Untitled - Council for British Archaeology

RECOMNENDATIONS
Apart from the church, Bloxham possesses few individual buildings
of outstanding architectural quality. Nonetheless its range of
vernacular buildings is of very great interest,,and the many attractive
groupings of old houses and cottages using local materials on sloping
sites within a pattern of lanes itself of considerable historic interest
combine to make Bloxham visually a most attractive and interesting
settlement.
It is clearly a village under great pressure through its proximity
to Banbury. There has been extensive new building to the W. and
smaller new developments to the NE., S. and SW., together with a
limited amount of infill within the old village itself. On the whole
the latter has been reasonably unobtrusive. Given the need to
concentrate expansion in certain rural settlements, Bloxham,
with its tradition as an 'open' village, has been able to absorb the
pressure better than many, and can probably continue to do so without
serious risk of damage to its historic core. The designation of the
Conservation Area should ensure that any further redevelopment within
the old village should not detract from its present attractive
appearance. When the Department of Museum Services was invited to
comment on the proposed designation in 1975, the boundary of the
area was felt to be satisfactory, and no extensions have needed to be
recomnended.
There are no archaeological sites within or close to the village
which are felt to be of sufficient value to warrant scheduling. On
the other hand, the grading of Listed Buildings may well now, warrant
revision. A couple.(PRN's 11,792 and 11,769) have now been demolished.
Although a detailed survey has not been possible here, it is suspected
that most of those cm the Supplementary List and several not listed
at all could well be upgraded to Grade II status.
The greatest pressure for further development will no doubt continue
to be at the margins of the settlement. At present there are no known
archaeological sites within the village or close to its periphery of
such.outstanding importance as to.warrant permanent preservation or
large-scale excavation; it has therefore not been felt necessary to
indicate any areas of archaeological interest around Bloxham
on the historical constraint maps provided to the District Council.
While the need for archaeological éxcavation is not felt to be a
major priority, the following problems might repay investigation should
opportunity arise at a.time when resources are available:-
The extent of the Romano-British settlement on the Tadmarton
road (PRN. 1712/4984)
The extent and nature of the Romano-British settlement N. of the
village (PRN. 9948)
The sites of the dwellings, outbuildings and precincts of
either of the two medieval manor-houses (PRN's 11,122 and 11,773)
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