Number 7 in a series produced by Cherwell District Council
Deddington lies 6m/9.5km South of Banbury at the junction of A4260 and B4031. Several bus routes pass through the village, including the X59 Oxford-Banbury (Mon-Sat); the main bus stop is in the Market Place, where there is also limited parking space.
Deddington Circular Walks form a figure of eight, the two loops meeting in the Market Place. They offer a choice of quite different routes, embracing the villages of Hempton to the west (5.5m/8.5km) and Clifton to the east (6.5m/10km). Each offers optional short cuts. The routes are signed and described in an anti-clockwise direction, though they can be walked either way. Both are essentially rural, featuring typical rolling north Oxfordshire countryside with several fine extensive views. From the ridge on which Deddington is sited they bring you down into the fields and pastures of the Cherwell valley or those of its tributary streams forming the parish boundaries, with South Brook to the south and the Swere to the north. Ground conditions can be wet and muddy, especially in winter, so stout footwear is advisable.
An annotated map of this walk is available (PDF).
Leaflets produced by the Deddington Map Group and a Visitors' Guide describe the village in more detail.
Information about Deddington
Deddington (meaning "the place of the people of Daeda") is thought to have been founded by an early lord of Mercia named Daeda. It was a thriving market town by medieval times, once more substantial than Banbury. It gradually lost its importance, especially after it was "side lined" by canal and railway, but remained a productive agricultural community supporting a variety of trades and, at one time, 21 inns and alehouses! To meet more modern needs you will find the Post Office, shops, several pubs, restaurants and a coffee shop.
The Market Place, where both walks begin and end, is the original nucleus of Deddington and the lively scene of many a market and fair from medieval times onwards. Dominating it from the east is the handsome 17th century tower of St Peter and St Paul, the Parish Church which dates from the 13th century. A leaflet describing its main features can be purchased in the church. North of this, the imposing Castle House mainly dates in its present form from the 17th century, but retains earlier traces of its 13th century origins. It was here that Edward II's infamous favourite Piers Gaveston stayed just prior to his execution in June 1312. The Town Hall near the centre of the Market Place was rebuilt in 1806. On its south wall is the Coat of Arms granted to Deddington in 1994; the motto in Early English, not Latin, reads preo on anan gebundene, meaning "three joined together in one". This refers to the three historic manors of the Parish and perhaps also the three villages Deddington, Clifton and Hempton which make up the parish. A number of the surrounding buildings date from the 17th and 18th centuries.
A short walk to the east of Market Place you will find the remains of Deddington Castle. The 8.5 acre site consists of massive earthworks marking an 11th century motte and bailey. The castle itself had already been destroyed by the end of the 14th century. The earthwork and surrounding moat are now largely covered by mature trees, mainly sycamore and chestnut, but there are a dozen other species including ash, birch, oak, wild cherry and rowan. A varied flora flourishes under the canopy of trees.
Hempton Loop
A Daeda's Wood is the first of 200 new Millennium Woods in England and Wales created by the Woodland Trust, with substantial contributions from local inhabitants and Cherwell District Council. In 1996, 3500 trees were planted in a 9 acre former arable field. This evolving habitat for flora and fauna includes a wild flower meadow. The River Swere forms the wood's sinuous north boundary. The trees and shrubs planted are suitable for the riverine site: ash, five species of willow, oak, alder, grey and black poplar, aspen, downy birch, osier, hawthorn, blackthorn and guelder rose. Within a short time the wild flower count already included white campion, ragged robin, ox-eye daisy, meadow cranesbill, poppies, musk mallow, yarrow, purple loosestrife and knapweed. Daeda's Wood has rapidly become a popular destination for local walkers and nature watchers.
B Barford Mill is a Listed Building in ironstone rubble dating from the 18th century. Some original machinery is in place and corn has been ground here until recent times. With its pond, the setting amongst pasture land has great charm.
C Hempton's two-storied ironstone rubble cottages date mainly from the 18th or early 19th century. The Church of St John the Evangelist, built in 1850 to 1851, has a Norman font. Attached to the church is an old Victorian schoolroom, recently refurbished to create a community centre for the village. The origins of the name of Snakehill Lane are unknown; but no snakes have been recorded!
D Grove House is the best preserved of several substantial 17th century yeomen's houses, now converted to private homes. Note the unusual stone mullioned windows of the main building.
Clifton Loop
E As you descend Chapman's Lane fine farmland views open up before you of the valley fed by South Brook on its way to join the River Cherwell. The landscape is largely the result of the Enclosures Act of 1808; you may like to imagine the very different impact that would have been made by the open-field system that preceded it for at least 1000 years. Leadenporch Farm lies at the centre of the scene. Highland cattle, one of its specialities, are often to be seen in the surrounding pastures.
F Bowman's Bridge, a few yards from your route, is an old pack horse bridge over South Brook. As you turn north, you look out across the fields to the River Cherwell. In winter these are quite often flooded and attract substantial flocks of wildfowl (mallard, wigeon, pochard, teal) and waders (lapwing, golden and grey plover).
G Close to the River Cherwell, Clifton is a pretty hamlet of mainly two-storied ironstone rubble cottages, a number from the 18th and early 19th century. The Chapel of St James, built in 1853, has been converted into business premises and Manor Farm, with a date stone of 1685, is now an antique centre. The Duke of Cumberland's Head dates from the 17th century and has a fine thatched roof. One of its earlier licensees in the mid-19th century ran a beaver hat factory in a neighbouring building. Today "The Duke" makes an excellent refreshment stop.
H Paper Mill Cottages, a few yards north of your route, are reminders of the earlier existence here of a paper mill belonging to the Emberlin family in the late 18th to mid-19th century. The mill was converted to a cornmill by Z.W. Stilgoe of Adderbury Grounds Farm.
I At the top of the steep pasture look back for fine views including the spires of Adderbury and Kings Sutton churches.
The range of Cherwell District Council Walks Leaflets, including this one, has been designed and produced by TCG Advertising & Design of Witney. Telephone: 01993 771186