Stanton Harcourt is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Witney and about 6 miles (10 km) west of Oxford. The parish includes the hamlet of Sutton, 1⁄2 mile (800 m) north of the village. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 960.[1]
Stanton Harcourt
St Michael's parish church, with Pope's Tower in the background on the left
Within the parish of Stanton Harcourt is a series of palaeochannel deposits buried beneath the second (Summertown-Radley) gravel terrace of the River Thames. The deposits have been attributed to Marine isotope stages and have been the subject of archaeological and palaeontological research.[2] Evidence was found for the co-existence of species of elephant and mammoth during interglacial conditions, disproving the widely held view that mammoths were an exclusively cold-adapted species.[3]
Harcourt House was built for the Harcourt family in the 15th and mid-16th centuries, and its gatehouse was added about 1540. Harcourt House is a Grade II* listed building.[8] Its Great Kitchen was built in 1485, possibly incorporating an earlier building. The kitchen is a separate building from the house and is Grade I listed.[9] The service range attached to the south of the Great Kitchen is also 15th-century. It has been converted into a house, Manor Farmhouse, and is Grade I listed.[10]
Pope's Tower in the grounds of Harcourt House was built about 1470–71, probably by the master mason William Orchard.[11] It is a Grade I listed building.[12] The tower acquired its name centuries later, after the poet Alexander Pope stayed here in 1717–18 and used its upper room to translate the fifth volume of Homer's Iliad.[citation needed] In the summer of 1718 he also wrote the epitaph[citation needed] to a young couple, John Hewett and Sarah Drew, who were struck by lightning and killed in the parish. The poem is carved on a stone monument on the outside of the south wall of the nave or St Michael's parish church.
Parish churchedit
Shrine of St Edburg in St Michael's parish church, salvaged from Bicester Priory
The earliest known record of the Church of England parish church of Saint Michael dates from 1135, and the Norman[13]nave and lower parts of the bell tower are certainly 12th century.[14] In the 13th century the chancel, chancel arch and tower arches were rebuilt[13] and the transepts and stair turret were added.[14] In the 15th century the upper part of the belltower was completed, the Perpendicular Gothic west window of the nave and north and south windows of the transepts were inserted[15] and the pitch of the roof was lowered.[14] St Michael's is a Grade I listed building.[16] The central tower has a ring of six bells. Michael Darbie, an itinerant bellfounder, cast the second, third, fourth and fifth bells in 1656, which was during the Commonwealth of England. Richard Keene of Woodstock cast the tenor bell in 1686. Abraham II Rudhall of Gloucester cast the treble bell in 1722.[17]
In the chancel is the Decorated Gothic late 13th- or early 14th-century shrine of St Edburg of Bicester. It was at the Augustinianpriory at Bicester until 1536, when the priory was dissolved. Sir James Harcourt had the shrine salvaged and moved to St Michael's. The Harcourt chapel was added on the south side of the chancel, possibly by William Orchard.[14][15][when?] It includes the medieval tombs of Sir Thomas Harcourt and his wife, Lady Maud, daughter of Lord Grey of Rotherfield.[18] St Michael's parish is part of the Benefice of Lower Windrush, along with the parishes of Northmoor, Standlake and Yelford.[19]
In the Second World War there was a Royal Air Force airfield at Stanton Harcourt. It is notable for having been a transit point for Winston Churchill and for being a starting point for a bomber raid on the German battleship Scharnhorst. The runways are, for the most part, now gone, but some of the original buildings remain including a turret trainer, crew room and various other buildings. The hangars have been converted into office and industrial units.
Amenitiesedit
The Harcourt ArmsFormer village shop and sub-post office
Stanton Harcourt has a 17th-century pub, The Harcourt Arms,.[20] It had another pub, the Fox, but it is now a private home. The parish council owns Fox Field behind it and has renamed it the Jubilee Field, with installed play equipment. Trees and hedging have been provided by the Woodland Trust[21] and planted by volunteers. The village has a primary school.[22] Currently there is no bus service to the village. Stanton Harcourt has a history of Morris dancing since the 19th century. Following a lapse, the traditional dances have been revived by the Icknield Morris and Trigg Morris, and continue today.[23]
^Historic England. "Harcourt House and attached walls and outbuildings (Grade II*) (1199690)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
^Historic England. "The Great Kitchen approximately 40 metres south of Harcourt House (Grade I) (1053135)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
^Historic England. "Manor Farmhouse approximately 70 metres south of Harcourt House (Grade I) (1283234)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
^Historic England. "Pope's Tower approximately 35 metres south east of Harcourt House (Grade I) (1053134)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
Buckingham, C; Roe, D; Scott, K (1996). "A preliminary report on the Stanton Harcourt Channel Deposits (Oxfordshire, England)". Journal of Quaternary Science. 11 (5). doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1417(199609/10)11:5<397::AID-JQS261>3.0.CO;2-M.
Lambrick, George; Allen, Tim (2004). Gravelly Guy: Excavations at Stanton Harcourt. Thames Valley Landscape Series. Vol. 21. Oxford: Oxford University School of Archaeology. ISBN0-947816-66-6.
stanton, harcourt, village, civil, parish, oxfordshire, about, miles, southeast, witney, about, miles, west, oxford, parish, includes, hamlet, sutton, mile, north, village, 2011, census, recorded, parish, population, michael, parish, church, with, pope, tower,. Stanton Harcourt is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about 4 miles 6 4 km southeast of Witney and about 6 miles 10 km west of Oxford The parish includes the hamlet of Sutton 1 2 mile 800 m north of the village The 2011 Census recorded the parish s population as 960 1 Stanton HarcourtSt Michael s parish church with Pope s Tower in the background on the leftStanton HarcourtLocation within OxfordshirePopulation960 2011 Census OS grid referenceSP4105Civil parishStanton HarcourtDistrictWest OxfordshireShire countyOxfordshireRegionSouth EastCountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townWitneyPostcode districtOX29Dialling code01865PoliceThames ValleyFireOxfordshireAmbulanceSouth CentralUK ParliamentWitneyWebsiteStanton Harcourt Parish CouncilList of places UK England Oxfordshire 51 44 56 N 1 24 07 W 51 749 N 1 402 W 51 749 1 402 Contents 1 Archaeology 2 Manor 3 Parish church 4 RAF Stanton Harcourt 5 Amenities 6 Notable people 7 References 8 Sources and further reading 9 External linksArchaeology editWithin the parish of Stanton Harcourt is a series of palaeochannel deposits buried beneath the second Summertown Radley gravel terrace of the River Thames The deposits have been attributed to Marine isotope stages and have been the subject of archaeological and palaeontological research 2 Evidence was found for the co existence of species of elephant and mammoth during interglacial conditions disproving the widely held view that mammoths were an exclusively cold adapted species 3 Manor editStanton is derived from the Old English for farmstead by the stones 4 probably after the prehistoric stone circle known as the Devil s Quoits southwest of the village 5 The site is a scheduled monument 6 The Domesday Book of 1086 records that the manor was held by Odo Bishop of Bayeux 7 It became Stanton Harcourt after Robert de Harcourt of Bosworth Leicestershire inherited lands of his father in law at Stanton in 1191 7 Harcourt House was built for the Harcourt family in the 15th and mid 16th centuries and its gatehouse was added about 1540 Harcourt House is a Grade II listed building 8 Its Great Kitchen was built in 1485 possibly incorporating an earlier building The kitchen is a separate building from the house and is Grade I listed 9 The service range attached to the south of the Great Kitchen is also 15th century It has been converted into a house Manor Farmhouse and is Grade I listed 10 Pope s Tower in the grounds of Harcourt House was built about 1470 71 probably by the master mason William Orchard 11 It is a Grade I listed building 12 The tower acquired its name centuries later after the poet Alexander Pope stayed here in 1717 18 and used its upper room to translate the fifth volume of Homer s Iliad citation needed In the summer of 1718 he also wrote the epitaph citation needed to a young couple John Hewett and Sarah Drew who were struck by lightning and killed in the parish The poem is carved on a stone monument on the outside of the south wall of the nave or St Michael s parish church Parish church edit nbsp Shrine of St Edburg in St Michael s parish church salvaged from Bicester PrioryThe earliest known record of the Church of England parish church of Saint Michael dates from 1135 and the Norman 13 nave and lower parts of the bell tower are certainly 12th century 14 In the 13th century the chancel chancel arch and tower arches were rebuilt 13 and the transepts and stair turret were added 14 In the 15th century the upper part of the belltower was completed the Perpendicular Gothic west window of the nave and north and south windows of the transepts were inserted 15 and the pitch of the roof was lowered 14 St Michael s is a Grade I listed building 16 The central tower has a ring of six bells Michael Darbie an itinerant bellfounder cast the second third fourth and fifth bells in 1656 which was during the Commonwealth of England Richard Keene of Woodstock cast the tenor bell in 1686 Abraham II Rudhall of Gloucester cast the treble bell in 1722 17 In the chancel is the Decorated Gothic late 13th or early 14th century shrine of St Edburg of Bicester It was at the Augustinian priory at Bicester until 1536 when the priory was dissolved Sir James Harcourt had the shrine salvaged and moved to St Michael s The Harcourt chapel was added on the south side of the chancel possibly by William Orchard 14 15 when It includes the medieval tombs of Sir Thomas Harcourt and his wife Lady Maud daughter of Lord Grey of Rotherfield 18 St Michael s parish is part of the Benefice of Lower Windrush along with the parishes of Northmoor Standlake and Yelford 19 RAF Stanton Harcourt editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed April 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Main article RAF Stanton Harcourt In the Second World War there was a Royal Air Force airfield at Stanton Harcourt It is notable for having been a transit point for Winston Churchill and for being a starting point for a bomber raid on the German battleship Scharnhorst The runways are for the most part now gone but some of the original buildings remain including a turret trainer crew room and various other buildings The hangars have been converted into office and industrial units Amenities edit nbsp The Harcourt Arms nbsp Former village shop and sub post officeStanton Harcourt has a 17th century pub The Harcourt Arms 20 It had another pub the Fox but it is now a private home The parish council owns Fox Field behind it and has renamed it the Jubilee Field with installed play equipment Trees and hedging have been provided by the Woodland Trust 21 and planted by volunteers The village has a primary school 22 Currently there is no bus service to the village Stanton Harcourt has a history of Morris dancing since the 19th century Following a lapse the traditional dances have been revived by the Icknield Morris and Trigg Morris and continue today 23 First amp Last Mile buses provide a daytime bus service 418 giving a two hourly service to Standlake Eynsham Freeland and Long Hanborough 24 Notable people editEdward Venables Vernon Harcourt who was Archbishop of York 1807 47 is buried here References edit Area Stanton Harcourt Parish Key Figures for 2011 Census Key Statistics Neighbourhood Statistics Office for National Statistics Retrieved 24 February 2015 Buckingham Roe amp Scott 1996 page needed Scott K 2001 Late Middle Pleistocene Mammoths and Elephants of the Thames Valley Oxfordshire PDF Archived from the original PDF on 11 May 2006 Retrieved 16 March 2010 Mills amp Room 2003 page needed Crossley amp Elrington 1990 pages 267 274 Historic England The Devil s Quoits 1006359 National Heritage List for England Retrieved 24 February 2015 a b Crossley amp Elrington 1990 pages 274 281 Historic England Harcourt House and attached walls and outbuildings Grade II 1199690 National Heritage List for England Retrieved 3 April 2015 Historic England The Great Kitchen approximately 40 metres south of Harcourt House Grade I 1053135 National Heritage List for England Retrieved 3 April 2015 Historic England Manor Farmhouse approximately 70 metres south of Harcourt House Grade I 1283234 National Heritage List for England Retrieved 3 April 2015 Sherwood amp Pevsner 1974 p 782 Historic England Pope s Tower approximately 35 metres south east of Harcourt House Grade I 1053134 National Heritage List for England Retrieved 3 April 2015 a b Sherwood amp Pevsner 1974 p 778 a b c d Crossley amp Elrington 1990 pages 289 293 a b Sherwood amp Pevsner 1974 p 779 Historic England Church of St Michael Grade I 1053164 National Heritage List for England Retrieved 3 April 2015 Davies Peter 5 November 2007 Stanton Harcourt S Michael Dove s Guide for Church Bell Ringers Central Council for Church Bell Ringers Retrieved 3 April 2015 McRae Thomson Aidan 7 August 2017 Lady Maud s Effigy Stanton Harcourt Flickr Archbishops Council 2015 Benefice of Lower Windrush A Church Near You Church of England Retrieved 3 April 2015 The Harcourt Arms https www woodlandtrust org uk vague Stanton Harcourt Church of England Primary School The Side as Stanton Harcourt Morris Icknield Way Morris Men 18 Oxford Bampton Stagecoach in Oxfordshire 8 October 2012 Archived from the original on 24 February 2015 Retrieved 24 February 2015 Sources and further reading editBarclay Gill Gray Margaret Lambrick George 1995 Excavations at the Devil s Quoits Stanton Harcourt Thames Valley Landscape Series Vol 5 Oxford Oxford University School of Archaeology ISBN 0 947816 84 4 Buckingham C Roe D Scott K 1996 A preliminary report on the Stanton Harcourt Channel Deposits Oxfordshire England Journal of Quaternary Science 11 5 doi 10 1002 SICI 1099 1417 199609 10 11 5 lt 397 AID JQS261 gt 3 0 CO 2 M Crossley Alan Elrington C R eds Baggs A P Blair W J Chance Eleanor Colvin Christina Cooper Janet Day C J Selwyn Nesta Townley Simon C 1990 A History of the County of Oxford Victoria County History Vol 12 Wootton Hundred South including Woodstock London Oxford University Press for the Institute of Historical Research pp 267 296 ISBN 978 0 19722 774 9 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a first2 has generic name help Lambrick George Allen Tim 2004 Gravelly Guy Excavations at Stanton Harcourt Thames Valley Landscape Series Vol 21 Oxford Oxford University School of Archaeology ISBN 0 947816 66 6 McGavin Neil Symonds Robin P Harman Mary 1980 A Roman Cemetery and Trackway at Stanton Harcourt PDF Oxoniensia Oxfordshire Architectural and Historical Society XLV 112 123 Mills A D Room A 2003 A Dictionary of British Place Names Oxford Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 852758 6 Sherwood Jennifer Pevsner Nikolaus 1974 Oxfordshire The Buildings of England Harmondsworth Penguin Books pp 778 784 ISBN 0 14 071045 0 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stanton Harcourt Stanton Harcourt WW2 Airfields of Oxfordshire Stanton Harcourt Oxfordshire A vision of Britain through time University of Portsmouth Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Stanton Harcourt amp oldid 1136457378, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
