Ducklington

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Ducklington
240px
Ducklington pond, church and former schoolhouse
Ducklington is located in Oxfordshire
Ducklington
Ducklington
 Ducklington shown within Oxfordshire
Population 1,581 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid reference SP3507
Civil parish Ducklington
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
Website Ducklington Parish Council
List of places
UK
England
Oxfordshire

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Ducklington is a village and civil parish on the River Windrush 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Witney in West Oxfordshire.

History

Ducklington is one of the earliest Saxon parishes to be recorded in Oxfordshire. In a charter of AD 958 King Edgar the Peaceful granted at Ducklington to his Minister, Eanulf. The toponym "Ducklington" may originate from "Ducel's Farm" or "the farm of the sons of Docca", but it is locally thought to have originated from the central duck pond, where many ducks and ducklings have lived for centuries. After the Norman Conquest Ducklington was held by Robert D'Oyly, a Norman nobleman who took part in William I's conquest of England. The Dyve family then held the Lordship of Ducklington throughout the 13th and 14th centuries, living there until early in the reign of Edward III.

The Church of England parish church of Saint Bartholomew[2] is 12th century.[3] The Gothic Revival architect E.G. Bruton restored the building in 1871.[3] The bell tower has a ring of six bells[4] including one cast by Henry Bagley of Chacombe in 1732.[5]

The village also has a Baptist Chapel.[6]

The former village schoolhouse was built in 1858.[3] The modern Ducklington Church of England Primary School is across the village green from the original site.[7][8]

File:Ducklington StBartholomew south.jpg
St. Bartholomew's Church

Today, Ducklington is notably for the rare Fritillary flower (mainly of the Snake's Head variety), many of which grow in a specially designated meadow just outside the village. Before the Second World War, many fritillaries had grown on fields all over the Windrush Valley. However, the national drive for food production during the war meant that most meadows were intensively ploughed, the rivers dredged, and consequently the fritillaries were lost. Only the current fritillary field was left coincidentally unploughed. The flowers have survived with help from both locals and farmers. Once a year, the local community celebrates Fritillary Sunday when the field, church and hall are opened so that the public may walk amongst and enjoy the flowers. The celebration has been featured in Country Life magazine.[citation needed]

Amenities

Ducklington has a Morris dancing group[9] and Mummers performances. It also has its own Morris Dance tradition; its own style of dance that was collected around the beginning of the 19th century. The Ducklington tradition is danced by many sides throughout Britain and the United States.[citation needed]

Ducklington has two public houses: The Bell and The Strickland Arms, and a sports and social club. Recently[when?] Ducklington has hosted several flower and garden shows.

The former tithe barn is now the village hall, which has been renovated in the last few years.[10] It is used by village groups including the Parish Council and is the parish polling station in local and national elections. Ducklington has a Women's Institute.[11]

Sport

The village football team won the Oxfordshire Junior Shield in 2008.[12] It beat Freeland 1-0 in the final to win the trophy for the first time in its history. Ducklington Sports Club has numerous youth and adult cricket and football teams. The football section has three men's teams, the first team is currently being managed by Ashley Edwards, the Reserves are managed by Scott Newcombe and the A team are managed by Dan Bullock. They compete in the Witney and District Premier, Division 2 and 3 respectively.[13] In the past a veterans' team has run and the club also run nine boys' teams. The cricket section has one adult teams and three youth teams.[14] The sports club is currently trying to build a new pavilion as it has outgrown its current building.[citation needed]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Parish Church of Saint Bartholomew
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, p. 589.
  4. ↑ Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers, Witney & Woodstock Branch: Witney & Woodstock Bell Towers
  5. ↑ Crossley & Currie 1996, pp. 140–148.
  6. ↑ Oxfordshire Churches & Chapels: Ducklington
  7. ↑ Ducklington CE Primary School
  8. ↑ Ducklington Pre-School
  9. ↑ Ducklington Morris
  10. ↑ District Council Grant Scheme
  11. ↑ Oxfordshire Federation of Women's Institutes
  12. ↑ Oxfordshire FA Results
  13. ↑ [1]
  14. ↑ Ducklington Sports Club website

Sources

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External links

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