Key moments
A Timeline
of Somerton
Domesday Book
Somerton is recorded in the Domesday Book. The village's name reveals its oldest purpose — summer pasture for livestock kept on the tableland above.
The Arsic Barony Divided
Robert Arsic dies without male heirs. The round Norman piers in St James's — still standing — date from their century. The division shapes Somerton's history for the next three hundred years.
The Reredos Carved
The stone reredos behind the altar of St James's is carved — the Last Supper in splendidly lively style. Hidden from the Puritans, it is restored in 1822 and remains one of the finest pieces of medieval carving in Oxfordshire.
Francis Lovell & Bosworth
Francis Lovell — Richard III's closest ally, who bore the third sword at his coronation — is attainted after Bosworth. The Crown holds Somerton for 25 years. Lovell was last seen swimming the Trent on horseback.
The Fermors Arrive
William Fermor acquires the full manor and builds a new house. The family remain staunch Catholics through the Reformation, protecting recusants for two centuries. Their tombs fill the south chapel of St James's.
The Enclosure Act
The Somerton Enclosure Act is passed. Open fields that had been farmed in common strips since the medieval period are consolidated and hedged. The landscape of the parish is transformed almost overnight.
The Oxford Canal
The Oxford Canal is completed. Somerton Deep Lock — No. 34 — is one of the deepest as-built locks in England, with a rise of approximately twelve feet.
The Railway Arrives
Somerton Station opens on the GWR line. Lord Jersey had to be promised a station in exchange for his agreement to the route. Queen Victoria's royal train passes through three or four times a year.
The Village School
The National School is rebuilt and enlarged. At its peak the school rolls more than sixty children, drawn from Somerton and the surrounding farms. The 1896 class photograph survives.
The Great War
Seven men from Somerton do not come home. John Henry Allen, Frederick Hollis, Albert A G Lewis, Harry Stevens, William Watts, Henry James Watts, and F Harry Varney Wise — their names are on the memorial plaque in St James's.
The Last Train
Fritwell & Somerton Station sees its last train on Saturday, 31 October 1964. Albert Fox: "12 trains stopped each day at Somerton right up to the closure, the first leaving at 6.05 a.m."
Bell Ringers & Village Life
The bell ringers of St James's are photographed — a snapshot of village continuity. Somerton's population has remained around three hundred for two centuries; its institutions quietly endure.
The Millennium
Somerton marks the millennium with a village celebration. Rosemary Arnold, Alice Bowmaker, and others begin the systematic recording of village history that forms the foundation of this website.
Somerton Now
A village of some three hundred people, surrounded by the same limestone fields. The church still holds services. The canal still flows past the deep lock. The history is still being written.
