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This is the Footnotes page for the Horspath Archaeology & History Group.
This page contains footnotes relevant to the "Horspath since 1500" article.
The text making up this section was supplied by Brian Lowe.
The background: In 1538 Pope Paul V excommunicated Henry VIII for his heretical opinions. This led to the fear of invasion from the continent, and the Muster Rolls were drawn up providing lists of able-bodied men and their arms. Less able-bodied men were included (“the second sort”), and these records have survived, giving us a valuable list of names of Horsepath men in the year 1539.
Interestingly, the name “Copcot” appears, which was given to Copcot Place, and “Lankatt”, which was the old name for the road up to Shotover through Blenheim – Lankettt’s Hill.
“every one of these a byll bowe and arrows sword or dagger”
John ffrankelyn, John Robyns, hughe trencher, thomas morres, John deye,
thomas deye, William henton, Thomas harper, Henry welle,
Richard samon, peter Samon, John Jake, Thomas Jeffrye.
(Text & spelling exactly as entered in the muster lists).
“Thys Inventorye made the 28th. day of July 6 Edw. VI of all the goodes (etc) perteyning to the paryshe church of Horsepathe yn the countye of Oxford between (the same commissioners) of thone party and John Henton and Thomas Lankett aforeseyd of the other partye wytnessythe (etc)".
(Note: All are Grade II listed apart from the Church, which is Grade II*)
(Note: Cuddesdon returned 8 names; Wheatley returned 18 names; Garsington returned 22 names ).
Spellings are as originally transcribed.
(NOTE: Figures in brackets denote their children under 14. S.C. – Special Constable).
EDWARD HATTON, CONSTABLE OF HORSPATH : JAMES MOOR & WILLIAM EELY, TITHINGMEN.
The Church possesses a very wide range of interesting stained and painted glass, with every century from the 13th c to the 21st c represented, with the sole exception of the 20th c. Unlike most other churches, St. Giles only possesses one “Victorian window”. This is the large East Window, and viewing the windows commences at here, and moves clockwise round the church.
East Window, 1863. The crucifixion in the main 3 lights, with 4 upper lights showing (l to r), St Frideswide, St. Giles, St. Mary Magdalen & St. John the Evangelist. Given by the Rev. H.R. Bramley, and made by Joseph Baguley of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1863, a pupil of the more famous William Wailes).
Chancel, c. 1280. The Virgin Mary & John the Evangelist. These two figures originally flanked a figure of Christ, now lost. One is painted on pot-metal glass, both with fine colours, with the ruby background of the same date. The surrounding glass is composed of fragments; these would have come from the original East window. These are the earliest glass images in the church.
Chancel, late 15th.c A composite figure, with the body of an Archbishop in mass vestments, holding a cross-staff. The head, feet & part of the alb are missing; the head here is that of an angel in yellow stain & matt on white glass. The left hand panel includes a soldier holding a banner, which is Swiss glass of the 16 - 17th.c.
S. Transept, 14th- 15th.c This figure is made up of parts of at least two figures of different dates. The head is a very fine one of a bearded (Old Testament?) priest, wearing an amice, painted in the second half of the 14th.c, while the mitre, cross-staff, left hand & book, and parts of the drapery, are 15th.c. The ruby cape is modern.
S. Transept, 13th.c & 21st.c At the apex of this window is a perfect example of Early English plate tracery, so good that it did not need restoration in the 20th.c. Below this are two excellent modern windows; designed by Lilian Shaw, the left-hand window depicts scenes relating to Horspath life, (the bridge, fair carousel and a Morris Minor) and the right-hand one illustrates the story of St. Giles, and below the rare plant “bulbous corydalis”, which grows in the churchyard. These windows were provided for in the bequest of Philip McLean, whose motto and crest appear at the bottom of the left hand panel.
S. Wall of nave. The Virgin and Child, Swiss glass probably of the 16th.c, and with a modern surround.
West window in tower, 16th.c Fragments of the “Arma Christi”, i.e., the instruments of Christ’s passion, displayed on a shield. Here a hammer & a ladder. The practice of displaying the instruments in this way was first found in England during the early 14th.c.
North wall of nave, 1740 Made by William Price of York, and given by Magdalen College, Oxford, at a cost of £30, about 1740.
The window tells the story of one John Copcot, a student of The Queen’s College, Oxford, and gives rise to the legend of the famous “Boar’s Head” ceremony,
held at the college every Christmas. Copcot, whose family were of Horspath, was attacked by a wild boar when alone on Shotover Hill. Having no sword or dagger
with which to defend himself, he used his copy of Aristotle to despatch the animal, by thrusting it down its throat. The boar expired, crying “Graecum Est”,
and was taken to the college to be consumed. The story is commemorated in the “Boar’s Head Carol”, sung as the head enters the Hall carried on a silver salver.
(William Price was working in New College when he created this window!).
Such painted glass as this is rare in a parish Church, though plentiful in some of the Oxford Colleges.
North wall of nave. Late 15th.c (At the very top) The head of a Bishop (?) Incomplete, he holds a sceptre in his right hand. In Brown matt & yellow stain, but faded.
N. wall of Chancel, 15th.c Two delightful heads, both of a female saint, possibly the Virgin Mary. Both are in brown matt & yellow stain; the left-hand figure is crowned, early 15th.c, very similar to one in Merton College, Oxford; and the other is late 15th.c, an extremely fine piece, close to Flemish work of the period. The crests above relate to Magdalen College, which held the advowson from 1458 to the 1950s.
N. wall of Chancel, 15th. & 18th. c On the left, Adam & Eve with the tree of knowledge between, and the serpent. A curious 18th.c window painted as a copy, whereas the panel on the right is 15th.c original, depicting the Crucifixion, with the Virgin Mary and St John the Evangelist flanking Christ on the cross. Brown matt on white glass, but much faded.
Brian Lowe, Churchwarden, 2014
The squat and sturdy perpendicular tower contains a ring of six bells, which for generations have been held in high esteem among bell ringers for their clarity and quality of tone, and their ease of ringing. There have been bells here since well before 1500, and the inventory of 1553 in the reign of King Edward VI listed “three bells and oon lytell bell”. The oldest existing bell, at present the fourth in the ring, was cast in 1602, in the reign of Elizabeth 1st., and is adorned by her elaborate royal cypher. The tenor (heaviest) bell dates from 1611, (the year of King James Authorised Version of the Holy Bible), and a century later the present second and third bells of 1719 were hung. These two were almost certainly recast from the three bells of the 1553 listing, by one of the most famous of English bell founders, Abraham Rudhall of Gloucester. In 1838 the present fifth was added, and finally in 1866 the ring was augmented to the present six bells with the gift of the Treble bell by the Rev. H. R. Bramley. There is also a small sanctus bell of 1811, cast by James Wells of Aldbourne, and weighing just two quarters. All were rehung in a new frame in 1963.
These bells were apparently well appreciated in earlier times, for on September 16th., 1733, the famous Oxford diarist, Thomas Hearne, recorded that:
“Mr. Sacheverel, of Denman’s Farm in Berkshire near Oxford, who died a few years since, was looked upon as the best judge of bells in England. He used to say that the Horspath bells, though but five in number and very small, were the prettiest, tunablest bells in England, and there was nor a fault in one excepting the third, and that so small a fault as it was not to be discerned but by a very good judge”.
From the above account, it would seem that Mr. Sacherevel heard the bells prior to 1719, as he noted five - probably the three mediaeval bells, and the present fourth and tenor bells, since between 1719 and 1838 there would have been only the four bells.
St. Giles also possesses a fine set of twelve 19th.c handbells, most probably cast at Mears & Stainbank, Whitechapel, which are rung on special occasions such as the service of lessons and carols at Christmas, and when carol singing round the village.
Abbreviations: MA- Master of Arts. Bachelor of Arts. BD- Bachelor of Divinity DD- Doctor of Divinity. From 1458 Magdalen College, Oxford, held the advowson until the 1950s, which is why nearly all were curates and fellows of the College.
RICHARD LLEWELYN Curate of Horspath 25.7,1747
Matric. Jan 1726 Magdalen Chorister; MA 1733 Deacon 12.1735 Priest May 1738 BD 1741 DD 1748
BURSAR 1743; VICE PRESIDENT 1749
Thence Saunderton. Died. 25.12.1770
MATTHEW HORBURY (no date for Horspath in registers)
Lincoln, BA. MA & DD. Deacon 20.12.1730, Priest 15.3.1733. Perpetual Curate at Horspath 20.9.1756
Previously Prebend at Lichfield Cathedral. Died 5.8.1773
ROBERT SEELEY (1737-1760)
Magdalen MA; Deacon 5.8.1737; Priest 17.6.1739; Perpetual Curate, Horspath 20.9.1756 to 10.3.1759
Thence APPLETON
EDWARD CREFFIELD DD. Horspath from 1759.
Magdalen MA. Deacon 2.12.1746; Priest 14.6.1747 At Horspath 10.3.1759 to 4.7.1771
Thence Prebendary, Lincoln Cathedral as Prebend of Aylesbury. Died 15.8.1782
GEORGE HORNE DD. B. at Otham, nr. Maidstone 1.7.1730 Curate of Horspath 1760 - 1764
University College Oxford. BA 1749; MA 1752; DD 1764
Fellow of Magdalen 1749; Was the President of Magdalen from 27 Jan. 1768, and resigned 11 April 1791. (Succeeded by Martin Routh)
Dean of Canterbury 1781; BISHOP of Norwich 1790.
“A great preacher, unjustly suspected of Methodism”; also a writer – best known work is “Commentary on the Psalms” Died at Bath, Jan., 1792
CHARLES PILKINGTON DD 1756 – 1795
Magdalen, MA. Deacon 13.6.1756 Priest 5.6.1751 Perpetual Curate, Horspath 4.7.1771 to 29.7.1780 Thence FINDON, Sussex.
WILLIAM JOHN BICKENDEN DD Magdalen. Horspath 1774 – 1780
JOHN BURROUGH DD
1736 (?). Died (Probably at Horspath during tenancy, 10.1.1803).
Magdalen (Senior Fellow) MA 1758; DD 1773
Previously Rector of Farlington; Horspath 1.6.1791 until his death.
WILLIAM ALCOCK DD
Magdalen; BA, MA, & DD Deacon 11.6.1777 Priest 2.6.1776
Previously at Trotton; Horspath 31.1.1803 to 23.11.1810 Thence SELBORNE. Died 9.9.1813
THOMAS COLLINS BD.
Magdalen; BA, MA, BD. Deacon 18.12.1803 Priest 3.12.1804
Curate at Horspath 18.12.1803 until 7.2.1815, thence HORSINGTON, Later Barningham & lastly Farnham.
WILLIAM RUST COBBOLD BD. Born 1773 at Wilby, Suffolk.
Trinity College, Oxford. Matriculated. 1792 Magdalen MA 1794; BD 1805 Magdalen College Schoolmaster.
Deacon 20.12.1795 Priest 11.6.1797
Perpetual Curate, Horspath 23.11.1810 to 9.9.1813
Thence Vicar of Selborne; He was the third son of “Pious Thomas” Cobbold, of the famous brewing family – during his time at Selborne he was critical
of the Workhouse riots (1830) and was hugely unpopular with his flock. To protect himself he owned a huge dog... whose large collar can be seen in the
church at Selborne today!!
A Magdalen school scholar described him thus - “A bilious constitution and yellow complexion”, and he was “more than handy with the cane”!
Wrote “An Abuse of the Poor Laws in the Parish of Selborne”
Killed by the Oxford Mailcart at Ludgate Hill in an accidental collision and died after six days at the “Belle Sauvage”, aged 68. (1841).
EDWARD ELLERTON MA, 1770 – 1851. B.A. Magdalen, 1792.
MA 1795; BD 1805; DD 1815 Fellow 1805. College Bursar & Librarian.
Perpetual curacy of Horspath 1814 – 1841. Was a curate to the long-lived Dr. Martin Routh, (for 63 years President of Magdalen, dying at the age of 99 in 1854).
Master of Magdalen College School 1799... known as “The Bull”. A friend of E. B. Pusey; Fiercely anti-papal.
His effigy perches on the north wall of Magdalen College; put there in his honour, but he hated it and long campaigned to have it removed! Unsuccessfully.
Paid for a schoolhouse and a cottage for a schoolmistress in Horspath; was curate here during the year John Henry Newman lodged in the village, 1829.
During his time at Horspath he took up a collection among his colleagues for a poor family being hounded by their landlord. Later it was discovered he was himself the landlord!!
Thence Sevenhampton, Glos; Curate at Theale and Tilehurst; Died. at Theale 1851
WILLIAM FRANCES HARRISON BD
Magdalen College BA; Ma. Deacon 18.12.1845 Priest 24.12.1826
Stipendiary Curate, West Tisted. Horspath 1841
CHARLES HENRY HUTTON BD
Magdalen. (Fellow) Deacon 27.7.1817 Priest 20.12.1818 Horspath from 18.5.1842.
(previously at Oddington 1820)
THOMAS HARRIS MA B. 1815; Magdalen 1829; BA 1833; MA 1835; BD 1846. Fellow 1835 – 1850 Deacon 1835. Priest 1836.
Perpetual Curate, Horspath 1844.
Thence Swerford 1849 – Died 1895.
FREDERICK BULLEY DD
Born at Reading 1810. Magdalen, matric. 26.7.1825. Gained a 3rd in Literae Humaniores; MA 1832, BD 1840, DD 1855. Elected President of Magdalen
5.1.1855, succeeding Martin Routh (see Dr Edward Ellerton).
Encouraged college choir; Wrote a history of William of Waynflete, and of the college.
Horspath 1843 – 1849 Died at Fairford
FRANCIS MINDEN KNOLLIS DD
Born at Penn, Bucks, 14.11.1815 Matric. Lincoln College 1833
Magdalen: BA 1837; MA 1840; BD 1850 & DD 1851. (Fellow)
Priest 1838 Chaplain to Lord Ribblesdale, later Lord Howe (Curzon-Howe).
Rector of Congerstone, Leics, 1840 – 1842, and of Brandeston, Suffolk,
1847 – 1848. HORSPATH 1849. (appointed 5th. May, 1849) to January 1853.
Founded the “Horspath Rent & Shoe Club” in 1851.
A prolific author and hymn writer (inc. “There is no night in Heaven”)
Later incumbent of Fitzhead, Somerset, 1858. Died 23.8.1863
He had to resign his ministry at Horspath on 24th. Jan, 1853 due to some scandal; there is correspondence from the Bishop of Oxford, Samuel Wilberforce,
which relates to this, but does not reveal the precise nature of the scandal.
“Has not weakened health led to your use of Port wine to a degree which has frequently affected your reasonable and moral consciousness??
He wrote to Mrs. Knollis on this subject also, and the President of Magdalen, Dr. Routh.
HENRY HARRIS B. 1819 – D. 1900
Educated at Rugby School, & Oriel College (1837) Demyship at Magdalen 1837
BA 1841; MA 1843; BD 1853; DD 1857
Fellow Of Magdalen 1850 – 1858 Vice President of Magdalen 1854.
Perpetual Curate of Horspath 1853 – 1858 (thence Winterbourne Bassett).
CHARLES HUMPHREY CHOLMELEY MA Born 1829, D. 1896
Matric. Magdalen 25.7.1846 BA 1851; MA 1853; Fellow 1855 – 1869
Proctor 1868. Perpetual Curate, Horspath 1858 – 1859
Thence Sherborne St John, Wilts; Dinton, Wilts 1868 – 1885,
Prebendary, Sarum (Salisbury) Cathedral 1882. Beaconsfield 1886 - 1896
HENRY RAMSDEN BRAMLEY MA. Vicar of Horspath 1861 – 1869
Born 4.6.1833 at Addingham, Yorkshire. Died 28.1.1917 at Lincoln.
Matric. Oriel 1852; Univ 1853; Fellow of Magdalen 1857 BA 1858; MA 1859.
Wrote many songs & carols; many in conjunction with his friend Sir John Stainer. Gave the treble bell at St. Giles, 1866 (his name is on the bell)
and the chancel screen (now at the west end of the church), and also the stained glass east window by John Baguley of Newcastle. He may also have given
the set of 12 church handbells. Having met Sir John Stainer at Magdalen (organist), they collaborated on many carols, publishing “Christmas Carols New and Old”
in the 1860s, and a second volume in 1871. A total of 70 carols, the second largest collection at the time. Well-known carols such as “See Amid the Winter’s Snow”,
“Holly & the Ivy”, “God Rest You Merry Gentlemen”, and “Once in Royal David’s City” were collected by Ramsden as the text editor, and Stainer
writing the arrangements. It is said that this collection of carols and the book directly gave rise to the popularity of carols at Christmas which we know today.
Later he was canon & praecentor of Lincoln Cathedral. Signature appears in Banns Book till 1888!
HENRY CHARLES BLEEKER CRUICKSHANK Curate 1870-1880
Principal of St. Kenelm’s School, Oxford, from 1874.
Signed the “Project Canterbury” of 1871 – Remonstrance against the Hebbert v Purchas case.
MORTIMER HENRY LINKLATER
Chichester College 1875. 1878 “Pet Curate” Horspath. (Sic Crockfords)
Previously at Croxton Kerrial, Leics., St. Neots & St. Matthew, Leicester.
Signatures in Banns Book 1882 to Feb 1885. Associate RIBA, Ecclesiastical Architect.
CHARLES JOHN FRANCIS YULE MA
Matric. Balliol 27.1.1868 St Johns, Cambridge 1869
Magdalen Fellow 1873 MA 1875 Junior Bursar 1878 Vice President 1880 Senior Dean 1882
Horspath 1889 Thence Ashbury, 1892.
ARTHUR ALBERT JACKSON B. 17.6.1864
Magdalen, BA 1888, MA 1890 Ordained Sept. 1890
Horspath 1892 – 1897 Thence Ashurst, W Sussex.
At Cuddesdon College Church Army, France 1918.
CHARLES NEWMAN TANNER MA. Matriculated 1889, The Queen’s College.
At Horspath 1898 to 1914. Thence Upton Scudamore, Wilts. “A moderate Churchman of a very quiet disposition, and greatly loved by the parishioners.
A keen gardener and maintainer of the Churchyard. Also a taxidermist”
GEORGE HENRY HAINES
Trinity College, Glenalmond, Perth. Exhibitioner, Magdalen 2nd in Maths. BA 1890; MA 1892; Priest 1903 and at Cuddesdon College 1903.
Assistant Master, Trinity College; St. Andrews 1903.
Horspath 1914 – 1932 (Last entry in Banns books.. April 1932)
“Extremely musical & very keen on the singing in the Church. Sometimes he would stop the singing during a service, explain the fault and try to get things right”!
Taught at Radley College in WW1, and was also Chaplain at Cowley Barracks. Was Rural Dean for the Cuddesdon Deanery”.
CANON RICHARD DUTTON BUDWORTH
B.Oct 1867, D. Dec 1937. Buried at Horspath.
Magdalen College; Oxford Blue 1887-9. Ordained 1902. Teacher at Lancing College, Sussex; Headmaster of Durham School 1907- 1932
Served in WW1 Canon of Durham Cathedral.
Retired 1932 to be priest in Horspath until his death 12 Dec 1937, when he suffered a heart attack at Twickenham rugby match. Obituary in The Times, 11.12.1937.
Said to be quite unmusical, and could recognise only the National Anthem – and that only because everybody stood up! He paid for the electric lighting
and an electric blower for the organ. He is buried near the chancel at Horspath.
BISHOP EDWARD ALFRED LIVINGSTONE MOORE MA.
Born in Oxford, 13 Nov. 1870 Educated at Marlborough & Oriel College. BA 1893; MA 1896;
His father was the Principal of St. Edmund Hall (Dr. Edward Moore).
Curate at Aston-Juxta-Birmingham (now Aston Villa!!)
Ordained in 1895. Initially a curate at Aston (which one?)
Became a missionary of the Church Missionary Society in India.
Principal of the CMS College, Kottayam (1903), and after a few years spent eight years as a Missionary in Tamil Nadu, learning to speak Tamil & Malay.
Ordained by the Archbishop of Canterbury in February 1925 as the 4th. Bishop of the Diocese of Travancore-Cochin, taking charge of the Diocese of Kottaram the same year. He was determined to end the caste system, and created history by ordaining two men from the “backward classes”. He also established many local community schools,
including that at Ranny in 1928. He also discouraged the poor from converting to Christianity simply to escape discrimination, but through conviction only;
Mahatma Gandhi visited him to congratulate him on this stance. Bishop Moore also introduced floating “medical dispensaries”. He kept no salary due to him,
depositing it into a fund for future Bishops, living only on financial help from his sister in England. There is a Bishop Moore College in Mavelikara.
In 1937 he retired, returned to England and became Vicar of Horspath. He died in the village on 22nd. September, 1944, and is buried outside the south wall
of the chancel.
GERALD RT (ROBERT ?) PARKINSON
Came to assist Bishop Moore in 1940... left in January, 1945. His signature appears in the Banns Book after Bp Moore, and before D C Puleston- address was
“Sunnycroft”, Gidley Way in Kelly’s, 1943. Probably acting during the interregnum.
DERRICK CARR PULESTON MA.
Vicar from Easter 1945 to 1952. MA from St Catherine’s College, Oxford. Instituted a choral celebration of Holy Communion on the first Sunday of each month.
EDWARD REGINALD CHARLEWOOD
B. Aug. 1902; D. June 1983 (W Surrey) MA from Trinity College, Cambridge. 3rd. in History, BA 1925; MA 1929. Bishop’s College, Cheshunt 1925
Deacon 1926 Willesden Priest 1927 All Saints, Edmonton 1926 – 31. Vicar at Horspath from 1952 until 1959.
First Vicar to be under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Oxford as opposed to being appointed by Magdalen College, Oxford.
SAMUEL WALSH HAROLD BIRD MA
Vicar from 1959 until 1980. Previously a Chaplain to the Forces (Army) at Smyrna. Discord arose in the village when it was accidentally discovered that
he was a divorced man, but nobody had been told about this in Horspath. (Apparently somebody found this out when away in Yorkshire, where Sam Bird had previously
been a minister).
Died at the Vicarage. His ashes rest beneath the east window, and there is a wooden plaque to his memory in the chancel.
CHRISTOPHER JOHN BUTLER MA
Vicar from July 1980 until 1995. Served in the Fleet Air Arm as a photographer c. 1944-5.
Previously Vicar at Wolverton, Bucks. First Vicar of both Horspath & Garsington from 1982. Retired 1995 and moved to Bordon, Hants on retirement.
RICHARD M COWLES MA
Vicar of Horspath (with Garsington & Cuddesdon) from Sept. 1996 until 2009.
B. 1953. Degree in Physics, Birmingham University. Previously curate at Iffley. Appointed Vicar of Bray 2009; retired and went to live in Mid-Glamorgan.
EMMA LOUISE PENNINGTON MA
MA Exeter University. Ordained Previously Chaplain at Worcester College, Oxford.
Vicar of Cuddesdon, Garsington and Horspath from 2009 (then part of Wheatley Team Ministry until 2013; reverted to a three parish Benefice as above).
Also Area Dean.
D. Phil 2015 on Julian(a) of Norwich. Moved to Canterbury Cathedral as Canon Missioner, February, 2019.
KAREN CHARMAN BA
Birmingham University, then trained at Ripon College (BA) and was Curate in Delaval, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, took up appointment on 27th. January, 2020.
(Taken from Horspath School Local history Study by Suzanne Roberts, plus Trade Directories and other sources. The years quoted are known years when the incumbent was in post, but not necessarily the year they may have been appointed).
Trade Unionism was late in coming to agriculture, but in the 1870s the need to improve working conditions had become very necessary; the rural isolation of villages like Horsepath had meant that the trade union movement in the large conurbations was light years away, but the poor conditions in which agricultural labourers were treated had inevitably to be addressed. Very many of the villages in Oxfordshire became involved with the formation of union branches in the early 1870s, and although this great sea-change in working conditions was largely dead and forgotten in the space of twenty years, with little material evidence of what was achieved, we fortunately have a remarkable document still in existence which describes how the men of Horsepath became involved in the N.A.L.U., who they were and the farmers they confronted with the threat of strike action. This document is the Minute Book of the Horsepath Branch, now in the Bodliean Library, given by builder Charlie Harris, whose father was a member. Charlie had his workshop (and Post Office at one time) where the garage now stands.
The Horsepath Branch was formed on 3rd. March, 1873, as a part of the Littlemore Branch, with a committee of 8 plus John Harris (Charlie’s father) as the delegate. Meetings were usually held at private houses, or in the “Chequers” public house, and on the 11th. March the men met to consider upon the men in employment of James Eeley, Michael Surman & Bernard Herman (all Horsepath farmers & landowners), who were paid two shillings a week less than those employed by John Chillingworth, and three shillings less than his cattlemen.
The members agreed unanimously to refuse to work at rates less the Chillingworth’s men, and notice was served. Eeley and Herman instantly agreed to give a rise in pay, and thus the men “got their wages rose”. It is not recorded how Michael Surman’s men fared, but it seems that the principal activity of the Branch thereafter became primarily concerned with contributions going to support other labourers, money raised to bolster the branches in East Anglia, and to provide funds for sick pay. A few Horsepath men moved away to seek work, but most returned after a few weeks.
An illuminating account of the prevailing taut atmosphere appears in the minute book – anonymously -
“Attended Vestry meeting to protest against the Vileany carried on by B. Herman against the aged poor, when in the office as Guardian the Poor tottering people bent down with age, were compelled to tramp to and fro for 3 hours on the Vilege Green all weathers till the Releving Officer, one of the greatest vileins on Earth, come to pay them the paltry allowance. I am pleased to say regime was altered from the time I attended the meeting” (sic).
And another quotation with feelings running high...
“Abolish the Property qualification, and then instead of Villeins and Barndoor Savages we shall have working men sitting Boards of Guardians to look to the administration of the Poor Law. The Tories are responsible for all workhouse scandles, to vote for the Tories is to insult the Wounded Poor of the Working classes”. (sic).
Members listed in the minute book in August, 1873: Penny contributions to pay P.O.O. for sending members contributions to District Secretary &c &c. (P.O.O. = Post Office Order).
Within four years the branch entries ceased, and events settled down again, but the survival of this rare document provides us with a vivid picture of the hardships of working in the fields of Horsepath 150 years ago.
“Congregations vary – on the whole increase. Scarcely any of the labouring men attend regularly. Other classes of the population attend
very fairly. I believe that insufficient wages and bad beer do much to brutalise the working people, especially the men”.
Bishop’s visitation entry, 1866.
At the outbreak of the First World War, Horspath (Horsepath until 1911, when the “e” was dropped by the Parish Council), was really an isolated agricultural village of just 382 persons, with the Manor House, Church, Vicarage, Chapel, School, a small Railway Halt, six working farms, and the roads we recognise today to Cowley, Wheatley & Cuddesdon. There were no buildings at all along Gidley Way; all the cottages were in the centre of the village, mostly near the farms and the Church. Gas had been in the village for some time, but electricity and mains water were far into the future.
Hardly anyone obtained work from beyond the village apart from the market gardeners, carriers and laundresses who traded with the Oxford colleges, and the majority of the men not included below, all worked on the farms. Although the village had a small railway halt from 1911, it was itself closed in 1917 as a wartime economy measure, and would have made little difference to the village.
A very good idea of the village as a community can be obtained from the Kelly’s Trade Directory of 1915:
As would be expected, between 1914 & 1918, not a great deal happened in the village, with the obvious exception of the anxiety and grief of the Great War affecting every family with their men caught up in that conflict, and life had to carry on as best could be. During the war period from August 1914 to November 1918, there were 26 baptisms, 8 weddings and 14 funerals recorded at St. Giles Church. The direct parish involvement, such as a Home Guard, which occurred in the Second World War never happened in this first conflict; the war “was over there” and Horspath simply had to carry on without most of its menfolk.
It can be recorded that the Church was redecorated in 1914, and the tower re-roofed at a cost of £750; and there was an unsuccessful attempt to repair the blacksmith’s clock up in the tower. In 1917 the railway halt was removed, and in 1918 the old Pound previously kept for animals was demolished. The village those surviving men of the Armed Forces returned to had changed little... but from the 1920s change became the driving force in shaping the village as we know it today.
It has often been said that the Great War changed everything; but the Horspath of 1918 was little different to the agricultural hamlet it had always been - after that, it was never to be the same.
Brian Lowe, November, 2018.
SERGEANT JOSEPH BRICKNELL, OXFORD & BUCKS LIGHT INFANTRY. DIED 22ND. NOVEMBER, 1915, AGED 26.
Sergeant Bricknell was a regular soldier, based at Poonah, India, and was part of the 1st. Battalion which landed at Basra and then marched up the River Euphrates to assault and take Baghdad. He was killed at the battle of Ctesiphon when the British were forced back to Kut, where 13,000 surrendered. Such was the confusion and rout at Ctesiphon that he has no known grave. He is honoured on the Basra Memorial. Son of Abel & Emily Bricknell, and lived on the Village Green.
LANCE-CORPORAL WILLIAM CROOK, ROYAL GLOS. HUSSARS. DIED 13TH. DECEMBER, 1915, AGED 23.
A cavalryman, he went out to Egypt in April, 1915, and in August landed at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli. He became one of the very many casualties of this failed campaign, and was evacuated to Alexandria where he subsequently died of his wounds. He lies in the Alexandria Military and War Memorial Cemetery. Lived on Manor Farm Road.
PRIVATE JAMES MUNT, GLOUCESTER REGIMENT. DIED 22ND. SEPTEMBER, 1916, AGED 22 & PRIVATE GEORGE CHIDDINGTON, GLOUCESTER REGIMENT. DIED 21ST. JANUARY, 1917, AGED 21.
These two Horspath men almost certainly joined up together, being in the same Company, if not Platoon. James Munt died the day before the onset of the battle of Loos, and George Chiddington perished four months later near Loos. Having no known grave, they are commemorated on the Loos Memorial. James Munt was confirmed here in 1907, and George Chiddington was the son of George & Selina Chiddington, who resided in the hamlet of Blenheim.
SERGEANT WILLIAM HARRIS, OXFORD & BUCKS LIGHT INFANTRY. DIED 15TH. JUNE, 1918, AGED 24.
After service on the Somme, William Harris became a member of the small force sent to bail out the Italians in the Southern Alps, and was killed
at the battle of Asiago. His grave, high in the Alps, is only accessible in the summer months due to the snow at that height. Opposing Sergeant Harris in that
battle was a certain German officer, Erwin Rommel, famous in WW2 as the Desert Fox! William Harris is buried in the Boscon cemetery together with another 155
Ox & Bucks men. Son of William & Dorcas Harris, of Prospect Cottage.
The following four men were all victims of the prolonged and bloody Ypres campaign, though none were killed during the three main battles – they were simply
just four of the thousands of fatal casualties of the daily shelling and sniping of that unremitting trench warfare.
PRIVATE JOSEPH HERITAGE, OXFORD & BUCKS LIGHT INFANTRY. DIED 24TH. SEPTEMBER, 1915, AGED 29.
He rests at the Guards’ Cemetery, “Windy Corner”, Cuinchy, France. Son of William & Alice Heritage, he also lived in Blenheim, next to George Chiddington.
PRIVATE GEORGE HINTON, OXFORD & BUCKS LIGHT INFANTRY. DIED 22ND. JUNE, 1916, AGED 22.
He is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial. Son of Joseph & Rosa Hinton, who lived at 21, The Green.
SERGEANT WILLIAM HINTON, OXFORD & BUCKS LIGHT INFANTRY. DIED 10TH. SEPTEMBER, 1917, AGED 22.
His grave is in Tyne Cot Cemetery. Son of James & Elizabeth Hinton, who lived in a part of the Malthouse.
FREDERICK CHARLES SURMAN, DIED 1ST. JULY, 1918, AGED 36.
His memorial appears in the Methodist Chapel, but not in St. Giles Church. He lost his life in a dreadful munitions factory explosion at the National Shell Filling Factory, Chilwell, close to Nottingham, and lies in a communal grave at St Mary Magdalene Church, Attenborough, Notts. His family lived at Bullingdon Green, to the east of the village.
LIEUTENANT HALDANE DAY STOKES, MEMBER OF THE VICTORIAN ORDER, KING’S OWN ROYAL LANCASHIRE FUSILIERS. KILLED IN ACTION NEAR YPRES, 17TH. FEBRUARY, 1915, AGED 29.
He was not from Horspath, but is commemorated on a privately erected brass plaque in St Giles, since he came from a military family living in Hollow Way, Cowley, but whose parents worshipped here and who are both buried in the Churchyard. He is buried in the Tuileries Cemetery, Paris.
This revealing account is taken verbatim from a handwritten manuscript of 1946, probably by Mrs Rose Wrightson of the Manor House, about the Women’s Institute and other organisations’ activities in Horspath during 1939 – 45.
In 1939, when war was imminent, First Aid classes were held, and gas masks issued, so that when September 3rd., (the fatal day) arrived, some preparations had been made. Evacuees had arrived, and a great deal of work was entailed in the billeting of them. Most people did their best to open their doors and made them welcome, but this wasn’t without difficulties.
The School was used as a Rest Centre, and emergency stores of food etc., were placed there and at the Manor House. The A.R.P. (Air Raid Precaution) was formed, and quite a lot of volunteers came forward; the First Aid Post was also the Manor House, which was kindly lent by Mr. & Mrs. Wrightson, and Miss Western. The children also took lessons in St. John’s Ambulance, and at the same time the Home Guard, then known as the L.D.V. (Local Defence Volunteers, later the Home Guard) was also formed, and this fine body of men did their best in making preparations to defend our village in case of emergency. Our first siren caused great alarm - first, we were told to open all our windows in case of blast, and then shut them in case of gas!!
Lots of our village men took part in digging trenches; this proved a very difficult job, spades were bent and hands blistered, but it had its amusing side, for when we walked along to see how they were getting on we were told to fetch our gas masks, and we were not allowed anywhere near until we had done so!! The Womens’ Institute were very lucky in getting a supply of sugar for preserving, and this was sold at reduced prices. We did all sorts of sewing, mending and knitting - lots of people undertook knitting. First of all for our own soldiers, and later for other organisations such as the London Transport Company, and the Indian Office. The number of garments for our own men totalled 139.
We also made curtains for the Village Hall and the Chippenhurst Hospital - hospital stockings and shirts, and shirts for the Poles. Mending was done for the soldiers who were stationed on the gunsite which was situated in Horspath. This caused some amusement when we saw the state of some of the socks - many were taken home and “refooted”, being far to bad to mend. Parcels were collected and taken to other soldiers who were stationed on the Horspath Road.
A British Restaurant was opened; this looking very rural as it was originally a cowshed!! This had been converted, and proved very popular; it was used by the W.I. for canning for ourselves, and also for the Blind School from Shotover, whom we helped with their fruit and tomatoes. This also had its amusing side, several of us getting “stuck up” with syrup, and others looking like washerwomen when getting the cans from the copper. We also joined Garsington in jam making in 1946, and had great difficulties in getting our fruit, and then jams & jellies, to and from there.
A Village Savings Group was started together with a Penny A Week collection for the Red Cross. Our collectors worked very hard in all weathers, and the grand total was for the Red Cross £151. 7s. 7d., and Savings. Our special weeks such as Wings for Victory, Salute the Soldiers etc. received splendid response.
By this time the Village Hall had been commandeered for the L.C.C. (London County Council) for use as a school for the evacuees. This meant having to find a new room for our meetings, and the “Chequers” Club Room was kindly lent by Mrs. Mullins. The Produce Guild was started, and members obtained seed potatoes, Suttons collections of small seeds, fruit trees, etc., all at special prices. Some members will always remember the weighing-out of the potatoes!! The Poultry Club and the Pig Club were also formed. Make-do and mend, slipper classes and glove-making classes were also held, and lots of useful things were learnt. No longer did we have our programmes printed owing to difficulties due to the war; this was kindly undertaken by the London School Teacher, and later by one of the members - this same teacher also made carpets, and presented them to the Church.
We decided to forego out Annual Outing and instead entertain a party of wounded soldiers. This was very successful and gave pleasure to us all. An Xmas Fund was also started for our village men who had joined the forces. Two shillings and sixpence was sent the first year, and by Christmas 1945 this had reached £2. 5s. 6d. each. Whist Drives, Dances, Bring & Buy stalls etc., were held throughout the war to help our fund, which by this time had been linked with the Village Hall Committee and the Home Guard. We all worked happily together.
Waste paper, bottles, rags and bones were collected and sorted to help the war effort, and our local Wool Fund. A Mobile Bath visited the School, this being mainly for the use by the evacuee children. Land Girls came to help on the farm, and village women and children helped with potato planting and picking. Rose hips and foxglove leaves were collected for medicinal purposes. In 1943 a Housewives Section was formed.
Our village was extremely lucky as regards bombs during the war. We heard loud explosions from time to time, but fortunately all a distance away. Our nearest was within one & a half miles, although incendiaries actually fell in the parish, but these caused no damage. We lost some of our members owing to war work, but they all visited us when it was possible. When peace finally came after six weary years we celebrated with dancing and parties and bonfires on the village green.