South Moreton

History

Moretune in the Domesday book is ambiguous but four of the five manor houses are identifiable:

The largest house in South Moreton is none of these, but is The Hall, very close to the Huse, and the last farm in the village.

Much Victorian history of the village is recorded in The Rector's Book, handwritten around 1905 from memories stretching back to 1845, and now deposited in the Berkshire County Archives at Reading.

At the time of the South Moreton Inclosure Act, 1818 c.18, the dominant landlord was Henry Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham and many of the inclosures were allotted to him. Later in the century a London butcher of the name of Hedges (by coincidence, also the surname of another powerful and extensive Wallingford-based family) used Rich's Sidings of the new Great Western Railway, two miles to the west by Didcot station, to supply much of the London meat trade; Hedges amassed a large fortune and much local land, including the inclosures at Hall Farm and Fulscot Manor, both of which are still owned and farmed by his descendants.

Character and amenities

South Moreton has a public house, a school, and a chapel, but not a shop or a village hall, and the church is closed except for three services a year. There are a few large old houses on the High Street, some newer cottages at the east of the village, modern social housing to the West, and some seventeenth century cottages in between, many thatched.

Both Moreton Cricket Club and the North & South Moreton Women's Institute are both based in North Moreton.

Public transport

Two Oxfordshire County Council bus routes serve South Moreton. Route 95 links the Moretons and other local villages with Didcot three times per day, six days per week. The current contractor operating route 95 is Thames Travel. Route 131 is a market day service that links the Moretons and other villages with Wallingford once a week on Friday. It is currently operated by White's Coaches of Berinsfield.

The nearest railway station is Didcot Parkway.

Churches

The Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist at Bethesda, with its arguably Saxon doorway, stands by ancient earthworks at the South-Western outskirts of the village, by a ford on the old pilgrim route from the Downs to Dorchester. The church holds services on principal feast days and on certain other occasions only. Weddings, funerals and baptisms can also take place by arrangement (telephone 01235 850267). The parish is a member of the Churn Benefice, along with the neighbouring parishes of North Moreton, Aston Tirrold, Aston Upthorpe, Blewbury, Hagbourne, and Upton.

South Moreton has a Strict Baptist chapel which has three services weekly and is often full.

Public house

The Crown Inn is on the High Street and for many years offered home-cooked food seven days a week, gaining a reputation for consistency and moderate pricing. The village darts team met in the pub once a week. It was closed for some years around 1990, but re-opened successfully as the last pub to be rebuilt by Wadworth Brewery before the implementation of statutory limits on breweries owning public houses. Owing to a loss of customer confidence, it declined in the 2000s and closed in 2011. It re-opened yet again on 21 September 2012 but ceased trading in mid-2015, illustrating the general malaise afflicting the licensed trade.

South Moreton School

South Moreton School, 200 yards east of Gothic Lodge on the High Street, is a County Primary School. Many children nowadays arrive from the neighbouring villages by car, creating regular traffic jams in the village during school terms.

The former post office

The village post office and shop closed in 1993 after the opening of Tesco supermarket 2 miles (3 km) away.