In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Bampton like this:
BAMPTON, an ancient village or township, a parish, a subdistrict, and a hundred, in Oxford. The village stands on a small tributary of the Thames, 5½ miles SSW of Witney r. station, and 6 N NE of Faringdon. It was formerly called Bampton-in-the-Bush; and is sometimes designated, in union with the hamlet of Weald, as Bampton-with-Weald. ...
It was a place of some importance in the times of the Saxons; and it rose to still more importance, as a market-town, after the Conquest. It has a post office‡ under Faringdon, a town hall, a parish church, a Baptist chapel, a weekly market on Wednesday, and a large horse fair on 26 and 27 Aug. The church at it is a handsome cruciform edifice, with a tall spire; and possesses considerable portions of Norman architecture; yet includes features of almost every period from the Conquest till the time of George III., and w as partially restored in 1869. A castle of Aylmer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, stood near the church, and was described, in the time of the Common wealth, as "a quadrangular building, moated round, with towers at each corner, and a gatehouse of tower-like character on the south and east sides;" and picturesque remains of it still exist as two farmhouses, called Ham Court and Castle Farm. Real property of the township, £8,872, Pop., 1,713. Houses, 393. The parish includes also the chapelry of Shifford, and the hamlets of Weald, Brighthampton, Lew, Chimney, Coate, and Aston. Acres, 8,750. Real property, £17,492. Pop., 2,863. Houses, 651. The property is much subdivided. The living is a three-fold vicarage,- Bampton, Bampton-Aston, or Aston-Bampton, and Bampton-Lew; of the value of respectively £550,* £550,* and £300;* all in the diocese of Oxford, and in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Exeter. Endowed schools have £78, and other charities £271. Phillips, the author of "Cyder" and the "Splendid Shilling," was a native.-The subdistrict contains six other parishes; and is in the district of Witney. Acres, 20,300. Pop., 5,629. Houses, 1,269.-The hundred includes seventeen parishes and parts of two others; is bounded by Berks on the south and by Gloucester on the west; and measures about 13 miles by 11½. Acres, 48,188. Pop. in 1851, 16,539; in 1861, 16,123. Houses, 3,554.
Bampton through time
Bampton is now part of West Oxfordshire district. Click here for graphs and data of how West Oxfordshire has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Bampton itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Bampton in West Oxfordshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/9932
Date accessed: 20th April 2024
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