Research Grants Reports



Project: Oxfordshire: Becoming Christian in Midland Britain AD 500-1050

The Project was led by Prof. Susan Pearce (spm14@leicester.ac.uk) with a team from University of Leicester, including our GIS specialist funded by a grant from the Leverhulme Trust.

This Project is intended to examine how, when, and why people living between the Mersey/Trent line and the Thames moved from being mostly 'pagan' to being 'Christian', and what kinds of Christianity were involved over time and space. It asks how and why a dense network of churches with graveyards developed; what people did in them; what their relationship was to natural and human topography including earlier monuments, boundaries and settlements; and how ancient ideas like human sacrifice and the power of human remains were re-worked in new contexts. Published records, site visits, finds reported in PAS, and 'grey literature' available only in reports on the web are all exploited.

This has involved creating comprehensive data bases which record the archaeological, historical, topographical, hagiographical, architectural and artistic information, with bibliographies, together with their surrounding sites, of all the early church sites in fourteen Midland county units, some 3,600 sites altogether. We stress the importance of 'the churches in between' as well as those with clearly significant characteristics. The entire record is being installed on a GIS programme, which will be freely available.

Oxfordshire is obviously a highly important region within this study, bordering the Thames and including a fertile central valley flanked by the Cotswold and Chiltern Hills. Thanks to a very generous grant of £1521 from the Society, we were able to incorporate the now completed county record in the study. Oxfordshire has a rich assemblage of royal estates, minster churches, charters, and parishes, which, it is becoming clear, retained earlier Anglo-Saxon arrangements longer than shires to the east and north-east, but like those to the west, suggesting important social differences.

The Tree-Ring Dating of 109 High Street, Burford, Oxfordshire
Dr D W H Miles FSA


Summary: BURFORD, 109 High Street (SP 25151 12141)
109 High Street is a largely timber-framed jettied structure, of three stories, built against a tall stone wall to the north that contains flues for some of the fireplaces. The present ground floor shopfront is inserted on an ashlar plinth. The timber building sits on a vaulted undercroft consisting of four bays beneath the street range, and a further two behind, and beneath the lower rear range. The present roof is hipped to the street, which wraps around the masonry wall with chimneys on the northern slope. A rear wing of mainly reused timbers was also assessed (David Clark, OBR).

Sampling was concentrated on the primary phase structure to the front. Seven timbers were sampled: Two principal corner posts, one extending through three floors, whilst the other was certain through two stories. A 1st floor transverse ceiling beam was sampled adjacent to the rear corner post. And finally, four timbers were sampled from the roof structure, two principal rafters and two purlins. All samples apart from two retained bark edge.

The seven samples were next compared with each other and two were determined to have originated from the same parent tree.

Four sequences representing five timbers were found to match, albeit not strongly. These samples were compared individually, and clean matches were found which confirmed the cross-matching. One sample in particular matched other Burford chronologies.

These were combined to form the site master BURFRD12, with 94 rings. This was compared with the reference chronologies and was found to date conclusively and cleanly, spanning the years 1365-1458. The best match was with 162 The Hill, Burford, which coincidentally was constructed at virtually the same date, and probably the timber originated from the same woodland.

Four of the timbers dated retained bark edge. Two principal rafters were from the same parent tree and were both felled in spring of 1458, whilst two purlins were both found to have been felled in the winter of 1459/9. The fifth timber only had the heartwood/sapwood boundary, and a felling date range of 1453-85 was calculated.

This would suggest that the building including the jettied front and windows were constructed in 1459 or very shortly thereafter.

A single timber was sampled twice from the rear wing with 117 and 110 rings respectively. The second sample retained bark edge and helped to replicate the sequence, given that it is only a single timber, most others showed signs of reuse. These two samples from the north principal rafter of the centre truss were combined to form the 125-ring mean sequence.

This was compared to the reference chronologies and despite having a reasonable number of narrowish rings, it failed to date conclusively, probably due to it being a single timber. More samples, such as the other principal rafter, may help this rear wing date in the future, but already the budget had been exceeded with this single timber.

Acknowledgements: The dating work was commissioned jointly by the Oxfordshire Archaeological and Historical Society and the Oxfordshire Buildings Record. David Clark assisted during the sampling and produced the sketches showing the locations of timbers sampled. Dr Martin Bridge produced the bar diagrams.
Date sampled: 26th June 2024
Owner: Manfred Schotten Antiques
Historical Research: David Clark
Summary published: Miles, D H, and Bridge, M C, 2025 Tree-ring dates, Vernacular Architecture 56, (forthcoming)

Dendrochronology work at The Grapes, Abingdon, Oxfordshire (formally Berkshire)

The dating was commissioned by the owner, Matthew Heritage and work was carried out in summer 2023.

Summary: ABINGDON, The Grapes, 28 High Street (SU 49637 97053) Primary Phase
Felling dates: Autumn 1298, Winter 1298/9, Spring 1299, and Winter 1299/1300
Collar 1299(29C); Closed truss tiebeam 1298(10C); Open truss lower tiebeam 1298(32¼C); Open truss upper tiebeam 1298(26¼C); Crown brace 1298(15C); Rafters (1/2) 1297(16½C); Collar purlin 1274(H/S); Arcade plate 1261(H/S); Arcade post (0/1). Site Master GRPx 1176-1299 (t = 10.4 MANORCOT; 8.14 BURFRD1; 8.11 OXON93).

The Grapes is a complex building, the core of which is of a wealthy merchant. Little survives below the roof level, but is of considerable interest, with an open truss with cranked double tie beams and dragon ties. Below there is evidence of the since removed base crucks and what appears to have been twin braces from the bas crucks to the lower tiebeam. The rafters are supported and braced with a crown post with crown braces and a collar purlin. The second major phase was the removal of the base crucks and the roof re-supported by two transverse beams picking up the arcade plates that extend almost to the road, with a large gable over. None of these timbers dated unfortunately.

Results: The Grapes was surveyed in 2003 by Oxford Archaeology, and a more detailed survey published in 2013 by John Steane (Steane and Ayres 2013). Finally, the previous work was reviewed and the double tie-beam discussed in context by David Clark (Clark 2016).

A total of sixteen timbers were sampled from the Grapes - ten from the primary phase and six from the beams truncating the crucks, associated with the inserted ceiling and north extension. Several timbers were sampled twice in order to obtain the maximum number of rings and/or bark edge.

Next the individual timber samples were compared with each other and two were found to have originated from the same parent tree. The two large beams supporting the wall plates when the base crucks were removed were considered to be from the same tree.

All timber sequences were then compared with each other, and eight of the ten primary phase samples were found to match. Results were compared with the reference chronologies and was found to date conclusively, spanning the years 1176-1299. The best match was with a chronology from near-by Sutton Courtenay.

Of the eight samples successfully dated, six retained bark edge, allowing precise felling dates to be given. One was found to have been felled in the autumn of 1298, two from the winter of 1298/9, two from the spring of 1299, and one from the winter of 1299/1300. These strongly suggest that the base cruck hall was constructed in 1300 or very shortly thereafter. Two other samples with incomplete sapwood gave felling date ranges consistent with these felling dates: 1283-1315 and 1280-1302.

Of the six samples from the alteration phase of the building, none, apart from the two inserted beams which matched each other, matched or could be dated individually. It is surprising that the two main beams over 25 feet long failed to date with the mean sequence.

Nevertheless, the primary research question as to the date of the primary phase of construction has been resolved, with a construction date of 1300 or very shortly thereafter.

The Tree-Ring Dating of 13 - 15 High Street, Wallingford, Oxfordshire (formally Berkshire)
Dr D W H Miles FSA


The dendrochronology was commissioned by June and Nicola Strong, of 14 High Street and carried out in autumn 2022. The neighbouring owners Linda and Simon Wright (No. 13) and Amanda Campbell (No. 15) graciously allowed access to their properties to allow sampling. The structure is being studied by the Oxfordshire Buildings Record.

Summary:
WALLINGFORD, 13 - 15 High Street (SU 60849 89485)
(a) Primary phase Felling dates: Winter 1343/4, Spring 1344, and Spring 1345
(b) Inserted floor, No.14 Felling date: Winter 1616/17
(c) Rear wing and roof reconstruction, No.14 Felling dates: Winter 1736/7 and Spring 1737

Nos 13 - 15 High Street is a three-bay hall house now in three separate ownerships. The open hall is the centre bay (no. 14), whilst no. 13 represents an original floored end bay with contemporary doorway (now blocked) into the hall with shaped door posts, and large lodged joists above. No. 15 was probably the lower end of which little remains below roof level. The roof mainly survives over no. 13, but has been reconstructed over no. 14 in 1737 at which time a rear extension was also constructed. The original roof trusses are unusual in that there are no collars directly morticed into the principal rafters, but are instead birds-mouthed into the inner edge of the purlins as flying collars. The purlins are supported by notched V-struts which are in one truss at least tenoned into the principals. The inserted floor of no. 14 was also dated to 1617, the spine beam having lambs-tongued stops.

Conclusions
Of the nine primary phase timbers sampled, all dated and five produced precise dates ranging from spring 1344 to spring 1345. The most significant of these was a joist which spanned no. 13, but visible only in no.14. This too dated to spring 1345, showing that this floor was part of the original construction. It is likely that construction took place during 1345 or very shortly thereafter.

The dendrochronology showed that all three properties, from no. 13 to no. 15 were all part of a three-bay hall house that ran parallel to the road.

The axial beam of the inserted hall floor in no. 14 produced a clear precise felling date of winter 1616/17. Here with only one timber dated, the best that one and say about the construction period is that the earliest date of construction would be 1617, but could also be within a year or two of this date.

Finally, the eighteenth century saw the addition of a rear wing to no. 14 as well as the reconstruction of the roof above the main range. Precise dates ranging from winter 1736/7 and spring 1737 would strongly suggest that the rear wing, rear wall to the hall bay, and the main roof were all built at the same time, during 1737.

Sir Charles Oman (1860-1946): Oxford Academic and University of Oxford MP
Professor Neil Fleming, University of Worcester 22 December 2023

The Oxfordshire Archaeological and Historical Society's research grant facilitated two days examining the entirety of Sir Charles Oman's papers held in the Bodleian Library's Special Collections, and the opportunity to take over a thousand photographs of the most significant of these. The amount claimed is for return rail travel for 18 and 19 December 2023 (£71.20), and one night's accommodation (£81.94).

Primarily a military historian, Oman spent most of his professional academic life at All Souls; he was from 1905 through to his retirement Chichele Professor of Modern History. Between 1919 and 1935 he was returned as one of the two MPs (or Burgesses) of the University of Oxford, sitting as a Conservative and Unionist. Notwithstanding his intellectual reputation (he was consulted from time to time by senior Conservative ministers), Oman was counted among the reactionary 'diehard' wing of the inter-war Conservative party. His family's association with India, and his birth there, are likely factors, as the constitutional future of India was a recurring source of tension between diehard and front bench Conservatives. Using the photographs taken during this research trip, I intend to examine the sources of his political outlook more thoroughly.

The materials examined at the Bodleian Library help to bring into sharp relief the developing nexus between Oman the academic historian and the politician. These include MS. Eng e. 3824 (1883-1925), a series of letters from the Indian viceroy, Lord Curzon, to Oman, which include the former asking the latter's advice about medieval boundaries in Britain, in the wake of Curzon's highly controversial partition of Bengal. Likewise, the series of letters MS. Eng. c. 8181 (1914-19), created when Oman worked for the Foreign Office and press bureau, include one from the Prime Minister's Office (Philip Kerr) asking his advice about the practical aspects of previous European treaties just as David Lloyd George was at Paris negotiating what became the Treaty of Versailles. Again, the folder of correspondence, MS. Eng. c. 8183 (1895-1923) includes a letter from the Government of India asking for Oman's impressions of the House of Commons. MS Eng. d. 4078 contains political correspondence with the India Office as well as the legal scholar A.V. Dicey.

Another folder, MS. Eng. c. 8182 (1892-1945), demonstrates that Oman also corresponded with leading literary figures, including Arthur Conan Doyle, C.S. Forrester, and Rudyard Kipling, the last of which writes on overtly political topics and draws on the two men's early lives in India. MS. Eng. c. 8185 (1910-1918) includes a copy of Oman's only play, Colonel Windebank, along with two accompanying letters discussing the possibility of it being made into a film.

Several folders deal in detail with Oman's life and career in Oxford. MS. Eng. c. 8188 (1909-1975) provides useful background information on his Oxford home, Frewen Hall. MS. Eng. c. 8180 (1891-1946) contains material relating to his fellowship of All Souls. The remaining folders of papers consulted include MS. Eng. d. 4081, MS. Eng. c. 8220 O.[Oman] (1869-1994), MS. Photogr. c. 505, and MS. Photogr. b. 160 (1873-1919), all of which deal with personal and family matters.

In the coming months I will have the opportunity to look through the photographs of the above papers in more detail, with the aim of preparing an article or articles for a peer reviewed journal or journals, such as Oxoniensia and Parliamentary History.