Kidlington - History

History

Kidlington's toponym is derived from the Old English Cudelinga tun: the tun (settlement) of the "Kidlings" (sons) of Cydel-hence. The Domesday Book in 1086 mentions Chedelintone and by 1214 the spelling Kedelinton appears in a Calendar of Bodleian Charters.

The Church of England parish church of St. Mary the Virgin is a grade one listed building dating from 1220 with fine medieval stained glass and a 220-foot (67 m) spire known as "Our Lady's Needle". The bell tower has a peal of eight bells. There is evidence of a church existing on the site from AD 1073. Behind the church there are archaeological remains of a three-sided moat, and a causeway has recently been discovered which is possibly of Roman origin. St. Mary's Rectory is Tudor.

Alongside the church is the almshouse, built by Sir William Morton in 1671 in memory of his wife and children, whose names are inscribed above the windows. Sir William was a Royalist Commander during the Civil War and lived in nearby Hampden Manor in Mill Street. Other famous residents of Hampden Manor include Sir John Vanbrugh who lived here during the building of Blenheim Palace in Woodstock. The square tower water closet in the front garden of Hampden Manor was built by Vanbrugh. It drains into a brook that now runs underground along Mill Street into the nearby River Cherwell. Thomas Beecham formulated his medicine whilst living in a cottage near the Manor, where he worked for a time as a gardener for John Sydenham.

The settlement listed in Domesday grew from an ancient village adjacent to the church. Here there are as many 18th century Georgian buildings as modern houses. Until the Enclosure acts in 1818, a large section south of the village was unenclosed common land, and the village was widely known as Kidlington-on-the-Green. Just prior to World War II, this land was built up in an estate known as Garden City.

There was once a zoo in Kidlington where the Thames Valley Police headquarters is now.

In the 1920s and 1930s Kidlington was subject to ribbon development along the main (now A4260) road through the village. Since 1945 many housing estates have been built behind this on both sides.

In the 20th century Kidlington grew to be a contender for largest village in England (as well as Europe) with a population, including contiguous parts of Gosford and Water Eaton parish, of over 17,000 (compared to 1,300 in 1901). Kidlington residents have so far resisted proposals to become a town, though it clearly qualifies for such status against any criteria. Following a peremptory change by the Parish Council to Town status, the change was voted down in a ballot of the local electorate by 98%, and reversed.