Untitled - Council for British Archaeology

Expansion beyond the medieval village had begun well before the
19th century with the first post-medieval'peripheral accretions at Hog
End and at Cumberford. Between 1797 and 1801 two new, Streets had Come
into existence in addition to the High Street realignment discussed
above:-
'Brickle Lane and StraWberry Terrace were laid out fat the
NE end of the village, though' fiot Yet bUilt uP.
Courtington Lane was established as a sort of NW bypass.
The station approach was added in 1887.
The first council estate was built off Courtington Lane in 1919,
and extended in 1936 and 1961. Another council estate was begun in
Brickle Lane in 1951. - Extensive post-war developments have taken place
along the Tadmarton Road.and Courtington Lane, the most recent additions
being Greenhills Park off Cumberford Hill, near the old station and .
beyond the railway. There has been a limited amount of redevelopment
within the old village, notably at Hog End and Little Bridge Road,
and a limited amount of piecemeal infill.
BUILDINGS
Church
The oldest surviving building is the parish church of St. Mary
(PRN 4066), which is architecturally one of the finest churches in the
county. Built mainly of Hornton stone, it occupies a prominent site
on the E. side of the present main road through Bloxham South.
Bloxham church is first récorded in 1067, when it was grantéd to
Westminster Abbey. Almost certainly it is, h8wever, of much earlierorigin.
Nothing is known of the first church on the site, 'but it
appears to have been substantially rebuilt in the mid 12th century,
as architectural fragments of this date have been incorporated into the
present building, notably in the S.doorwaY, the vestry entrance, the
chancel-arch responds and the rere-arches of the chancel windows.
Another major rebuilding occurred in the 13th century, whéri aislés
were added to the nave, perhaps for the first 'time. The four-bay arcades
survive, the cyllindrical piérs on the N.side suggesting a slightly
earlier addition than the S.aisle with its clustered piers and stiffleaf
capitals.
Thé dominant character of the church is, however, derived from the
extensive enrichment carried out in the early 14th century. The
well-proportioned W.tower and spire, the N.porch, the N.iransept, and
the S.porch with its room above, were all built between c. 1300 and
1340, and the chancel was rebuilt and the aisles widened at the same
time. The hands of the N.Oxfordshire school of masons whosé work
appears at Adderbury, Hanwell and Alkerton and is characterised bY
lively friezes of grotesques can be recognised here also.
- 113 -