The walk starts at the church in Upper Boddington.
Dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, this medieval church shows examples
of three styles of architecture. The Tower contains five bells and
a sermon bell. Interesting external features include the corbel course
with much-weathered carvings below the lower gutter, and a faint sundial
above the porch, the walls of which are supported by a curious pari
of braces. Can you find the outline of an old window (more clearly
seen from inside the church) and a three-sided sundial on a tombstone?
Inside the church should be a great treasure - the iron-bound chest carved
out of a single tree trunk, inside which there are two compartments.
Also see the tomb recesses dating from 1300, and a stained glass window erected
as a parents' thanksgiving - does anyone know more about it?
Looking about, you will be aware of the lack of vertical lines in the windows
and columns, and you will have noted a gap in the top of the nave allls behind
the fretwork - presumably the roof is supported on the inner walls only.
Leave the Church and walk down the path, looking back at the Old
Rectory (1) which was rebuilt in the late 1600s,
although the top storey was not added for another 200 years.
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Turn right down the footpath between the modern bungalow and the Old Rectory.
This path is the pitcht causeway made throughout the town by the Rector in
1700 so that they could safely bring corpses to the Church. Turn right at the
end of the footpath and walk along Church Road, turning right again before
Island Cottage, up a slight hill between two farms, both well over 350 years
old. Notice the fine barns behind Stoneleigh
Farm (2), and next to Cherry
Tree House (3) said to be the oldest building in
the village (probably pre-1500).
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Spare a look at the Plough Inn (4) parts
of which date to the 16th century and which has a splendid new roof following
a fire in March 2003. Turn left along London End. The names of two recent housing
developments, The Let's and Farm Stile, are those of the fields on which they
were built.
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Townsend Lane (left at the bend of London End) was once known as Back Lane,
and was formerly the poorest area in Upper Boddington. In 1871 it contained
21 houses, several of which have now disappeared, including the Star Inn at
the lower end behind Townsend Cottage. Near the top of the lane, which even
today is wet owing to seepage from springs, stood a pump called The Blue Devil.
A short way down to the right is Pryor Cottage (5),
the outer walls of which reveal the shape of a bread oven. On the same house
observe an unusual wall brace. A new house, Crook Furlong, is named for the
field behind it. On the opposite side of the lane is some stone paving, possibly
indicating the site of one of the demolished cottages.
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A little further down on the right, on Newstone
Cottage (6), once an alehouse, can be seen the
only stone mullioned window in the village visible from the road. Poplars
Farm (7), on the left near the bottom of the lane,
is dated 1728, and was one of the three largest houses in the village a century
ago. Note the steepness of the thatched roof necessary for drainage. Which
other houses in the village do you think were once thatched?
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Retrace your steps up Townsend Lane and turn right
up a footpath called Chapel Lane. Here the brickwork ofthe Methodist Chapel
merits study. The two parts of the building show different arrangements of
the bricks, and the date on one is displayed in diaperwork.
Pass now into Frog Lane (well named since the lower part of the lane used to
seethe with them) where you will find The Old Smithy (8) at
18. Looking up to the left you see the old bakery named
Peel Cottage (9) - why is it so called?
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Turn right down the lane, past modern bungalows,
to Ye Old Cottage (10) with windows in the thatch.
Here recent building work revealed pairs of long curved timbers called crocks
at intervals along its length, from floor to roof There are no foundations,
the wattle and daub walls filled with horsehair and dung being built upon bare
earth.
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Opposite is Hill Farm House (11),
which was once three cottages, but one can only guess the position of the doors.
It is easier to see an old window which has been filled in.
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Two house names at the bottom of the lane are interesting. The Pleck
was the name either of the nearby stream or its surrounding field where
it is possible flax was grown (from the Latin - plectere- to weave or plait)
and Pedley Close was shown on a map of 1759 as a pound where stray animals
were held until claimed.
Turn left at the bottom of Frog Lane and walk up Warwick Road which contains
some fine old houses. Boddington House (12),
first gate on your right, dates from two periods, the older, stone, building
being early Georgian with the brick part added at a later date. Clatercote
House (13), on your left, was built in 1708 and
used to be a farm. The two yews in front of it were once fine examples of the
art of topiary. Opposite, on an old cottage, you will see an X shaped brace,
fixed there to prevent the walll collapsing. Look for others on your walk,
not always of the same design. Dial House (14) will
tell you the time, but is it correct?
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Pause at the crossroads and look at Manor House
Farm (15), a fine house dating from 1709. Until
recently some of the windows were filled in, probably when the house was built
as the window tax of 1695 was in force.
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Turn right towards the village shop, noticing the third bungalow on your right,
called Greyer Well. It is named for a well which was in use until the introduction
of piped water in 1952. Over a third of the 44 wells and pumps in existence
at the turn of the century are still open or usable. Examine the geological
exhibit in the window of the Builders - any ideas what it is?
Opposite the shop is the School, built in 1870. There has been some kind of
school in the village for over 200 years, thanks to Richard Lamprey who, in
1758, gave a tenement for a school house and endowed it with property to support
the education of 20 poor boys. Numbers were such that in the 1970s a 'temporary'
mobile structure appeared in the playground. After permanent additions in 2002
and 2004, the mobile has been removed.
From the school, continue on Church Road to the Church. The walk now continues
on to Lower Boddington, about half a mile along The Buckle, a name derived
from Buckwell Leys and Hill (old names for the fields to the right of the road).The
first house past the Church, to the left, is The Manor House (16),
recently re-roofed to replace the emergency flat roof put in place after the
house was severely damaged by a bomber taking off from Chipping Warden Aerodrome
at the end of the last war.
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Two barns between the Manor House and the church have been transformed
into comfortable homes.
As you walk along the road, called the
Buckle after Mr Buckwell who once owned the fields along here, there
are magnificent views to your right over ridge and furrow fields, some
of the many in the area. Coming down Hill Road into Lower Boddington
the first house on your left is the new farmhouse for Cleveland Farm,
commanding one of the finest views in the village. The
first house on your right is Sears Farm (17),
once a farmhouse. Just past this, still on
your right, is The Manor House (18), dating
from the 14th century, restored and added to this century. In a pamphlet,
entitled "The Ancient Manor House of Nether Boddington" and
written by Mrs. I. Ragg, the author refers to windows concealed to
avoid the window tax and to Tudor fireplaces hidden from the Hearth
Tax. She also mentions a hollow old ash tree which stood about 200
yards above the Manor House gate where Cromwell's troops bivouacked
after marching up the lane past the house, and, as tradition says,
shooting a hole through it.
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Continuing down Hill Road, the first house on
your left is The Old Post Office (19). The
first part of the building (which has no windows onto the road) was one
of the earliest Methodist Chapels in the village. When it could no longer
accommodate the congregation and a new chapel was built at the Cross
Roads, it became the meeting place for the British Legion, who played
billiards in the room. Because the room was so narrow, they had to use
shortened cues!
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Further on, still on your left, is The Laurels (20).
The steep pitch of the roof indicates that it was once thatched. The new
wall in front was made from slabs from the house. A
little further on you come to two cottages, Anvil Cottage (21) and
Forge Cottage (22). Their names suggest that
this was once the site of the village blacksmith's shop, and we have reason
to believe that Anvil Cottage was the workshop whilst The Old Forge was two
cottages which housed the blacksmith and his animals. At the junction of
Hill Road and Banbury Road is a white house with two sets of wide black doors.
Was this where the carrier housed his carts? Just behind is The Old Methodist
Chapel, now a house. On the opposite corner
is The Carpenters Arms (23) and just beyond it, built
in red brick and set back from the road, is Walnut Tree House (24).
Alas, the walnut tree is gone.
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Lower Boddington has changed a great deal in the past 30 years or so, with
considerable new building in Owl End Way, off Hill Road, The Paddock and Boddington
Court, off Banbury Road. On your right, opposite The Paddock, is The Old Farmhouse. The
lane beside it leads to Paradise Farm. Beyond the lane is Cleve House (25) where
some interesting old barns have been converted into dwellings. Beyond them,
six modem houses have replaced redundant barns. Farther on, still on your right,
is a row of stone houses, the first three of which were probably labourer's
cottage's, connected to the last house, The Cottage (26) which
was originally a farmhouse. Buildings which used to stand just before this
row may have housed the Butcher's shop, while two doors beyond the Cottage
is a house which was a shop until the late 60s. It is interesting to consider
how many shops there were in a village of this size before the advent of the
motor car.
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Opposite Rainbow Cottage at the end of the village a footpath leads along the
hedge and up over the hill to the Welsh Road. Turn back here and pass the Council
houses called Millers Close after the family which owned the land on which
they were built. On your right past the Close
is Bourton's Farm House (27) - now surrounded by
new houses which replace the redundant farmyard and the old orchard. Can you
see the date marked on its gable end?
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Turn right, past Owl End Cottage, into Owl End Lane passing, on your left, The
Old Bakehouse (28), just beyond which is Keepers
Cottage (29). What is the origin of the name? Further
along is Haven Cottage (30) with many outbuildings. At
the top of the lane, on the right, is Merkins (31),
a row of cottages combined into one house, and on the
left, down a drive, is Sears Cottage (32), set
on its own.
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A hollow way indicates that Owl End Lane once extended to Hill Road. Today
a bridle path is all that connects it to the road opposite Sears Farm.
Carry on up Hill Road past one bank which is covered with wild violets
in the spring, while a little earlier in the year the higher bank has snowdrops
and primroses. On your way you have passed the sites of many cottages,
now long gone. We know of cottages next to the driveway to Merkins, to
the right at the top of Hill Road, and beyond the last house in the village.
Would that we could see what they once looked like.