Harwell, Oxfordshire
Harwell | ||
---|---|---|
Shire county | ||
Region | ||
Country | England | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
Post town | Didcot | |
Postcode district | OX11 | |
Dialling code | 01235 | |
Police | Thames Valley | |
Fire | Oxfordshire | |
Ambulance | South Central | |
UK Parliament | ||
Website | Harwell Parish Council | |
Harwell is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse about 2 miles (3 km) west of Didcot, 6 miles (10 km) east of Wantage and 13 miles (21 km) south of Oxford. The parish measures about 3.5 miles (6 km) north – south, and almost 2 miles (3 km) east – west at its widest point. In 1923 its area was 2,521 acres (1,020 ha).[1] Historically in Berkshire, it has been administered as part of Oxfordshire, England, since the 1974 boundary changes. The parish includes part of Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in the southwest. The 2011 census recorded the parish's population as 2,349.[2]
Toponymy
The earliest known surviving records of Harwell's name are 10th-century Saxon charters now reproduced in the Cartularium Saxonicum. One from 956 records Horn Down, a nearby hill, as Harandúne, which is derived from the Old English for "grey hill". The same charter records the manor as Haranwylle, which comes from the Old English for "stream by or coming from Horn Hill". A slightly later charter, from 973, records the manor as Harawille.[3] The Domesday Book of 1086 records the manor as Harwelle. Another 11th-century source records it as Harowell. One 13th-century document records it as Arewell. Other 13th- and 14th-century sources record it as Harewell.[1]
Parish church
The
The tower has a
Economic and social history
Harwell contains two 13th-century houses, each of which is a
The White Hart in the High Street is an early 17th-century timber-framed building with early 18th- and mid-19th century brick-built extensions.
Geering Almshouses are a row of brick-built almshouses built by a charity established in 1715[5] but the houses themselves may not have been built until about 1723.[22] The almshouses are a Grade II* listed building.[22] The Great Western Main Line was built through the north of the parish and opened in 1840. Originally the nearest station was Steventon, about 2 miles (3 km) northwest of Harwell, which the Great Western opened in 1840. In 1844 the GWR opened Didcot railway station about 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) northeast of Harwell. In 1964 British Railways closed Steventon station, making Didcot (now Didcot Parkway) Harwell's nearest rail link.
The parish boundary has been altered a number of times. On 1 April 2015 the portion north of the railway line, which included part of the
Airfield and Atomic Energy Research Establishment
Other parts of the airfield were later used by other scientific organisations, including the
Amenities
Harwell's remaining public house, The Hart of Harwell, is at the junction of the High Street and Burr Street. The village has two shops: a butcher and a combined newsagent and off licence. The village has clubs and societies including The Harwellian Club,
Buses
This section needs to be updated.(August 2022) |
Several Thames Travel bus routes serve Harwell. Route 23 links the Great Western Park housing estate with Henley-on-Thames via Milton Park, Didcot and Wallingford, on Mondays to Fridays only.[27] Route 98 links Harwell village and campus with Didcot via the Great Western Park housing estate.[28] Route 99 links Great Western Park with the Milton Park business estate from Mondays to Fridays. It has no Saturday or Sunday service. Route X32 links Harwell village and campus with Didcot, Milton Park and Oxford daily, and from Mondays to Saturdays also serves Wantage.[29] Route 34 is a limited service between Wantage, Harwell campus and Oxford that runs from Mondays to Fridays only.[30]
Notable residents
- Humphry Bowen (1929–2001), chemist and botanist
- Christopher Elderfield (1607–52), Caroline Divine and author
- Klaus Fuchs (1911–88), nuclear scientist and Soviet spy
- Eric Stanley Greenwood (1906–79), test pilot, first man ever to exceed 600 mph (970 km/h) in level flight
- John Harewell, Bishop of Bath and Wells 1366–86
References
- ^ a b Page & Ditchfield 1923, pp. 484–492
- Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ^ Ekwall 1960, Harwell
- ^ a b c d e f Pevsner 1966, p. 152.
- ^ a b c d e f g Pevsner 1966, p. 153.
- ^ a b c Dovemaster (25 June 2010). "Founders". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
- ^ a b c d Hedgcock, James (24 July 2009). "Harwell S Matthew". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
- ^ "Harwell and Chilton Churches". Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ^ Historic England. "Lime Tree House (Grade II*) (1199929)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ^ Historic England. "Gable Cottage and Tibbleton Cottage (Grade II*) (1048218)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ^ Historic England. "Bayllols Manor (Grade II) (1048205)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ^ Historic England. "Cherry barn and attached outbuildings (Grade II*) (1368642)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ^ Historic England. "Cruck barn approximately 40 metres east of Bayllols Manor (Grade II*) (1048206)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ^ Historic England. "White Hart Inn (Grade II) (1368620)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ^ "Hart of Harwell". Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ^ a b "Lost Pubs in Harwell, Oxfordshire". The Lost Pubs Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "The Old Brewery and Showrooms (Grade II) (1048204)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ^ "Crown Care Home in Harwell closed by Four Seasons Health Care". BBC Online. 7 March 2012.
- ^ "'". The Abingdon Herald. 8 April 1899.
- ^ Long 1990[page needed]
- ^ "Your bargain price for summer's sweet taste". Oxford Mail. Newsquest. 22 June 2006. Retrieved 27 July 2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Historic England. "Geering's Almshouses and attached walls and gate (Grade II*) (1368639)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 January 2012.
- ^ "Parish Boundary". Harwell Parish Council. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ "The Harwellian". Harwell Village Sports and Social Club. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ^ "Welcome to the Feast". Harwell Feast. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ^ "Harwell Rugby Club". Pitchero. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ^ "connector 23, connector 23A, connector 33". Thames Travel. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ "connector 98". Thames Travel. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ "connector X32". Thames Travel. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ "city 34". Oxford Bus Company. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
Bibliography
- Brown, PDC (1967). "The Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Harwell, Grave 7". Oxoniensia. XXXII. Oxford: Oxford Architectural and Historical Society: 73.
- ISBN 0198691033.
- Fletcher, Anthony; Whiteley, Alfred (1967). Elizabethan Village. Then & There. White Plains: ISBN 0-582-20409-7.
- Fletcher, J (1968). "Crucks in the West Berkshire and Oxford Region". Oxoniensia. XXXIII. Oxford: Oxford Architectural and Historical Society: 71–88.
- Fletcher, JM (1965). "Three Medieval Farmhouses in Harwell". Berkshire Archaeological Journal. 62. Berkshire Archaeological Society: 45–69.
- Hance, Nick J (2006). Harwell: from Romans and Runways to Reactors and Research Renaissance. Oxford: Enhance Publishing. ISBN 0-9553055-0-0.
- Jones, Derry W (5 September 2008). "Book review: "Harwell: from Romans and Runways to Reactors and Research Renaissance"". International Union of Crystallography Newsletter. 16 (2). International Union of Crystallography. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- Kirk, Joan R; Marshall, Kenneth (1956). "A Saxon Cemetery Near the Village of Harwell, Berkshire". Oxoniensia. XXI. Oxford: Oxford Architectural and Historical Society: 22–34.
- Long, Roger (1990). Murder in Berkshire, A Collection of Sudden Deaths in the Old County. Buckingham: Barracuda Books Ltd.[page needed]
- Page, William; Ditchfield, PH, eds. (1923). "Harwell". A History of the County of Berkshire. Victoria County History. Vol. III. assisted by John Hautenville Cope. London: The St Katherine Press. pp. 484–492.
- Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966). Berkshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 152–153.
External links
- Harwell Parish Council
- Ford, David Nash. "Harwell". Royal Berkshire History.