Wootton (St. Mary)

WOOTTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Woodstock, hundred of Wootton, county of Oxford, 2¼ miles (N. by W.) from Woodstock; containing 1129 inhabitants. The parish lies on the banks of the river Glym, and comprises about 4000 acres, chiefly arable land, with a small portion of meadow and pasture. At Old Woodstock, and in other parts of the parish, glovemaking is carried on. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £15. 2. 8½., and in the patronage of New College, Oxford, with a net income of £783: certain tithes were commuted for land in 1769, and others under the recent act for a rent-charge of £259. 10. 6.; there are 56 acres of glebe. The church is partly in the Norman style, but principally of later date. Charles Parrott, in 1785, bequeathed £2300 India annuities, now producing about £90 per annum, for the maintenance, education, and apprenticing of twelve boys; in 1835 a school-house was built. Another school was endowed by the Rev. Lancelot C. Lee, for clothing and teaching six girls. Numerous vestiges of Roman occupation have been discovered at various times; and on Chaldon Hill are the remains of an exploratory camp, near which passes the Roman Akemanstreet.