South Moreton

infobox UK place

country = England
latitude= 51.5894

longitude= -1.1909

official_name= South Moreton
population=
civil_parish= South Moreton
shire_district= South Oxfordshire
shire_county = Oxfordshire
region= South East England

constituency_westminster= Wantage
post_town= DIDCOT
postcode_district = OX11
postcode_area= OX
dial_code= 01235
os_grid_reference= SU561881

South Moreton is a village and civil parish, about three miles east of Didcot, in the English county of Oxfordshire (formerly in Berkshire).

History

'Moretune' in the Domesday book is ambiguous, but four of the five manor houses are identifiable: (1) Saunderville is still known as 'The Manor', and is a delightful moated manor house with horses grazing in the railed paddocks, gladly encroached upon by the railway; (2) Huse or Bray is a recently renovated low building nearby, again with a paddock in front of it; (3) the only trace of Adresham is the grassy terrace upon which it once stood - there is a happily enlarged bungalow on the site; (4) Fulscot is half a mile west of the village, and is still a self-contained manor farm commune. The largest house in South Moreton is none of these, but The Hall, very close to the Huse and the Manor.Much Victorian history of the village is recorded in 'The Rector's Book', handwritten around 1905 from memories stretching back to 1845, and of which transcripts are available in the Oxfordshire Public Libraries. When the Great Western railway was being built, many of the cottages provided for the navvies as inns. Blotting paper was invented in South Moreton, in a mill commemorated by Paper Mill Lane. The Victorian villagers who enjoyed many shops, inns and businesses such as the mill, baker's and harness-maker's, would be delighted to learn that the village of Didcot, now swollen with housing estates, is advancing on their little village across the fields, like Burnham Woods coming to Dunsinane.

Character & Amenities

Of the four basic ingredients for a successful village, South Moreton boasts a public house, both church and chapel, (unusually) a school, but not a shop. There are one or two large houses on the High Street, some newer houses at the east of the village, modern social housing to the West, and some cottages in between, many thatched. Each three ingredient to the village is within the following three sections.

The Crown

The "Crown" public house, on High Street, was the last to be rebuilt by Wadworth of Devizes before the statutory limits on breweries owning public houses. It competes with two neighbouring up-market pubs, The Chequers in Aston Tirrold, and The Bear in North Moreton, each a mile away in opposite directions.

t John the Baptist Church

The "Church of England parish church", after the abrupt departure of the final rector, is now administered in a team ministry extending across six local parishes: it boasts an arguably Saxon doorway, and stands by some ancient earthworks by a ford at the outskirts of the village. The Strict Baptist Chapel has a significant local history and is very central. Its smartly dressed congregation walks about the High Street between the services every Sunday.

outh Moreton School

"South Moreton School" , also on High Street, is a successful small County Primary School which has been run for very many years by the same headmaster, Mr Keith Eaton, a Manxman who is also the chairman of the parish council (not to be confused with the parochial church council). Many children nowadays arrive from the neighbouring villages by car, creating regular traffic jams in the village during termtime.

The Old Post Office

The "Post-office/shop" was ruined by the opening of the Tesco, large supermarket in Didcot. In the absence of any material public transport, neither that nor the cycle path are of much use to the village's elderly or infirm residents, who can only collect their pensions from a travelling post office in The Crown. South Moreton has perforce become a commuter village.

Future Plans

In 2003, there was a vigorous campaign against the further expansion of Didcot in the direction of North and South Moreton, and as a result any expansion was cancelled and instead other plans were drawn up away from South and North Moreton. There is however, a general buzz that within fifty years South Moreton will be a suburb of Didcot - although this is highly unlikely in the foreseeable future.

As for the next few years, the village council have ideas of improving social facilities including the playground and the village hall - although the hall's license for public events (such as youth clubs) has recently expired.

External links

* [http://www.berkshirehistory.com/villages/southmoreton.html Royal Berkshire History: South Moreton]
* [http://www.south-moreton.oxon.sch.uk/ South Moreton School]