Brighthampton
Coordinates: 51°43′55″N 1°26′42″W / 51.732°N 01.445°W
Brighthampton is a hamlet about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Witney in West Oxfordshire and contiguous with the village of Standlake.
Archaeology
A large pagan burial ground from the 5th and 6th centuries AD has been found south of Malthouse Farm (OS grid reference SP382033) in Brighthampton.[1] It was revealed when ploughing disturbed human bones in 1820. Excavation in 1857–58 found 54 burials, 10 cremation burials and a wide range grave goods, which are now in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.[2] Notable artefacts found include an iron sword with a gilt scabbard and an ornate gilt brooch.[3] Since then set of six burials was found at Malthouse Farm in 1892,[3] and the burial of a child was found in 1949.[4]
History
Brighthampton's toponym means Beorhthelm's tūn.[1] In the 10th century it was part of the royal manor of Bampton, and in AD 984 Æthelred II gave land at Brighthampton to one of his ministers.[5] The Domesday Book records that in 1086 William the Conqueror's half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux was Brighthampton's feudal overlord.[5] However, William I imprisoned Odo from 1082 until 1087 and confiscated his lands. In 1131 Henry I granted land at Brighthampton to Sées Priory in Normandy.[5] This is likely to have been the same land that William I had confiscated from Odo.[5] At the same time Henry granted land at Hardwick to the same priory, and these together became a single manor of Hardwick and Brighthampton.[5]
There is a record from early in the 17th century of Brighthampton having a stone cross, and in 1857 it was recorded that there was still the base of an "ancient" stone cross (presumably mediaeval) at the hamlet's central crossroads.[1]
Historic buildings
Forge Cottage is a 16th-century timber-framed building supported by a central cruck.[1] By 1776 it was trading as a public house, the Red Lion.[1] Another pub in Brighthampton, the Golden Balls, had been licensed by 1753.[1] It was rebuilt early in the 20th century, ceased trading in 1992 and was demolished in 1994.[1]
The farmhouse of Manor Farm (also called Florey's Farm) is of Cotswold stone and was built early in the 17th century.[1] It was extended in the middle of the 17th century and again in the 19th century.[1]
Baptist chapel
A few families of nonconformists were recorded in the parish in the latter part of the 17th century, and in the 18th century several local families were Anabaptists who attended a chapel in Cote.[6] A Baptist chapel was built between Brighthampton and Standlake in 1832, flourished in the 1840s and 50's and a gallery was added to increase capacity in 1865.[6] In the 20th century falling attendances led to services being discontinued in 1937, but they were resumed in 1951.[6] The chapel finally closed in 1978 and in 1994 it was serving as the offices of a missionary society.[6] It is now a private house.[7]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Crossley & Currie 1996, pp. 171–180
- ↑ "Brighthampton Anglo-Saxon Cemetery: Finds from Various Graves". Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire. Ashmolean Museum. 22 December 2005. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
- 1 2 "The Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Brighthampton". Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire. Ashmolean Museum. 22 December 2005. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
- ↑ Atkinson & Kirk 1949, p. 75.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Crossley & Currie 1996, pp. 180–183
- 1 2 3 4 Crossley & Currie 1996, pp. 203–204
- ↑ Oxfordshire Churches & Chapels: Standlake Archived 21 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
Sources and further reading
- Atkinson, R.J.C.; Kirk, J.R. (1949). "Archaeological Notes 1949" (PDF). Oxoniensia. Oxford Architectural and Historical Society. XIV: 75. ISSN 0308-5562.
- Crossley, Alan; Currie, C.R.J. (eds.); Baggs, A.P.; Chance, Eleanor; Colvin, Christina; Day, C.J.; Selwyn, Nesta; Townley, Simon C. (1996). "Standlake". A History of the County of Oxford. Victoria County History. 13: Bampton Hundred (Part One). pp. 171–180. ISBN 978-0-19722-790-9.
- Ford, Steve; Preston, Steve (2002). "Medieval Occupation at The Orchard, Brighthampton" (PDF). Oxoniensia. Oxfordshire Architectural and Historical Society. LXVII: 287–312. ISSN 0308-5562.
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