Watlington, Oxfordshire

The Watlington area is likely to have been settled at an early date, encouraged by the proximity of the Icknield Way. The toponym means "settlement of Waecel's people" and indicates occupation from around the 6th century. A 9th-century charter by Æthelred of Mercia records eight 'manses' or major dwellings in Watlington.[2] The Domesday Book of 1086 referred to the town as Watelintone or Watelintune.[3] Medieval documents indicate that the modern street plan was in existence in the 14th century, as Cochynes-lane (Couching Street), and Brook Street are recorded.[2]

There are records of inns in Watlington since the 15th century. In 1722 the town's market was listed as being held on a Saturday.[4] By the end of the 18th century the town had six inns, all of which were bought up in the next few years by a local brewing family, the Haywards. The number of licensed premises increased until late in the 19th century when George Wilkinson, a Methodist bought six of them and closed them down. Today Watlington has three public houses remaining: The Spire & Spoke (ex-Carriers Arms), The Chequers[5] and The Fat Fox Inn.[6] Parliamentarian troops were billeted at Watlington during the English Civil War. It is thought that John Hampden stayed in the town the night before the Battle of Chalgrove Field.[7]

In 1664–65 Watlington Town Hall was built at the expense of Thomas Stonor. Its upper room was endowed by Stonor as a grammar school for boys, and in 1731 Dame Alice Tipping of Ewelme gave a further endowment to increase the number of pupils. In 1842 the town Vestry established a National School, which shared the same rooms in the town hall. In 1843 a National School for girls was built next to St Leonard's church. In 1872 the boys' and girls' schools were absorbed into a new Board school, which like its predecessors was affiliated to the National Society for Promoting Religious Education. In 1927 the school was divided into separate junior and senior schools. In 1956 a new secondary school – the Icknield School – opened for senior pupils and the primary school took over the old premises.[8] The Icknield School is now Icknield Community College.[9]

By 1895 the town hall, which was no longer used as a school, was in disrepair. In 1907 it was restored by public subscription.[2] It is a landmark at the meeting point of three roads in the centre of the town. Since 1990 Watlington has been twinned with the town of Mansle in the Poitou-Charentes region of France.[10] The Watlington Hoard, a collection of silver items dating back to the time of Alfred the Great in the 9th century, was rediscovered in Watlington by James Mather, an amateur metal-detectorist, in 2015. The hoard was subsequently excavated, and eventually purchased by the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford for £1.35m.[11]

The town of Watlington lies at the foot of Watlington Hill, a 240 metres (790 ft) peak on the western edge of the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Ridgeway National Trail walking route, which is part of the longer Icknield Way, passes nearby between the town and the hill. Due to its close proximity and easy access to the Chilterns, Watlington is a popular gateway to the many outdoor activities in the area, including hill walking, cycling and birdwatching, especially of the red kite, which is well established in the vicinity.

Watlington Hill is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna, and is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) as part of Watlington and Pyrton Hills.[12] It is managed by the National Trust.[13] The nearby Shirburn Hill is another SSSI in the area. The Watlington White Mark, a spire mark,[14] is cut into the chalk soil of Watlington Hill. This was designed by local squire Edward Horne, who felt that the parish church of St Leonard, when viewed from his home, would be more impressive if it appeared to have a spire. He therefore had this unusual folly cut into the chalk soil in 1764, and it continues to this day to be maintained by the local residents. The mark is 36 feet (11 m) wide at its base and 270 feet (82 m) long.[2]

View from Watlington towards the White Mark on Watlington Hill

Watlington Primary School

Icknield Community College

Early years and primary education in Watlington is provided by Watlington Primary School. Lower secondary education for students up to the age of 16 from Watlington and many of the surrounding villages is provided by Icknield Community College, a mixed-sex comprehensive school. Icknield Community College does not provide sixth form education, and instead works with three partnership schools in the area, Henley College in Henley-on-Thames, Lord Williams's School in Thame, and Wallingford School in Wallingford, as well as sending students to many other sixth forms and colleges in the area.

Watlington Town FC is a Non-League football club.[23] Its first team plays in North Berks Football League Division 1.[24] Watlington has a cricket club.[25] Its first eleven plays in Oxfordshire Cricket Association League Division 2.[26] The Watlington Club (previously the Watlington Memorial Club) provides facilities for the sports of tennis, squash and lawn bowls. Watlington has a Women's Institute.[27]

• Decathlete Peter Gabbett was born in Watlington in 1941.
• Actors Jeremy Irons and Sinéad Cusack have a home in Watlington.[28][29]
• Eric Parkin, pianist, at Greengates Cottage, High Street.
• First World War Royal Naval veteran Bill Stone lived in Watlington until he was 106.[30]

Watlington is twinned with Mansle, in southwestern France.[31]

Five episodes of the TV series Midsomer Murders have been filmed partly in Watlington, with the library featuring as Midsomer Library.[32] At least one episode of the TV series Inspector Morse was filmed partly in Watlington, with the nearby Shirburn Castle featuring as the Balcombe family home in the episode Happy Families.[33] The 2014 film Fury, starring Brad Pitt, was partly filmed in and near Watlington.[34] The pivotal balloon-accident-scene in the opening chapter of the novel Enduring Love by Ian McEwan takes place on an escarpment of the Chiltern Hills above Watlington.

A Thames Travel bus on route T1 arrives in Oxford from Watlington

The M40 motorway is about 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) from Watlington, with access at junctions 5 and 6. There are frequent coach services to Oxford and London, and to London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports, from M40 junction 6 at nearby Lewknor. Bus routes serving Watlington have been reduced in the 2010s because of funding cuts by Oxfordshire County Council. Earlier services to Thame, Wallingford and Reading have been discontinued. The only remaining service is the Oxford Bus Company service city11[35] between Watlington and Oxford.

In 1872 the Watlington & Princes Risborough Railway was opened. Its Watlington terminus is in fact in Pyrton parish, 1⁄2 mile (800 m) from Watlington. In 1883 the Great Western Railway took over control of the line.[36] In 1957 British Railways closed Watlington station and withdrew all passenger services between Watlington and Chinnor, which was still being used by the local Chinnor Cement Works.[37] In 1961 British Railways withdrew all services from the line, the track was lifted and the line left abandoned. Watlington railway station site remains, as does the station building, the corrugated iron carriage shed, and the brickwork of the goods shed.

• Chiltern Hills
• Red kite
• Christmas Common
• Watlington Park
• Shirburn
• Category:People from Watlington, Oxfordshire

• Lobel, Mary D, ed. (1964). A History of the County of Oxford. Victoria County History. Vol. 8: Lewknor and Pyrton Hundreds. London: Oxford University Press for the Institute of Historical Research. pp. 210–252.
• Nugent-Grenville, George (1854). Some memorials of John Hampden: his party and his times. London: Chapman & Hall. p. 359. Retrieved 20 September 2010. Watlington.
• Oppitz, Leslie (2000). Lost Railways of the Chilterns. Newbury: Countryside Books. pp. 20–23. ISBN 1-85306-643-5.
• Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). Oxfordshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 829–832. ISBN 0-14-071045-0.
• Stow, W (1722). Remarks on London, being an Exact Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster, Borough of Southwark. London. Retrieved 20 September 2010.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Watlington, Oxfordshire.

• Watlington Parish Council