Watlington, Oxfordshire

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Coordinates: 51°38′42″N 1°00′30″W / 51.6451, -1.0083

Watlington
Watlington shown within Oxfordshire
Population	2,900
OS grid reference	SU687945
- London	43.2mi
Parish	Watlington
District	South Oxfordshire
Shire county	Oxfordshire
Region	South East
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WATLINGTON
Postcode district	OX49
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Oxfordshire
Ambulance	South Central
European Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Henley
List of places: UK • England • Oxfordshire

Watlington is a market town and civil parish in the county of Oxfordshire, UK, with just under 3,000 inhabitants. The parish is located in the Chiltern Hills approximately halfway between Oxford and Reading, Berkshire. Also in the parish are the villages of Greenfield and Christmas Common. The M40 motorway, which links London to Birmingham, is only two and a half miles from the town centre.

1 Landmarks
2 Buildings
3 History
4 Transport
- 4.1 Train
- 4.2 Bus
5 Administration
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Landmarks

The famous walking route, the Icknield Way (an ancient route from Cromer in Norfolk to Avebury in Wiltshire), passes the town along the dry, high ground to the east, and Watlington is a convenient location to begin walks along it, with Watlington Hill and its "White Mark" a popular stopping point.

View from Watlington town centre towards the Chilterns, with the 'white mark' visible

The Watlington White Mark was originally designed by local squire Edward Horner, who felt that the Norman church of St Leonard, when viewed from his home, would appear more impressive if it looked as though it had a spire. He had this unusual folly cut into the chalk of Watlington Hill in 1764. It is 270 feet tall and 36 feet wide.

Watlington Hill is a great place for observing the previously endangered birds of prey, Red Kites, which were introduced into the area in the 1990's.

[edit] Buildings

Aside from this the most striking feature of Watlington is its town & market hall in the centre of the town, which was built in 1665 to serve originally as a boys' grammar school.

Watlington Town / Market Hall (westerly aspect)

Watlington Town / Market Hall (southerly aspect)

[edit] History

The Watlington area is likely to have been settled at an early date, encouraged by the proximity of the Icknield Way. The placename means 'settlement of Waecel's people' and this indicates occupation from around the 6th century. A 9th-century charter mentions eight 'manses' or major dwellings in Watlington and the Domesday survey of 1086 identifies the area as being an agricultural community valued at £610. The Town also has an Anglo-Saxon Church which forms an integral part of the town's architecture and functionality.

Watlington was also a site used in the English Civil War for housing troops: it is thought that John Hampden stayed in the town the night before the Battle of Chalgrove Field. World War I veteran Bill Stone lived in Watlington until the age of 106.

[edit] Transport

[edit] Train

Watlington is famous for the former Great Western Railway branchline from Watlington to Princes Risborough. An oddity of this branch line was that Watlington Station was in an isolated field around a mile from Watlington Town itself. The station site remains as does the carriage shed, station building (although very overgrown) and the brickwork of the goods shed.

The line has been comprehensively documented in two volumes entitled Country Branchline - An Intimate Portrait by Paul Karau and Chris Turner, published by Wild Swan Press.

Part of the line has been restored as a heritage railway named the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway.

[edit] Bus

Bus services include:

Watlington to Oxford, Thames Travel service 101 ^[1]
Watlington to Thame, Red Rose service 124 ^[2]
Watlington to Wallingford, Thames Travel service 125 ^[3]
Stokenchurch-Watlington-Reading, Motts Travel service M1 ^[4]

[edit] Administration

The local Member of Parliament for Watlington is John Howell (Conservative).

[edit] References

[edit] External links

v • d • e The District of South Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire • County Council elections • District Council elections • Henley County Constituency • Wantage County Constituency

Towns	Didcot • Henley-on-Thames • Thame (Moreton) • Wallingford • Watlington (Northend)

Large Villages	Benson (Preston Crowmarsh) • Berinsfield • Brightwell-cum-Sotwell • Chalgrove • Chinnor • Cholsey (Winterbrook) • Crowmarsh (Crowmarsh Gifford, North Stoke, Mongewell, Newnham Murren) • Ewelme • Garsington • Goring-on-Thames • Great Milton • Horspath (Bullingdon Green) • Sandford-on-Thames • Shiplake (Lower Shiplake) • Sonning Common • Wheatley • Woodcote

Other Civil Parishes (Component Villages and Hamlets)	Adwell (Postcombe) • Aston Rowant • Aston Tirrold • Aston Upthorpe • Beckley and Stowood (Bekley, Stowood) • Berrick Salome (Berrick Prior, Roke, Rokemarsh) • Binfield Heath • Bix and Assendon (Bix, Bix Bottom, Lower Assendon, Middle Assendon) • Brightwell Baldwin • Britwell Salome • Checkendon • Clifton Hampden (Burcot) • Crowell • Cuddesdon and Denton (Cuddesdon, Denton) • Culham • Cuxham with Easington (Cuxham, Easington) • Dorchester • Drayton St. Leonard • East Hagbourne (Coscote) • Elsfield • Eye and Dunsden (Sonning Eye, Dunsden Green, Playhatch) • Forest Hill with Shotover (Forest Hill, Shotover) • Goring Heath (Whitchurch Hill, Cray's Pond) • Great Haseley • Harpsden • Highmoor • Holton • Ipsden • Kidmore End (Gallowstree Common) • Lewknor (South Weston) • Little Milton • Little Wittenham • Long Wittenham • Mapledurham (Trench Green, Chazey Heath) • Marsh Baldon • Moulsford • Nettlebed • Newington (Great Holcombe) • North Moreton • Nuffield • Nuneham Courtenay • Pishill with Stonor (Pishill, Stonor, Christmas Common, Russell's Water) • Pyrton • Rotherfield Greys • Rotherfield Peppard • Shirburn • South Moreton (Fulscot) • South Stoke (Littlestoke) • Stadhampton (Chiselhampton, Brookhampton, Ascott) • Stanton St. John • Stoke Row • Stoke Talmage • Swyncombe • Sydenham (Emmington, Kingston Stert) • Tetsworth • Tiddington-with-Albury (Tiddington, Albury) • Toot Baldon • Towersey • Warborough (Shillingford) • Waterstock • West Hagbourne • Wheatfield • Whitchurch-on-Thames • Woodeaton • Waterperry with Thomley (Waterperry, Thomley)

Former Districts and Boroughs	Bullingdon Rural District • Municipal Borough of Henley-on-Thames • Henley Rural District • Thame Urban District • Municipal Borough of Wallingford • Wallingford Rural District Crowmarsh Rural District • Culham Rural District • Goring Rural District • Headington Rural District • Thame Rural District

Former Constituencies	Oxfordshire County Constituency • Wallingford Borough Constituency • Abingdon Borough Constituency • Berkshire North or Abingdon County Constituency • Abingdon County Constituency

List of Parliamentary constituencies in Oxfordshire • List of places in Oxfordshire • List of civil parishes in Oxfordshire

v • d • e Ceremonial county of Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire Portal

Boroughs or districts	District of Cherwell • City of Oxford • District of South Oxfordshire • District of the Vale of White Horse • District of West Oxfordshire

Cities and towns	Abingdon • Banbury • Bicester • Burford • Carterton • Charlbury • Chipping Norton • Didcot • Faringdon • Henley-on-Thames • Oxford • Thame • Wallingford • Wantage • Watlington • Witney • Woodstock See also: List of civil parishes in Oxfordshire

Topics	History • Places • Sites of Special Scientific Interest • Parliamentary constituencies • County Council elections

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watlington,_Oxfordshire"

Categories: Towns in Oxfordshire | Market towns in England