Chipping Warden is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish
of Chipping Warden and Edgcote, in the West Northamptonshire district,
in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, about 6 miles (10
km) northeast of the Oxfordshire town of Banbury. The parish is bounded
to the east and south by the River Cherwell, to the west by the boundary
with Oxfordshire and to the north by field boundaries. On 1 October 2008
the parish was abolished and merged with Edgcote to form "Chipping
Warden & Edgcote".
Families such as the Bassetts and
Douglases have been residents of the village for many years, and the
latter family are remembered by a private residence now named 'Douglas
House'.
St Peter & St Paul in Chipping Warden is one of the finest
medieval churches in the county of Northamptonshire well set above the village
green, off the main road, and adjacent to the mainly 17th
century manor house. Elements of an earlier church can be
discovered but the overwhelming effect is a grand building from
the time of King Edward 111 (1327-1377). The architecture shows
considerable sophistication and grandeur, often likened to a
'mini' cathedral. The graveyard contains several Douglas gravemarkers.
The only complete stained glass window in the church of St Peter and
St Paul is in the east wall and was a gift of the Douglas family, during
the sixteenth century. It shows the Adortion of the Wise Men and scenes
from the lives of St Peter and St Paul, and was produced by the workshop
of Christopher Whall.
Above the pews are two plaques erected by
the Douglas family in memory of family members, who have been active
members of the church throughout the twentieth century, and date from
1902 to 1956.
Chipping Warden is fortunate in that it boasts two
public houses which are the hub of social activity in the village. The
'Griffin' on Culworth Road we may link with the family name of the lords
of the manor of the fIfteenth and sixteenth centuries. There is also the
possibility that a tower of Rockingham Castle in Northamptonshire, named
Griffin's tower, may be connected to the name of the inn, as it is
recorded that the knights of Chipping Warden were required to pay annual
fees to Rockingham for the support and repairs of this tower. Prior to
becoming an inn the property consisted of three cottages, a garden and
outbuildings. The earliest documentary evidence of ownership is the will
and testament of Henry Dalton Douglas, a yeoman who died in 1817, and
who left his 'messuage or tenement' in Chipping Warden to his daughter
Elizabeth, and her heirs.
Evidently a wealthy man, Mr Douglas
also owned properties in Braunston and Cropredy which he left to his
son, and younger daughter. The will also mentions that Mr Douglas
inherited the property in Chipping Warden from his brother George. By
1836 the property was evidently held by Mr Golby, who arranged a
one-year lease to Mr Hart1ey for five shillings in February of that
year. In September 1864 the property was sold for £100 to Mr G Douglas,
possibly a relative of the previous occupant by the same name. By June
of 1875 the value had risen to £350 when the property was conveyed from
Mr Douglas to a farmer, Mr William Horwood. Three years later an
indenture made between Mr John Sidney North, then lord of the manor of
Chipping Warden, and Mr Horwood detailing the right of way awarded to
the latter, to the west side of the building, and in addition along a
trackway to the east which leads to the back of the premises.
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