- Minster Lovell
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Coordinates: 51°47′56″N 1°32′42″W / 51.799°N 1.545°W
Minster Lovell 
Minster Lovell
Minster Lovell shown within OxfordshirePopulation 1,348 (2001 census)[1] OS grid reference SP3110 Parish Minster Lovell District West Oxfordshire Shire county Oxfordshire Region South East Country England Sovereign state United Kingdom Post town Witney Postcode district OX29 Dialling code 01993 Police Thames Valley Fire Oxfordshire Ambulance South Central EU Parliament South East England UK Parliament Witney List of places: UK • England • Oxfordshire Minster Lovell is a village and civil parish on the River Windrush about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west of Witney in Oxfordshire.
Minster Lovell village has three parts: Old Minster, Little Minster and New Minster. Old Minster includes St. Kenelm's Parish Church, Minster Lovell Hall and the Old Swan Inn and Minster Mill Hotel. A large part of New Minster is the Charterville Allotments, which were founded by the Chartists in 1846-50.[2]
Contents
History
The dedication of the Church of England parish church to the Saxon Saint Kenelm and the name "Minster" in the toponym suggest that the village may have had a Saxon minster, possibly associated with a Mercian royal vill.[3] However, the earliest known documentary record of the church is from 1183 and the present St. Kenelm's Church is the product of complete rebuilding in the 15th century.[3]
The suffix "Lovell", from the main landowning family, was added to the name from the 13th century.[4] In 1197 a William Lovel (d.1213) held land here, probably granted in 1124 to his father William by Henry I.[5]
The Norman Ivry Abbey had a priory at Minster Lovell by 1226.[3] Because it was an alien priory, the Crown repeatedly seized its property between 1330 and 1441, until in the latter year Henry VI granted reversion of the priory's possessions to Eton College.[3]
Minster Lovell Hall and Dovecote are extensive ruins of a 15th century manor house, once belonging to William Lovel's descendant, Lord Lovell. There is a medieval dovecote nearby.
There is a legend that in 1708 the skeletal remains of Lord Lovell were discovered in a secret chamber in the manor house. Lord Lovell had fought in the Battle of Stoke in 1487, and had been seen escaping from the battle, but was never afterwards heard of. It is supposed that he had hidden himself there and died of starvation.[6]
Lord Lovell forfeited his lands to the Crown in 1485, and the property passed through several owners until it was bought in 1603 by Sir Edward Coke. The manor remained in the Coke family for several generations, and Thomas Coke, created Baron Lovel in 1728, abandoned Minster Lovell Hall in 1747 and partially dismantled it.[5]
Charterville is the third and largest of the Chartist estates. 300 acres (120 ha) were divided into 80 smallholdings with model cottages. 40 oxen and 18 pigs were provided to the winners of the plots, drawn by lot from the shareholders of the National Land Company, along with manure, firewood and seed. The area is still called Charterville Allotments, and the original plots still survive as freehold bungalows set in large gardens.
Amenities
The Old Swan Inn
Minster Lovell has two public houses: the Old Swan[7] and the White Hart.
Minster Lovell Cricket Club was founded in 1896.[8] Its teams play in the Oxfordshire Cricket Association league.[9] The club has a second ground 3 miles (4.8 km) away at Brize Norton.[8]
The River Windrush supports species including trout, chub and crayfish. To fish the river requires a permit, which is obtainable from a local fishing shop.
References
- ^ "Area selected: West Oxfordshire (Non-Metropolitan District)". Neighbourhood Statistics: Full Dataset View. Office for National Statistics. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=798813&c=Great+Tew&d=16&g=481687&i=1001x1003x1006&k=headcounts&o=1&m=0&r=1&s=1269378817046&enc=1&domainId=15&dsFamilyId=779. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ Rowley, 1978, pages 147, 149 & 173
- ^ a b c d Townley, 2006, pages 199–204
- ^ Townley, pages 177 to 184
- ^ a b Townley, pages 184-192
- ^ Bacon & Lumby, 1881, page 37
- ^ Old Swan & Minster Mill
- ^ a b Minster Lovell Cricket Club
- ^ Oxfordshire Cricket Association 2009
Sources and further reading
- Bacon, Francis (1881) [1622]. Lumby, Joseph Rawson. ed. Bacon's History of the Reign of King Henry VII, with Notes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 37.
- Page, William, ed (1907). A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 2. Victoria County History. Archibald Constable & Co. pp. 162–163. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=40218.
- Rowley, Trevor (1978). Villages in the Landscape. Archaeology in the Field Series. London: J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd. pp. 147, 149 & 173. ISBN 0 460 04166 5.
- Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). Oxfordshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 706–710. ISBN 0 14 071045 0.
- Townley, Simon C. (ed.); Colvin, Christina; Cragoe, Carol; Ortenberg, Veronica; Peberdy, R.B.; Selwyn, Nesta; Williamson, Elizabeth (2006). A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 15: Bampton Hundred (Part Three). Victoria County History. pp. 177–205. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=117024.
External links
Media related to Minster Lovell at Wikimedia CommonsOxfordshire • County Council elections • District Council elections • Witney County Constituency Towns Burford (Signet, Upton) • Carterton • Charlbury • Chipping Norton (Southcombe) • Witney (Cogges, Madley Park) • Woodstock (Hensington, Old Woodstock)
Large Villages Aston, Cote, Shifford and Chimney (Aston, Cote, Shifford, Chimney) • Bampton (Lower Haddon, Weald) • Brize Norton • Ducklington • Enstone (Church Enstone, Neat Enstone, Chalford, Cleveley, Fulwell, Gagingwell, Lidstone, Radford) • Eynsham (Barnard Gate) • Freeland • Hailey (New Yatt) • Hanborough (Church Hanborough, Long Hanborough) • Milton-under-Wychwood • Minster Lovell • North Leigh (East End, Wilcote) • Shipton-under-Wychwood • Standlake (Brighthampton) • Steeple Barton (Middle Barton) • StonesfieldOther Civil
Parishes
(Component
Villages
and Hamlets)Alvescot • Ascott-under-Wychwood (Ascott d'Oyley, Ascott Earl) • Asthall (Asthall Leigh, Worsham) • Black Bourton • Bladon • Blenheim • Broadwell • Bruern • Cassington (Worton) • Chadlington • Chastleton • Chilson (Shorthampton) • Churchill • Clanfield • Combe • Cornbury and Wychwood (Cornbury, Wychwood) • Cornwell • Crawley • Curbridge • Fawler • Fifield • Filkins and Broughton Poggs (Filkins, Broughton Poggs) • Finstock • Fulbrook • Glympton • Grafton and Radcot (Grafton, Radcot) • Great Tew • Hardwick-with-Yelford (Hardwick, Yelford) • Heythrop (Dunthrop) • Holwell • Idbury (Bould, Foscot) • Kelmscott • Kencot • Kiddington with Asterleigh (Asterleigh, Kiddington, Over Kiddington) • Kingham • Langford • Leafield • Lew • Little Faringdon • Little Tew • Lyneham • Northmoor • Over Norton • Ramsden (Mount Skippett) • Rollright (Great Rollright, Little Rollright) • Rousham • Salford • Sandford St. Martin (Ledwell) • Sarsden • Shilton • South Leigh • Spelsbury (Dean, Taston) • Stanton Harcourt • Swerford • Swinbrook and Widford (Swinbrook, Widford) • Tackley • Taynton • Westcott Barton • Westwell • Wootton (Dornford, Hordley) • Worton (Nether Worton, Over Worton)Former Districts
and BoroughsChipping Norton Rural District • Municipal Borough of Chipping Norton • Witney Urban District • Witney Rural District • Municipal Borough of Woodstock • Woodstock Rural DistrictFormer
ConstituenciesList of Parliamentary constituencies in Oxfordshire • List of places in Oxfordshire • List of civil parishes in Oxfordshire Categories:- Villages in Oxfordshire
- West Oxfordshire
- Civil parishes in Oxfordshire
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