (Abingdon–Witney) main roads. It is contiguous with Southmoor village to the west and about 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of Longworth village.

History

The toponym Kingston Bagpuize is derived from the village's original name Kingston plus the surname of Ralph de Bachepuz, a Norman nobleman from Bacquepuis in Normandy who aided William of Normandy in the Norman conquest of England in 1066.

The Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist was designed by John Fidel of Faringdon and built in 1799–1800.[3] The building was remodelled in 1882 to the designs of Edwin Dolby.[3]

Kingston Bagpuize House seems to have been built in about 1720.[3] In the 20th century it was the home of John Buchan, 2nd Baron Tweedsmuir, the son of the novelist John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir.

In the Second World War there was a satellite airfield of RAF Abingdon east of the village called RAF Kingston Bagpuize. Remnants of the control tower are still visible near the cricket club. The lower part of the avenue of trees leading down from Kingston Bagpuize House were cut down during this time for aircraft safety. Evidence of this is that the trees at the east end of the avenue are shorter.

The ancient parish of Kingston Bagpuize was a strip parish, extending from the River Thames in the north in a thin strip to the River Ock in the south. It became a civil parish in 1866. In 1971 it was merged with the civil parish of Draycott Moor to form the parish of Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor.[4]

Amenities

Kingston Bagpuize Cricket Club[5] plays in The Oxford Times Cherwell Cricket League.[6] Kingston Bagpuize and Southmoor have a bowls club[7] and a Women's Institute.[8] Kingston Bagpuize has an amateur theatre group.[9]

Film and television

In 2012 the feature film Tortoise in Love was filmed in the village. The film was funded entirely with crowd funding from Kingston Bagpuize and the neighbouring village of Southmoor.[10][11]

The house was used as the set of Cavenham Park, the residence of Lord Merton, in the television series Downton Abbey.

References
  1. Muir, Jill; Muir, Barry (2001–2014). "A Snippet of Village History". Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor a village snapshot. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  2. "Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor Parish". Local Area Report for areas in England and Wales. nomis. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  3. Pevsner 1966, p. 160.
  4. "Kingston Bagpuize AP/CP through time - Census tables with data for the Parish-level Unit". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  5. "Kingston Bagpuize CC". kingstonbagpuize.play-cricket.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  6. "Cherwell Cricket League - Home Page". www.cherwellcricketleague.co.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  7. van de Mortel, Peter. "KBSBC". www.kbsbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  8. "Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor Women's Institute". Archived from the original on 28 March 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  9. "Kingston Bagpuize Drama Group". Archived from the original on 24 August 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  10. "British comedy funded by village residents to show at Cannes". The Daily Telegraph. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  11. "Distributors queue up to see small film made by an English village". The Times. 13 May 2011.

Sources and further reading
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