Merton, Oxfordshire

Coordinates: 51°51′18″N 1°09′50″W / 51.855°N 1.164°W / 51.855; -1.164
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Merton
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBicester
Postcode districtOX25
Dialling code01865
PoliceThames Valley
FireOxfordshire
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament
WebsiteMerton Parish Council
List of places
UK
England
Oxfordshire
51°51′18″N 1°09′50″W / 51.855°N 1.164°W / 51.855; -1.164

Merton is a village and

2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 424.[1]

Archaeology

In 1978 a Middle Bronze Age spearhead was found at West End Farm on the northwestern side of the village.[2]

Manor

Just before the

Norman conquest of England Hacun, a Dane, held the manor of Meretone[3] and also the nearby manor of Piddington.[4] The toponym is derived from the Old English for a tun, hamlet or settlement by the mere.[5]

The

honour of Huntingdon.[3]

In 1152 or 1153 Simon's son

Dissolution of the Monasteries and surrendered Merton to the Crown, which left it in the possession of the Templars' tenant, William Mablyston of Ludgershall, Buckinghamshire.[3]

Harington baronets

In 1554 the Mablystons' lease expired and Robert Doyley of

English Restoration his baronetcy was forfeited for life in 1661[3] under the Indemnity and Oblivion Act. Sir James fled to the European mainland and died in exile.[3]

Sir James' father-in-law had remained a Royalist throughout the Civil War and Commonwealth, which helped Lady Katherine to claim she did not share her husband's politics.[3] In 1662 the Crown granted letters patent placing the estate in trust, and upon Lady Katherine's death in 1675 it passed to her and Sir James' eldest son Sir Edmund Harington, 4th Baronet.[3] The Harington baronets owned Merton until Sir James Harington, 6th Baronet ran up large sporting debts and in 1740 mortgaged Merton to Sir Edward Turner, 2nd Baronet[3] of the neighbouring parish of Ambrosden. Sir James was a Jacobite who supported the Stuart claim to the United Kingdom.[3] In 1747, he joined Charles Edward Stuart in exile and in 1749 Sir Edward Turner (later Page-Turner) obtained Merton by foreclosing the mortgage.[3] The Page-Turner baronets (later Dryden baronets) retained Merton until 1930.[3]

Manor house

The Doyleys built the

nursing home.[6][7]

Church and chapel

St Swithun's parish church: chapel in the south aisle, with 14th century Decorated Gothic east window
St Swithun's parish church: monument to Elizabeth Poole (died 1621), now mutilated and neglected

The Church of England parish church of Saint Swithun is Decorated Gothic, built early in the 14th century.[8] It has a south aisle, linked with the nave by an arcade of four bays.[3] Late in the 15th century the Perpendicular Gothic clerestory was added to the nave.[3] The chancel windows and one window in the south aisle are also Perpendicular Gothic.[8] The font is much older than the church, dating from late in the 12th century.[3]

St Swithun's had a north aisle but it was demolished in the 15th or 16th century.[8] Its arcade of three bays was blocked up and remains in the north wall of the nave.[3] The tower had a spire but it became unsafe and in 1796 it was removed.[8] St Swithun's most notable monuments are wall-mounted ones in the chancel commemorating John Doyley (died 1593) and his wife, Elizabeth Poole (died 1621) and Richard Harrington (died 1712).[9] The Poole monument has strapwork and Tuscan columns but is significantly mutilated[8] and in want of restoration.

A turret clock for St Swithun's was made late in the 17th century.[10] Its original dial had only an hour hand.[10] In 1867 this was replaced with a new dial that has both hour and minute hands.[10] Some time after 1989 a new turret clock was installed; the 17th century original is now displayed in the nave.

The Gothic Revival architect Charles Buckeridge restored St Swithun's from 1865[8] until 1872.[3] St Swithun's had been decorated with medieval wall paintings, once brightly coloured but by 1823 described as "dim with age".[3] During the restoration work it was found impossible to remove the layers of whitewash covering them.[3] St Swithun's is a Grade I listed building.[11]

In the

Edwardine Inventory of 1552 St Swithun's had three bells and a Sanctus bell.[3] In 1795 the bell tower had a ring of seven bells but the churchwardens obtained permission to sell five of them to pay for a new lead roof for the church.[3] By the 1950s there were only two bells: one cast by Richard Keene of Woodstock in 1694 and the other cast in 1887.[3]

In 1565 the Crown sold the

Congregational chapel was built in 1890.[3] It was still in use for worship in 1953.[3]

Economic and social history

The Plough public house, which has ceased trading
St Swithun's parish church: late 17th-century turret clock, now displayed in the nave

The

tithe barn that may have been built in the 15th century[13] or early 16th century.[14] It has a queen post roof and is thatched.[13] In the late 20th century it was converted into four homes.[14]

There were small

open field system of farming prevailed until 1763.[3] In the 1761 Parliamentary election Sir Edward Turner entered the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Penryn in Cornwall. In 1762 Sir Edward got Parliament to pass an Inclosure Act for the parish of Merton.[3] This extinguished all common land rights in Merton and assigned most of the land to Sir Edward.[3]

In 1814 one of the earliest National Schools to be established under the auspices of the National Society for Promoting Religious Education was opened in Merton.[3] A new stone-built school building, complete with lodging for the matron, was completed in 1829.[3] Ownership and management of the school were transferred to the vicar and churchwardens in 1870.[3] The school was enlarged in 1872 and 1893.[3] The number of pupils then declined and in 1913 the school was closed and 12 pupils were transferred to Ambrosden.[3] In 1930 the house and school were sold and became a private home.[3]

Merton used to have a

Tudor. In the 2000s the owners closed the pub, and in the 2010s it was converted into housing. Since the Plough's closure the village has held real ale festivals at least once a year in its village hall.[15]

Charlton Services bus on route 94 at its terminus outside Balliol College, Oxford

Buses

Charlton-on-Otmoor Services bus route 94 links Merton with Oxford via Gosford. There is a limited service from Monday to Friday only.[16] Stagecoach in Oxfordshire route H5 links Merton with the John Radcliffe Hospital via Islip and Barton, and with Bicester via Ambrosden.[17] Buses run hourly from Monday to Saturday.[18] Merton has no bus service on Sunday or on public holidays.

References

St Swithun's parish church: blocked 14th-century arcade of former north aisle
  1. ^ "Merton Parish". nomis. Durham University for the Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  2. ^ O'Connor, Brendan (1979). "A Middle Bronze Age Spearhead from Merton". Oxoniensia. XLIV. Oxfordshire Architectural and Historical Society: 92–93.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av Lobel 1957, pp. 221–234
  4. ^ Lobel 1957, pp. 249–258.
  5. ^ Arkell 1942, p. 2.
  6. ^ a b Historic England. "The Manor House Nursing Home (Grade II) (1193403)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  7. ^ "Manor House". Embrace Group. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, p. 700
  9. ^ Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, pp. 700–701.
  10. ^ a b c Beeson 1989, p. 46.
  11. ^ Historic England. "Church of St Swithun (Grade I) (1369750)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  12. ^ "The Ray Valley Benefice". St. Nicholas, Islip. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  13. ^ a b Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, p. 701.
  14. ^ a b Historic England. "Numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 the Tithe Barn (Grade II) (1369749)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  15. ^ "Merton Village Website". Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  16. ^ "94 - (Arncott) - Ambrosden - Islip - Oxford". bustimes.org. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Oxfordshire Dayrider Gold and Megarider Gold zone" (.pdf). Stagecoach in Oxfordshire. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  18. ^ "H5 Bicester – Graven Hill - Ambrosden – Islip – Barton – Headington" (PDF). Stagecoach in Oxfordshire. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.

Bibliography

External links

Media related to Merton, Oxfordshire at Wikimedia Commons

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