Buildings
The base of the village preaching cross dates from the 7th century. Saint Birinus preached here when he brought Christianity to the area.
The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary, begun around 1120, is on the site of a previous Saxon church. The chancel arch survives from the Norman building; the aisles and tower are later additions. The font is a rare Norman lead one; it was later encased in wood, and this preserved it from iconoclastic Parliamentarian soldiers in the 17th century. The church has the smallest monument in England a small stone effigy of Gilbert de Clare. Cruck Cottage can be architecturally dated to being around 800 years old and consequently locals have claimed it may be the oldest house in South Oxfordshire.
The building housing Pendon Museum, was The Three Poplars public house. Declining trade forced its sale in 1954. It became a Youth Hostel, and then the owner Roye England turned it into a model railway museum.
Other pubs included The Machine Man (which was disfranchised in 2003), The Plough, and The Vine (now The Vine and Spice Indian restaurant). North of the village is the Barley Mow Inn (nowadays just a pub), which is closer to Clifton Hampden but is on the Wittenham side of the parish boundary.
A Methodist chapel was built in 1820, and later converted into a butcher's, a general store, and a Post Office. It was disfranchised in 2006 and is now a private house.
Read more about this topic: Long Wittenham
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—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)
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—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)