Centurie de l'Enclos de Cyrtla
The parish measures nearly 3 miles (5 km) north–south and about 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) east–west. It is bounded by the River Cherwell to the west, and elsewhere mostly by field boundaries. In 1959 its area was 3,582 acres (1,450 ha).[2]
Archaeology
The Portway is a pre-Roman road[2] running parallel with the Cherwell on high ground about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the river. It bisects Kirtlington parish and passes through the village. A short stretch of it is now part of the A4095 road through the village. Longer stretches form minor roads to Bletchingdon and Upper Heyford.
Akeman Street Roman road bisects the parish east–west passing just north of Kirtlington village. A 4-mile (6.4 km) minor road linking Kirtlington with Chesterton uses its course. Aves ditch is pre-Saxon.[2] One end of the ditch is in Kirtlington parish about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the village.
Just east of the parish school is a moated site that is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.[3] Just east of the moated site are the remains of fish ponds.
BICESTER
There are several theories about the origin of the name Bicester. It may be derived from a personal name Beorna, meaning the 'Fort of the Warriors'
Bicester lies close to the junction of two Roman roads—Akeman Street, an east–west route between St. Albans and Cirencester, and a north–south route between Dorchester and Towcester, which lies under Queen's Ave-nue. A Roman fortress at Alchester is 2 miles (3 km) southwest of the town.[11][12] The West Saxons establis-hed a settlement in the 6th century at a nodal point of these ancient routes.[10]
Ecclesiastical history
A photo of Bicester's St Edburg's Church, a Cots-wold stone building, in the sunshine, with the sun shi-ning through a tree.
St Edburg’s Church, Bicester
St. Edburg’s Church in Bicester was founded as a minster, perhaps in the mid 7th century after St. Birinus converted Cynegils, King of Wessex, following their mee-ting near Blewbury. The site was just east of the old Ro-man road between Dorchester and Towcester that passed through the former Roman town at Alchester. The ear-liest church was probably a timber structure serving the inhabitants of the growing Saxon settlements on either side of the river Bure, and as a mission centre for the surrounding countryside. Archaeological excavations at Procter's Yard identified the ecclesiastical enclosure boundary, and a large cemetery of Saxon graves suggesting a much larger churchyard has been excavated on the site of the Catholic Church car park almost opposite St. Ed-burg's.
The first documentary reference is the Domesday Book of 1086 which records it as Berencestra, its two manors of Bicester and Wretchwick being held by Robert D'Oyly who built Oxford Castle. The town became esta-blished as twin settlements on opposite banks of the River Bure, a tributary of the Ray, Cherwell and ultima-tely the River Thames.
MIDDLETON STONEY
Castel Mudelinton, held by the Bishop of Durnovaria (owes 2 days to the King's Progress)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middleton_Stoney