Asterleigh facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Asterleigh |
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 Asterleigh
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| OS grid reference | SP4022 |
| Civil parish |
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| District |
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| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Woodstock |
| Postcode district | OX20 |
| Dialling code | 01608 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament |
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Asterleigh is a farm in Oxfordshire, England. It was once a small village, but it became empty a long time ago. This is why it's called a deserted medieval village. It is located about 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Charlbury. The old village site is a short distance west of the current farm.
The Village's History
The name "Asterleigh" gives us a clue about its past. It means a place that was cleared from a forest. This suggests it was built on the edge of Wychwood Forest.
Asterleigh is not mentioned in the Domesday Book from 1086. This was a very old record of land and people in England. However, old pottery found in 1948 shows people lived here by the 12th century. Workers also found old stones and roof tiles with nail holes from the medieval period.
The first written record of Asterleigh is from the early 1200s. By 1279, it had 20 farms. But over time, the village started to shrink. The main family who owned land there decided to move to a nearby place called Nether Kiddington.
The Old Church
Asterleigh had its own church by 1216. This meant it was its own church area, called an ecclesiastical parish.
However, in 1466, a bishop named John Chedworth made Asterleigh part of the church area of Kiddington. He said that the church in Asterleigh did not have enough money or people to support a priest. This was because there were very few villagers, the land was not good for farming, and there were many illnesses.
In 1783, a person named Reverend Thomas Warton found old stone pieces from the church. In 1960, parts of the church's porch were found underground and then reburied.
Asterleigh Farm Today
By the 1700s, Asterleigh was just a farmhouse. It was a special area of about 300 acres (120 hectares) that was not part of any parish. In 1858, it became its own civil parish. This is a local government area.
But on October 1, 1895, Asterleigh's civil parish was joined with Kiddington. They became one parish called "Kiddington with Asterleigh." In 1891, only 37 people lived in the Asterleigh parish.
Today, the place where the medieval village and church once stood is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. This means it is a special historical site protected by law.
