Charlbury
Extract from Discovering Wychwood by Charles Keighley
On the Evenlode, 9 km (6 miles) south-east of Chipping Norton. From the Old English, Ceorls' burgh, or 'freemen's fortified place'.
In 1094 Charlbury belonged to Eynsham Abbey. In 1256 it became a market town and wide Church Street still feels like a market place leading down to the parish church of St Mary. This has Norman origins but has been heavily remodelled, most recently in the early 1990s - unusually the congregation now face west. Charlbury also has Methodist, Baptist and Roman Catholic churches and a Friends' Meeting House, sympathetically extended in 1991.
Lee Place, traditionally the former Dower House of Ditchley and now the summer home of the Duke of Marlborough, is a perfect small park and house (not open to the public). Playing Close is a pretty small town green. Previously a centre of gloving, the last manufacturer of gloves closed in Charlbury in 1960s.
- Several shops, including pharmacy, grocery, butcher, bookshop, PO and newsagent.
- The Bell Hotel and restaurant, The Bull public house and restaurant, The Rose & Crown and the Farmers Arms public houses both with pub food.
- Holiday accommodation, camping and caravan site at Banbury Hill Farm. Also a camp site on the Spelsbury road. Good train services to Oxford, London and west towards Worcester.
- Charlbury is a hilly parish dropping to the river. Many hedgerows still exist, some ancient, together with several green lanes and small woodlands. Ancient hedgerows to the east of the town mark the boundary of Lees Rest Wood, a significant former area of Forest woodland, which in the Middle Ages was known as Abbey Wood and belonged to Eynsham Abbey.
- Cornbury deer park and a large remnant of Wychwood are nearby.
- Important wildlife habitats include the River Evenlode, limestone grassland throughout the parish, some scrubby areas which provide good bird habitats, marshy patches to the north-west of the parish and a quarry of geological interest.
- As well as Centenary Community wood, there are local nature reserves at Wigwell Valley and Blenheim Farm.
- There are good local walks up the Evenlode to Chadlington, east towards Ditchley, and south-east to Stonesfield.
- The Oxfordshire Way runs through the town.
