Kingston Bagpuize

Geography

The village is next to the junction of the A420 (Oxford – Swindon) and A415 (Abingdon – Witney) main roads. It is contiguous with Southmoor village to the west and about 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of Longworth village.

History

The toponym Kingston Bagpuize is derived from the village's original name Kingston plus the surname of Ralph de Bachepuz, a Norman nobleman from Bacquepuis in Normandy who aided William of Normandy in the Norman conquest of England in 1066.

The Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist was designed by John Fidel of Faringdon and built in 1799–1800. The building was remodelled in 1882 to the designs of Edwin Dolby.

Kingston Bagpuize House seems to have been built in about 1720. In the 20th century it was the home of John Buchan, 2nd Baron Tweedsmuir, the son of the novelist John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir.

In the Second World War there was a satellite airfield of RAF Abingdon east of the village. Remnants of the control tower are still visible near the cricket club. The lower part of the avenue of trees leading down from Kingston Bagpuize House were cut down during this time for aircraft safety. Evidence of this is that the trees at the east end of the avenue are shorter.

The ancient parish of Kingston Bagpuize was a strip parish, extending from the River Thames in the north in a thin strip to the River Ock in the south. It became a civil parish in 1866. In 1971 it was merged with the civil parish of Draycot Moor to form the parish of Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor.

Amenities

Kingston Bagpuize Cricket Club plays in The Oxford Times Cherwell Cricket League. Kingston Bagpuize and Southmoor have a bowls club and a Women's Institute. Kingston Bagpuize has an amateur theatre group.

Films

In 2012, the movie Tortoise in Love, was filmed in the village. The film was funded entirely with crowd funding from Kingston Bagpuize and the neighbouring village of Southmoor.