History
Churchill's toponym has evolved through forms including Cercelle, Churchell, and Cherchell, reaching its current form was in use by 1537. The origin of the name is uncertain, though it may come from the Old English cyrc, meaning a hill, burial ground, or barrow. (The village does contain several barrows, suggesting the existence of a settlement here from prehistoric times.) However, the name may come from Cyrc-hill, literally Hill-hill — a common construction formed by Anglo-Saxon incomers who did not understand the meaning of a Celtic root (cf. the etymology of Pendle Hill).
Churchill was originally at the foot of a hill (now known as Hastings Hill), but on 31 July 1684 a fire destroyed twenty houses and many other buildings, and killed four people. The village was rebuilt higher up the hill, with stone houses instead of the old timber-framed and thatched cottages. The fire was apparently caused by a baker who, to avoid chimney tax, had knocked through the wall from her oven to her neighbour's chimney. The old village can still be seen as grassy mounds in the pastures around the Heritage Centre.
The former Chipping Norton Railway, part of the Great Western Railway, passed near Churchill. The line had a small railway station, Sarsden Halt, 0.3 miles (480 m) northwest of Churchill. British Railways closed the halt to passengers in 1962 and closed the railway in 1964.
Read more about this topic: Churchill, Oxfordshire
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