Long Wittenham

Long Wittenham is a village on the south bank of the River Thames in South Oxfordshire. In 1974 it came from Berkshire to the county of Oxfordshire.

History

There are crop marks (dating from the 6th Century) that there must have been a large collection of buildings, maybe a royal palace or at least high status Saxon enclosure. The number of objects that were found in Saxon burial sites around the village support this."Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire" John Blair, p.31 These large, Saxon burial sites also indicate a good sized population, that lasted over many years.

The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book. By Tudor times,  it had a population of around 200, with crops: wheat, oats, barley and even rye. Following a local legend Oliver Cromwell addressed the villagers on his way to his niece's wedding, in neighbouring Little Wittenham.

Buildings
The village Cross has First Millennial origins: the base dating from the 7th century. St. Birinus preached here when he brought Christianity to the area. The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary, begun around 1120, is on the site of a previous Saxon church.  Cruck Cottage can be architecturally dated to being around 800 years old and as such is (possibly) the oldest house in South Oxfordshire.

The building housing Pendon Museum, originally started life as The Three Poplars - a working man's pub. It was sold in 1954 and now houses a model railway museum.

Location
Long Wittenham is in the Thames Valley  north of Didcot, and  southeast of Abingdon. To the west is the village of Appleford, which has the nearest railway station, on the line between Didcot and Oxford.

References

Further reading

Pevsner, Nikolaus: The Buildings of England, Berkshire, 1966 Penguin Books

Other websites
Berkshire History: Long Wittenham including a ghost story
Long Wittenham Church of England Primary School
Long Wittenham Athletic Club/Football Club

Category:Villages in Oxfordshire
Category:Civil parishes in Oxfordshire