Boars Hill

A new series of dvds covering the history of Boars Hill to the present day has been produced and is now available for sale.These can be bought online at:
http://www.carmelite.org.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_DVD_84.html

Wootton

As far as is known, Wootton got its name from the woods which in Saxon times were cut down by the original settlers to make their homes. Before that, higher up the hill, there had been a Neolithic settlement round a barrow - hence Barrows Hill, then shortened to Boars Hill.

Mrs Lambrick, in her booklet 'The Church of Saint Peter, Wootton' writes:-

The old open fields were cultivated by tenants, sub-tenants and labourers, each holder of land ploughing, sowing, and reaping his share of the strip in each field. The villagers grazer their sheep on the rough common pasture up the slope of Boars Hill, and sent their pigs to feed in the woodland beyond. The hay, which was of the utmost importance to the economic life of the village, could not be grown satisfactorily in Wootton itself: but in Anglo-Saxon times a water meadow by the Thames, near Cold Harbour in Hinksey, had been allocated to the people of Wootton and the hay had to be carted from there, up Hinksey Hill - which is why the road came to be known as Hay Way - and over the top of Boars Hill to Wootton.

In 1538 the dissolution of Abingdon Abbey resulted in the merging of two ex-Abbey estates, Wootton and Boars Hill. They became one manor and formed a small farming community. The Hyde family of Sutton Courtney held the estates from 1546 until the 18th century - leasing out the original manor house which was on the site of Blagrove farm.  When the estate was acquired by William Hawkins of Abingdon a new manor house was built (Manor Farm) and it was William Hawkins' son (also William) who built the Hawkins Chapel at St Peter's Church. He was buried there in 1761. 

St Peter's Church was founded in the 14th century as a small chapel. It did not, however, become independent until 1885 and was reliant on the church at Cumnor for burials, baptisms and marriages until about 1735. The bridleway leading to the church in Cumnor was known as 'Church or Coffin Way' and it was along this path that villagers used to carry their dead to buried in Cumnor. In 1885 Wootton finally separated from Cumnor and South Hinksey and had its own vicar. In 1887 the Wesleyan Mission Hall became the Methodist Chapel, with the support of the Matthews family.

Mrs Lambrick writes about the eighteenth century:-

At the end of the eighteenth century, under an Act of Parliament and by agreement among the landowners of the parish, the old open fields were divided up into smaller fields and enclosed with hedges and fences. Those of the yeomen farmers who did not own the freehold of their farm lands and homes became leaseholders on less easy terms - or had to give up their farms and become farm labourers. The only resident freeholders, the Richards and the Stones, were more fortunate than the rest, but even they must have found it a financial drain, because of the upkeep of the hedges and fences. By 1849 most of the villagers lived in small cottages working as farm labourers, though some, especially those living on Boars Hil, had smallholdings and made a living from market gardening. 

The first Sunday School was held in the Wesleyan Mission Hall, organised by Robert Bunce, farmer and baker. A little one-roomed  Dame School was opened on the land leading to Manor Farm in 1842. In 1869, two years before the education act, the National School established a church school on its present site. Boys and girls at the school were divided up and the School was open every week night for social evenings and friendly games. Boys under 16 were not admitted except for band practice. Girls were not allowed at all. The school then was closed for harvesting. 

The Edwardian era was interrupted by the First World War which brought bereavement to many. The Scout war memorial on the hill overlooking the downs, which was sadly vandalised and rebuilt by Sir Philip Goodhart, expresses how many felt:

In loving memory of a youthful band who played as children amid these woods and heaths and shared at Youlbury in joyous hours. In the Great War for their country and for mankind they fell before their time. But wherever they now lie, here they are never far.

Between the wars things changed gradually. Large houses were built up on the hill. The Oxford Preservation Trust took land on Boars Hill. Sir Arthur Evans built Jarn Mound and made the wild garden of British plants, which is being redeveloped today. Water and electricity were laid in the village. Bicycles, and more gradually cars, drove along the roads of the Parish. The Council built homes in the village and ribbon development took place along the main road.

In the Second World War, Wootton was regarded as a safe area and several families living here today originally came as evacuees. The Women's Institute collected rose-hips, distributed ration books, orange juice and cod liver oil. They knitted for the Red Cross and the RAF. A Wings for Victory week was held and a Baby clinic opened. The old recreation room was then the centre of the village. The Old Folks' Club was started, which continues today. A Bomber Command had a battle school at Youlbury, where many men were trained. Five bombers crashed in the parish during the war; all the crews were killed.

After the war Wootton's population rose rapidly. The Community Centre and estates were built off the main road, and infilling took place in the village. Local industries were established, though most people worked in Abingdon or Oxford. The PCC bought a house in the village so that all subsequent vicars could live in the parish. The church clock was erected in memory of those killed in the war, so with every passing minute they are held in remembrance.  In 1954 a Catholic chapel, dedicated to Pope Pius X, was built just off the main road, so that after hundreds of years there was a Roman Catholic congregation worshipping in the parish, but in 2004 this was closed and sold.

This section has been put together with information kindly provided by Diana Griffin, from the History Society, and from literature written by Mary Gray and Mrs Lambrick. We hope to be able to provide historical information about Dry Sandford in due course.