Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire

Historical Description

Chipping-Norton, a parish, a municipal borough, and market-town, in Oxfordshire. It is in the NW part of the county, on the borders of Warwickshire, Gloucestershire, and Worcestershire, 19 miles NW from Oxford, and it has a station on the G.W.R., and a post, money order, and telegraph office. It occupies an eminence above the railway station, consists chiefly of one broad street on the ridge of a hill, commanding extensive views, and is noted for its pure and bracing atmosphere. It is governed by a corporation consisting of a mayor, four aldermen, and twelve common councillors. The industries include brewing, glove-making, and the manufacture of tweeds and woollen goods. There is a weekly market on Wednesday, chiefly for grain, and fairs are held on the first Wednesday in every month, which are well attended. Statute fairs for the hiring of servants are also held on the Wednesdays before 10 October and the two following Wednesdays. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Oxford; gross yearly value, £300 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester. The church is a fine building of stone, chiefly in the Perpendicular style. It has some interesting architectural features and several ancient tombs and monuments. There is a Roman Catholic church, Baptist, Primitive Methodist, and Wesleyan chapels, and a Friends' meeting-house. The town-hall is a building of stone in the Classic style. There are almshouses for eight widows. Acreage, 2456; population, 4222. There is an open common of 80 acres close to the town, which is used as a recreation ground. Over Norton is a hamlet and a township three-fourths of a mile N. Acreage, 2345; population, 342. It has a poor's allotment of 50 acres. Over Norton House is one of the chief residences.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Church Records

Ancestry.co.uk, in association with Oxfordshire Family History Society and Oxfordshire History Centre, have images of the Parish Registers for Oxfordshire online.

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Chipping Norton from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Norton, Chipping (St. Mary))

Land and Property

A full transcript of the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Oxfordshire is available online

Maps

Online maps of Chipping Norton are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Oxfordshire newspapers online:

• Oxford Journal
• Banbury Advertiser
• Banbury Guardian
• Oxford University and City Herald
• Oxford Chronicle and Reading Gazette
• Faringdon Advertiser and Vale of the White Horse Gazette
• Oxford Times
• Banbury Beacon
• Ossett Observer

Visitations Heraldic

The Visitations of Oxfordshire, 1566, 1574 &1634 are available on the Heraldry page.