South Newington - Social and Economic History

Social and Economic History

The Domesday Book records that in 1086 the village had two water mills. One ceased to exist in the Middle Ages but the other, north of the village, remained in use until at least the 19th century. The mill house survives but the leat has been diverted. In 1675 there was also a windmill north of the village. It had been removed by 1794, but the field where it stood continues to be called Windmill Furlong.

Most of South Newington's buildings are built of local limestone. Several can be dated to the 17th or 18th century. College Farm, a yeoman's house next to the parish church, is a large, stone-roofed example dated 1659.

In the 18th century the village had four public houses: the Horse and Jockey, the Pole Axe, the Wykeham Arms and the Three Goats. The Three Goats seems to have been relatively short-lived and the Horse and Jockey had also ceased to be a pub by 1832. The Pole Axe was a large inn with stables and survived until 1887. In 1897 its buildings were given to the village as a reading room and hall. Patronage declined and in 1927 it was sold and most of its buildings demolished. The site was given back to the village in 1934 as a playground, in which use it remains today. The Wykeham Arms survived until the early 21st century, when its historic name was removed and it was turned into a restaurant called the Duck on the Pond.

The main road between Banbury and Chipping Norton crosses the River Swere in South Newington. A stone bridge carrying the road over the river was mentioned as early as 1279. Another main road, from Deddington, joins the Banbury - Chipping Norton road 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest of the village. Both roads were made into turnpikes in 1770. South Newington's current bridge over the Swere includes an 18th-century stone three-arched structure that may have been built by the turnpike company. Both roads ceased to be turnpikes in 1871. In 1922 the Banbury - Chipping Norton road was classified as the A361. The former turnpike from Deddington is now the B4031.

Most of the parish's land was farmed in an open field system until 1795, when it was inclosed by Act of Parliament.

In 1796 the village opened a workhouse but it had ceased to serve as such by 1803. Under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 South Newington became part of the Banbury Poor Law Union, which sold off the cottages that the village had provided for housing its poor.

A National School was opened by 1818, and in 1837 it moved to new building purpose-built premises. It was reorganised as a junior and infant school in 1929 and as an infant school in 1956. It was closed in 1965 and is now a private house.

South Newington stands on Banbury ironstone. An application to quarry this iron ore southwest of the village was made in 1958, but in order to protect the beauty of the landscape the application was rejected.