Culham
| Culham | |
|---|---|
Abingdon | |
| Postcode district | OX14 |
| Dialling code | 01235 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Culham Village, Oxfordshire |
Culham is a village and
2011 Census recorded its population as 453.[2]
Manor
The
William the Conqueror, but the land was restored to the abbey and remained in its possession until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1538.[3]
The west wing of Culham Manor was built in the 15th century as a
medieval grange for Abingdon Abbey. It is half-timbered, with a stone ground floor and timber-framed first floor. In 1610 it was extended with a new north front and east wing. The east wing was later demolished but the 17th-century north front survives.[3] The house is a Grade II* Listed building.[4] In 1685 a dovecote was built for the manor house. It, too, is now Grade II* listed.[5] North of the house is a 17th-century sundial mounted on a 13th-century column.[6]
Parish church
Several records suggest that Culham may have had a chapel since the 9th century. A parish church dedicated to
Saint Paul was built in the 12th century. It was cruciform, having a chancel, nave and north and south transepts, and had features from the Early English and Decorated periods. There was a tower, and this was demolished and replaced in 1710. In 1852 the whole church except the 1710 tower was demolished and replaced with a new Gothic Revival building in 13th century style designed by Joseph Clarke.[7][8]
During the rebuilding, heraldic stained glass installed in the north transept in 1638 was transferred to a window in the north aisle of the new church. The tower has a ring of six bells, but currently for technical reasons it is not possible to ring them. Mears and Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry cast or re-cast five of the bells in 1921, and cast the present tenor bell in 1926. St Paul's also has a Sanctus bell cast in 1774 by Edne Witts of Aldbourne, Wiltshire.[9] St Paul's parish is now part of the Benefice of Dorchester.[10]
In 1486 brothers Sir Humphrey and Thomas Stafford sought sanctuary in the church after they had fled from the newly crowned
John Phillips of London.[11]
Economic and social history
In 1416–22 the Abingdon Guild of the
open field system until 1810, when Parliament passed an Inclosure Act for Culham.[3] In the late 19th or early 20th century Culham had a brickworks.[12]
In 1736 the
Grade II* listed building.[13] Road traffic between Culham and Sutton Courtenay crossed the Thames via Culham Ferry until 1807, when Sutton Bridge was built. In 1809 the Thames Navigation Commissioners built the 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) long Culham Cut, a navigation that bypasses a difficult stretch of river past a watermill at Sutton Courtenay. Sutton Bridge was extended to span the cut, and Culham Lock was built on the cut just above the bridge.[3]
In 1844 the
public houses: the Nag's Head, the Sow and Pigs (later called the White Lion, but closed in 2009) and the Waggon and Horses (closed in 2015). In 1846 the Railway Hotel was added next to Culham railway station 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the village, and in 1894 a parish boundary change transferred the Nag's Head to Abingdon.[3] The village school was built in 1850 and reorganised as an infants' school in 1924. Oxfordshire's smallest primary school, it shares a headteacher with nearby Clifton Hampden CE Primary School and is threatened with closure.[14]
Europa School, UK
In 1851
Oxford University. In 1978 the European School, Culham was founded in its former buildings before closing in 2017. Since 2012 the entire campus has gradually been subsumed by the Europa School UK.[17]
Culham Science Centre
In 1941Culham Science Centre,[19] an 800,000 square metre scientific research site that most notably includes two major nuclear fusion experiments: JET and MAST.[20] The START Nuclear Fusion Experiment was also conducted on the site until MAST succeeded it in 1999.
See also
- Crossings of the River Thames
- Locks on the River Thames
References
- Ordnance surveywebsite
- Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lobel, Mary 1962, pp. 27-39
- ^ Historic England. "Culham Manor (Grade II*) (1285637)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
- ^ Historic England. "Dovecote approximately 75 metres west of Culham Manor, the Green (Grade II*) (1059793)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "Sundial approximately 30 metres north east of Culham Manor, the Green (Grade II) (1059793)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- ^ Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, p. 565.
- ^ Historic England. "Church of St Paul, The Green (Grade II) (1059792)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- Central Council for Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- A Church Near You. Church of England. Archived from the originalon 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "Culham House, High Street (Grade II) (1194530)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- ^ Dodsworth 1976, p. 351.
- ^ Historic England. "Culham Old Bridge, the Burycroft (Grade II*) (1368838)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- ^ Grubb, Sophie (18 September 2019). "Official closure consultation for Culham primary school". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ Historic England. "Schola Europaea (Grade II) (1194452)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- ^ "Culham Institute". Archived from the original on 7 February 2005. Retrieved 19 January 2005.
- ^ "Home". Europa School UK. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
- ^ "Report - - ROC Post, Culham, Oxfordshire. 30th August, 2011". 28DaysLater.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ Culham Science Centre
- ^ "Culham Centre for Fusion Energy". Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
Sources
- Dodsworth, IC (1976). "The Chawley Brick and Tile Works, Cumnor". Oxoniensia. XLI. ISSN 0308-5562.
- Lobel, Mary D, ed. (1962). A History of the County of Oxford. Victoria County History. Vol. 7: Thame and Dorchester Hundreds. London: Oxford University Press for the Institute of Historical Research. pp. 27–39.
- Sherwood, Jennifer; ISBN 0-14-071045-0.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Culham.