Ambrosden is a village and civil parish in Cherwell, Oxfordshire, England, southwest of Bicester to which it is linked by the A41 road, and from Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,248. The parish is bounded by the River Ray to the south, its tributary the River Bure to the west, the outskirts of Bicester to the north and field boundaries to the east.

The village is east of Alchester Roman Town. Ambrosden has a Church of England parish church and a public house. Since the Second World War Ambrosden has housed British Army personnel stationed at St. George's Barracks, which is at Arncott about south of Ambrosden. The Ministry of Defence had many new houses built at Ambrosden in the early 1950s. The word don or den, an Old English word meaning "a place on a hill or ascent", was added as a suffix. Thus, a Roman name and an English syllable may have been combined as "Ambrosden".

This interpretation, however, has been rejected by historians who believe the toponym was derived not from Ambrosius, but from the Old English for "Ambre's hill". In its construction, the house reused stone from the manor house, mixed with local limestone from the Stone Pitts quarry at Blackthorn, Oxfordshire and Cotswold stone from Bibury in Gloucestershire.

The church plan, as existed and as chronicled in 1823 records, and in possession of John Wayland, esq. of Woodeaton, had a large courtyard entered through two elegant gates with a cross fixed at the northern part. The southern end of courtyard also had a cemetery. The main church building comprised:

thumb|upright|St Mary the Virgin parish church: base and broken shaft of 14th- or 15th-century churchyard cross

The south porch leads to an aisle that is lit by four two-light windows. Between the aisle and the nave is a four-bay arcade. The nave has three clerestory windows similar to those in the north wall of the church. The nave pews are 17th-century. The pulpit and reading desk are late 17th-century, added in the reign of James II. The pulpit was refurbished in 1819 with cushion and cloth given by Lady Turner, bearing insignia of the Turner family. The nave had a west gallery where there was a painting of the Resurrection of Jesus. According to inscriptions it was given by the parishioners. of Woodstock in 1697. and St Mary's also serves as the British Army garrison chapel.

The nearby vicarage dates from 1638. The coal was landed at Arncott Bridge and delivered thence by wheelbarrows to Sir Edward Turner, 2nd Baronet at Ambrosden House. The 1876 school building is now the village hall.

thumb|The village hall in Merton Road was built in 1876 as the parish school

The Buckinghamshire Railway's Oxford and line was built through the northwest corner of the parish and opened in 1851.

Amenities

Ambrosden's amenities include the parish church, the Turner Arms pub, a post office, a village hall (the former school) and the current primary school. The village has also a hair salon, a car dealer and garage and a craft shop. The Army provides its personnel and their families with a community centre that includes a library, a gymnasium, a careers centre and an indoor swimming pool.

Two Stagecoach in Oxfordshire bus routes serve Ambrosden. Route 29 links the village to Bicester and HM Prison Bullingdon and provides a limited service to Arncott. Route H5 links the village to Bicester, and also to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Headington via Islip and Barton.

Notes

thumb|St Mary the Virgin parish church: belfry opening and [[Pargeting|pargetted panels on the east side of the tower. The panel on the left shows a lion; that on the right was made in 1587, restored in 1892 and seems to show a griffin.]]

References

  • Ambrosden Parish Council