Steeple Aston is a village and civil parish on the edge of the Cherwell Valley, in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire, England, about north of Oxford, west of Bicester, and south of Banbury. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 947. The village is above sea level. The River Cherwell and Oxford Canal pass east of the village. The river forms part of the eastern boundary of the parish. The parish's southern boundary, south of the village, also forms part of Cherwell District's boundary with West Oxfordshire.

History

The earliest evidence of occupation in the area is an Iron Age burial site in the west of the parish near Hopcroft's Holt. The Domesday Book of 1086 records Steeple Aston as Estone, derived from East Tun meaning "east village". By 1220 it was Stipelestun, with the "steeple" prefix probably referring to the church tower. In 1754 the licensee and his wife at Hopcroft's Holt were murdered. Richard Keene of Burford cast the three oldest bells in 1674 and 1675. A further bell was cast in 1700 by one of the Chandler family The village forms part of The Astons and The Heyfords ward of Cherwell District Council and has two councillors.

Transport

Steeple Aston lies east of the A4260 road between Banbury and Oxford. To the east it is linked with Bicester by the B4030. About south-east of the village is Heyford railway station providing a rail link to Banbury, Oxford and Birmingham. The nearest motorway access is via junctions 9 or 10 of the M40.

Amenities

Steeple Aston village has one public house. The Red Lion opened in 1903 and is controlled by Hook Norton Brewery. It previously had another pub, The White Lion, which opened in 1870. There is also The Holt Hotel public house on the edge of the parish on the A4260 main road about southwest of the village. The village has a village shop and post office, school, pre-school, village hall, and a sports and recreation club and sports pitch. Annual parish events include the Whit Races, and the spring and summer flower shows.

The Steeple Aston Players used to be an amateur dramatic group that regularly performed plays in the village hall. Steeple Aston Village Archive (SAVA) holds annual talks and exhibitions and has produced CDs and books, all on the subject of the village's history. In September 2013, SAVA moved into its new Village History Centre adjacent to the Village Hall, which is open every Saturday morning or by appointment. Steeple Aston Cricket Club is an inclusive village side with players aged between 10 and 59, playing against surrounding villages. In the last ten years, the club has won two thirds of its matches. In 1988 parts of the village were designated a conservation area. On the edge of the village was the narrow-gauge Beeches Light Railway owned by Adrian Shooter.

thumb|[[Ford Model T on Beeches Light Railway]]

Education

thumb|upright|[[Samuel Radcliffe, principal of Brasenose College, Oxford, founded a primary school in Steeple Aston in 1640 along with a pair of almshouses]]

Steeple Aston has one school, Dr. Radcliffe's Church of England Primary School, in Fir Lane. Dr. Samuel Radcliffe, principal of Brasenose College, Oxford, founded it in 1640 along with a pair of almshouses.

Parish magazine and website

Steeple Aston Life, which was first printed in August 1973, is a monthly magazine delivered freely to all residents and sold at the village shop.

Early in John le Carré's novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, George Smiley, after a disagreeable dinner, contemplates selling up and leaving London to live in the country and thinks to himself: "Steeple Aston sounds about right."

References

Sources and further reading

  • Steeple Aston, Oxfordshire
  • Steeple Aston Village Archive (SAVA)
  • Steeple Aston Bell Ringers