Aynho

Aynho. Aynho is a village and civil parish situated in the Cherwell district of Oxfordshire, England, near the border with Northamptonshire. Historically part of the historic county of Northamptonshire, it is located approximately 5 miles southeast of Banbury and lies within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The village is noted for its distinctive apricot-coloured limestone buildings and its long association with the Cartwright family.

History

The settlement appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Aienho", held by Robert d'Oilly, a major Norman landowner. For centuries, the manor was held by the de Aynho family before passing through marriage to the Lovell family in the 14th century. Following the Wars of the Roses, the estate was acquired by the Cartwright family in the early 17th century, who became the dominant local landowners and built Aynho Park. The village's economy was historically based on agriculture, particularly the cultivation of the Aynho apricot, a unique local variety grown against the warm limestone walls of the estate. During the English Civil War, the village saw activity due to its proximity to the Royalist stronghold of Banbury and the nearby Battle of Cropredy Bridge.

Geography

Aynho is situated on a ridge of oolitic limestone, part of the Jurassic geologic formation that characterizes much of Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire. The parish is bounded to the east by the River Cherwell, which forms the county boundary, and lies within the Cherwell Valley. The local landscape consists of rolling farmland and woodland, with the village itself positioned along the historic Banbury to Bicester road. The underlying geology provides the distinctive honey-coloured building stone used throughout the village and contributes to the area's inclusion in the Cotswolds AONB.

Landmarks

The architectural centrepiece is the Grade I listed Aynho Park, a Jacobean and Carolean country house rebuilt by Edward Marshall after a fire in the 17th century and later remodelled by architects including John Soane and William Wilkins. The village church, the Anglican Church of St Michael and All Angels, dates from the 13th century and contains monuments to the Cartwright family. Other notable structures include the early 18th-century Aynho House on the village green, the former Cartwright Almshouses, and the historic Aynho Mill on the River Cherwell. The village layout and many of its cottages exemplify the local vernacular architecture using the distinctive limestone.

Transport

The village is bisected by the A41 road, a major trunk road connecting London to the West Midlands, which follows the course of the old turnpike road. The former Great Western Railway line from Paddington to Worcester and Hereford ran just south of the village, served by Aynho for Deddington railway station which closed in 1964 under the Beeching cuts. Today, the nearest operational railway stations are at Banbury and Bicester. The Oxford Canal passes to the west of the parish, and the M40 motorway runs approximately 3 miles to the southwest.

Notable people

The village is most closely associated with the Cartwright family, including the politician and diplomat Sir William Cartwright and the antiquary and politician Thomas Cartwright. The 20th-century poet and novelist Ruth Pitter spent her later years in Aynho. The architectural historian and biographer H. M. Colvin lived at Aynho House. The village was also the birthplace of the Royal Navy officer John Cartwright, a noted advocate for political reform.

Category:Villages in Oxfordshire Category:Civil parishes in Oxfordshire