Carterton, Oxfordshire

History

Much of what is now the northern part of the town was held by the Moleyns family from at least 1369, but in 1429 William Lord Moleyns was killed at the siege of Orleans and the land passed to the Hungerford family. During the mediaeval period the main road through Carterton was one of the most important in the country, taking trains of packhorses laden with Cotswold wool over Radcot Bridge and on to Southampton for export to the weaving centres of Europe.

In the 1770s the land was acquired by the Duke of Marlborough.

The pattern of the present settlement dates from 1894 when part of the estate was sold to Homesteads Limited whose director was William Carter. The land was divided into plots of 6 acres and sold for £20 an acre with bungalows costing from £120. Many of the settlers were retired soldiers and people moving from the towns. Carterton soon made its name in the market gardening world. Black grapes from Frenchester Nurseries and the famous Carterton tomatoes were sold at Covent Garden Market.

Construction work on RAF Brize Norton began in 1935. Wartime saw the rapid growth of the base. Following a raid which destroyed 46 aircraft, the remainder were dispersed round the village and one hangar which is now an Aldi supermarket on the Alvescot Road. From 1950 to 1965 the camp was to be the home of the USAF bomber wings. The RAF returned in 1965 and undertook a large building programme making RAF Brize Norton its main air transport base in the country.

With the growth of the village, the small mission church at the central crossroads was replaced in 1963 by the church of St. John the Evangelist. The link with the mother church of St. Mary's at Black Bourton was kept alive by the donation of one of the bells from the tower. This was made by H. Knight of Reading and is dated 1619.

In the first decade of the 21st century the new Shilton Park district of northeast Carterton was built, providing a mix of housing for private ownership and social letting. The new St. John's Church of England primary school has been built at Shilton Park and construction of a local shopping centre is now complete.

Military repatriations

A new memorial garden has been built near the town to continue the public mourning seen at Royal Wootton Bassett as military repatriations for dead service personnel have now been routed to Brize Norton.

Education

Carterton has five primary schools:

St. John the Evangelist and St. Joseph's are voluntary controlled schools.

Carterton Community College is the town's secondary school.

Amenities

Carterton has three public houses:

The Siege Of Orleans, The Golden Eagle and the Beehive.

There is a public lending library in the town centre.

Sport and leisure

Carterton has a Non-League football team Carterton F.C. who play at Kilkenny Lane.

Carterton has a squash club, run by members for members, with 2 heated courts, changing rooms and bar/social area.

Retail

There are a number of shops, and supermarket chains Asda and Morrisons have stores with car parking in the town centre. There are plans to improve and expand the retail space in the centre and create more car parking. As a result, new chains such as The Original Factory Shop have recently opened in the town. West Oxfordshire Retail Park and a new business park are being built in the town. The Countryside Agency has awarded Carterton Beacon Status for the work that the Fast Forward team is undertaking on the regeneration of the town centre.

Housing

The town of Carterton has a varied mix of housing. The new development of Shilton Park has added many more houses to the current stock.

Many houses in Carterton are due to be demolished and replaced with newer stock. These are MoD housing stock that have long outlived their expected life.

Mayor

The current Mayor of Carterton is Cllr Mrs Lynn Little, who has held the position since 2013.

The grandfather of Theo Walcott was Mayor of Carterton from 2002–2004. Windell "Joe" Walcott was awarded an MBE in 2006 for his services to the community in Carterton and West Oxfordshire