Enslow
Coordinates: 51°51′40″N 1°18′14″W / 51.861°N 01.304°W
| Enslow | |
 The Rock of Gibraltar public house |
|
 Enslow
Enslow shown within Oxfordshire |
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| OS grid reference | SP4818 |
|---|---|
| Civil parish | Bletchingdon |
| District | Cherwell |
| Shire county | Oxfordshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Kidlington |
| Postcode district | OX5 |
| Dialling code | 01869 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Banbury |
|
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Enslow is an hamlet on the banks of both the River Cherwell and the Oxford Canal in Bletchingdon civil parish, Oxfordshire.
Enslow Bridge over the River Cherwell carries what used to be the main road linking London with Chipping Norton and Worcester.[1] In 1718 the road was made into a turnpike and in 1814 Enslow Bridge was rebuilt to almost twice its previous width.[1] The road is now the A4095.
Enslow Hill, now the site of a quarry, is thought to have been identical with the Spelleburge or "Speech Hill" recorded as a traditional meeting-place for Ploughley hundred in Anglo-Saxon times.[1] Perhaps in relation to this status, the hill was the site of two rebellions during the 16th century: a brutally suppressed 1549 rising in protest at the introduction of the Book of Common Prayer, and an unsuccessful 1596 insurrection over enclosures of common land. Two ringleaders of the latter, Robert Burton and Richard Bradshaw, were afterwards executed on the hill.
Enslow was originally only the site of a water mill that was recorded in 1086 in the Domesday Book, but the arrival of the Oxford Canal led to the building of a wharf and associated buildings in 1788.[1] Early in the 19th century the Rock of Gibraltar public house[2] was built to serve the trade on and around the wharf.
From 1845 the Oxford and Rugby Railway ran through the hamlet and in 1850 Bletchington railway station was built.[3]British Railways closed the station in 1964.
A satellite earth station stands on the hillside above the Cherwell northwest of Enslow.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d Lobel, 1959, pages 56–71
- ^ The Rock of Gibraltar
- ^ MacDermot, Edward T. (1927). History of the Great Western Railway. I: 1833-1863. London: Great Western Railway. p. 300.
- ^ Ordnance Survey (2006). Oxford, Chipping Norton and Bicester. Landranger Maps (D1 ed.). Ordnance Survey. ISBN 978-0-319-22913-2.
Sources
- Lobel, Mary D, ed. (1959). A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 6. Victoria County History. pp. 56–71.
