Coleshill, Oxfordshire

This article is about the village and civil parish in Oxfordshire. For the Warwickshire town, see Coleshill, Warwickshire.

Coleshill
All Saints' parish church
Coleshill Location within Oxfordshire
Population	156 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference	SU2393
Civil parish	Coleshill
District	Vale of White Horse
Shire county	Oxfordshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Swindon
Postcode district	SN6
Dialling code	01793
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Oxfordshire
Ambulance	South Central
UK Parliament	Witney
List of places UK England Oxfordshire 51°38′31″N1°39′40″W / 51.642°N 1.661°W / 51.642; -1.661

Coleshill is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire, England. Coleshill was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The village is beside the River Cole, which forms both the western boundary of the parish and also the county boundary with Wiltshire. Coleshill is about 3 miles (5 km) west of the market town of Faringdon, and about 2 miles (3 km) east of the Wiltshire town of Highworth. The village is on the B4019 road that links the two towns. The 2011 Census recorded the population of the parish as 156. ^[1]

Toponym

The toponym "Coleshill" is derived from the Old English kollr, meaning "head", "top" or "hill". It may be that the river was named after the hill, and then "hill" was added as a suffix to "Cole". ^[2] The earliest known record of it is Colleshyll in a Saxon will dated 950. The Domesday Book of 1086 records it as Coleselle and Coleshalle. A document dated 1220 and included in the Book of Fees records it as Coleshull. ^[2] Coleshull and Colleshulle were used from the 14th to the 16th century, ^[3] before the current form came to be used.

Coleshill estate

The National Trust's Coleshill Estate ^[4] is in the parish. Coleshill House was the ancestral home of the Earls of Radnor.

In the Second World War, Coleshill House, ^[5] on the estate, was the headquarters of the secret Auxiliary Units, who were to hamper Nazi German forces if the United Kingdom were invaded. ^[6] Coleshill House burned down in 1952. ^[7]

Parish church

The oldest parts of the Church of England parish church of All Saints are late 12th-century; ^[8] other parts are 13th-century and the tower is 15th-century. The building was refashioned in the 18th century and restored by Street. ^[9] In 1708, Abraham I Rudhall of Gloucester cast a ring of five bells for the west tower. In 1884, Mears and Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry recast the third bell. ^[3] In 1938, Mears and Stainbank cast a new treble bell to increase the ring to six. ^[10] All Saints is a Grade II* listed building. ^[8]

The Radnor Arms pub

Amenities

Much of the village was shaped by the local landowner, the Earl of Radnor. Coleshill has an 18th-century pub, ^[11] the Radnor Arms. ^[12] School Lane has a number of Grade II listed Radnor estate cottages dating from about 1850.

Notable people

The record producer Sir George Martin lived at the former rectory until his death in March 2016. His private funeral was held in All Saints parish church. ^[13]

References

1. UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Coleshill Parish (1170217865)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 31 July 2018.
2. Ekwall 1960 , Coleshill
3. Ditchfield & Page 1924, pp. 517–523.
4. "The Buscot and Coleshill Estates". National Trust. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
5. "Coleshill House Pre War". Coleshill Auxiliary Research Team. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
6. "The Auxiliary Units History". Coleshill Auxiliary Research Team. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
7. "Coleshill House Post War". Coleshill Auxiliary Research Team. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
8. Historic England. "Church of All Saints (Grade II*) (1368120)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 31 July 2018.
9. Betjeman, J. (ed.) (1968) Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches: the South. London: Collins; p. 112
10. Davies, Peter (1 February 2018). "Coleshill All Saints". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers . Central Council of Church Bell Ringers . Retrieved 31 July 2018.
11. Historic England. "The Radnor Arms public house (Grade II) (1052658)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 31 July 2018.
12. The Radnor Arms
13. "Sir George Martin: Private funeral held for producer". BBC News. 15 March 2016.

Bibliography

• Ditchfield, PH; Page, William, eds. (1924). "Coleshill". A History of the County of Berkshire. Victoria County History. Vol. IV. assisted by John Hautenville Cope. London: The St Katherine Press. pp. 517–523.
• Ekwall, Eilert (1960) [1936]. Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names (4th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Coleshill. ISBN   0198691033.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966). Berkshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 117–119.

External links

Media related to Coleshill, Oxfordshire at Wikimedia Commons