Grove is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. The village is on Letcombe Brook, about north of Wantage and south-west of Oxford. The 2021 Census recorded the parish's population as 8,336. It is home to Formula One constructor Williams Racing.

History

The remains of a large Roman villa have recently been found near the village.

In 1622 Thomas Grove had a watermill at Grove.

Parish churches

King Stephen granted land at Grove to the Benedictine Abbey of Bermondsey in 1142. The font is an 18th-century wooden one brought from All Saints' parish church, Pusey. St. James' was a Gothic Revival building in an Early English Gothic style with six bays and a south aisle. It incorporates items from St. James' including the font, a stained glass window depicting St. James and a panel listing successive vicars of the parish.

Several bus services link Grove with local towns and villages. Stagecoach West, Oxford Bus Company and its sister company Thames Travel provide frequent daily services from Grove to Oxford, Abingdon, Didcot, Milton Park, Harwell Campus and Wantage. Night buses between Oxford and Wantage also operate on Friday and Saturday nights, with services running as late as 3am on these days.

The nearest railway station is , about east of Grove. The station can be reached by road, and bus services provide a direct link to the station.

Amenities

Grove has two primary schools:

:*Millbrook Primary School.

:*Grove Church of England Primary School.

Grove has three public houses:

:*The Baytree, Denchworth Road

:*The Bell, Main Street

:*The Volunteer Inn, Station Road

Sports and leisure

thumb|upright|Aerial view with the [[Williams F1 Team|Williams F1 base in the foreground, looking east to Didcot power stations]]

Since 1996, Grove has been the home to Formula One team and constructor Williams Racing, who moved from their original factory in Didcot. Williams won the World Constructors’ Championship in the 1996 and 1997 seasons, with Damon Hill winning the World Drivers’ Championship in 1996 and Jacques Villeneuve in 1997. As well as the factory, the Williams base also features an Experience Centre which includes tours, a museum and hands-on activities. The centre also hosts race day hospitality for fans.

Grove rugby union and association football clubs play at the Cane Lane parish recreation ground on the outskirts of the village. Grove Rugby Football Club was founded in 1971 and plays in the Southern League, North division. The Club fields four senior sides, including veterans. Grove RFC has a youth section, across twelve mini (mixed, under–7 to under–12) and junior groups (under–13 to under–18; including two girls' teams, under–15 and under–18). One of its alumni is Jon Dunbar, who captained Grove in the early 2000s before moving to Newcastle Falcons and then Leeds Tykes/Leeds Carnegie on a professional contract. Grove Challengers F.C., the local association football junior side, was founded in 1971. The club is open to children aged 5–17, and teams play in the Oxford Youth Football League.

A free weekly 5K Parkrun takes place in Grove. Every Saturday morning the event is held on a multi-lap course of the Grove fields and recreation grounds.

Twinning

Grove is twinned with:

  • Mably, France, since 1990

Nearby places

References

Sources

  • Grove Parish Council