Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor
A Snapshot of an English Village ~ in the County of Oxfordshire
Welcome to an online history resource for Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor
Kingston Bagpuize in Oxfordshire, England is best known for the various fruit it once grew, its hops, its pigs, the old A420 which once roared its way through our village, and the nick-name 'Kingston Bagpipes' which seems to have arisen from the time of the 2nd World War when we had a base camp for and RAF and then USAF airmen.
In earlier times, except for a few inns and cottages straddled along the main road, the main village lay to the south, below the old coaching road running between London and the West Country.
It was inevitable that as time progressed that this once quiet road became first a very busy thoroughfare and later a major trunk road the A420, which used to roar through the centre of our village. Dwellings were built alongside the road, so extending the village. These properties at first housed wheelwrights, a forge and inns and later garages and then many bungalows and houses. The village has now been relieved by a by-pass and the A420 now ploughs its way north of the village, although splitting the direct access roads from the village to Longworth.
Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor then as a whole, is perhaps not as picturesque as some local villages because of the once heavy traffic, but it is situated in lovely surroundings, with easy access to Oxford, Abingdon, Witney and Swindon and it has become a very popular place in which to live. The village hosts many clubs and societies which the surrounding more attractive villages lack and there is for a rural village, an enormous amount of social activity.
In parts of the two villages several thatched cottages can still be found, reminding us of the much older village and of the people that once walked our streets and worked our fields.
The employment in these villages has changed from almost purely agriculture and has become a dormitory for many city and town workers. Our website heading displays in photos some of the types of fruit that were grown here on a large commercial basis which reflect these villages' once self sufficiency. We also grew soft fruits, had a turkey farm and although we now do not have the large pig farm that once employed many residents, pigs are still reared here. Our surrounding farms have beef, pigs and lambs, and until quite recently hops.
Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor is conveniently situated for visitors to Oxford, with the city centre being 10 miles away. The towns of Abingdon, Witney and Wantage are also close by. The M40 and M4 motorways are 15 and 25 miles away respectively and the centre of London is 57 miles away. There are plenty of tourist attractions in the area, including the historic university city of Oxford, Blenheim Palace, the Ridgeway footpath and the Thames towpath.