Spelsbury

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Village in Oxfordshire, England

title: "Spelsbury" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["civil-parishes-in-oxfordshire", "villages-in-oxfordshire", "west-oxfordshire-district"] description: "Village in Oxfordshire, England" topic_path: "general/civil-parishes-in-oxfordshire" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spelsbury" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Village in Oxfordshire, England ::

::data[format=table title="infobox UK place"]

Field	Value
official_name	Spelsbury
static_image_name	Houses in Spelsbury - geograph.org.uk - 1116420.jpg
static_image_caption	Village main road
coordinates
os_grid_reference	SP3421
population	305
population_ref	(parish, including Dean & Taston) (2011 census)
civil_parish	Spelsbury
shire_district	West Oxfordshire
shire_county	Oxfordshire
region	South East England
country	England
post_town	Chipping Norton
postcode_district	OX7
postcode_area	OX
dial_code	01608
constituency_westminster	Banbury
website	Spelsbury Parish Council
::

Spelsbury is a village and civil parish about 1.5 mi north of Charlbury and about 4 mi southeast of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. The village is on a narrow hill between the Coldron and Taston brooks overlooking the River Evenlode and the ancient Wychwood Forest to the south. Spelsbury parish includes the hamlets of Dean and Taston, and also includes Ditchley Park. The 2011 census recorded the parish's population as 305.

History

The toponym is derived from the Old English for either "spying place" or the place of a person called "Speol". It was first recorded in the Cartularium Saxonicum in 1010 as Speoles byrig. In 1086 the Domesday Book recorded the village as Spelesberie. Spelsbury has a group of almshouses built in 1688 by John Carry. Winterberry Park built in 1725 by Thomas Archer is on the parish borders. In the village a drinking fountain in the shape of a shell was built around 1855 to commemorate Constantine Dillon, the deceased son of Henry Dillon, 13th Viscount Dillon. The poet John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester and his wife Elizabeth Malet lived and are buried in Spelsbury. The actor Sir Ben Kingsley lives in the village.

The Church of England parish church of All Saints was originally Norman with a central tower. In about 1200 transepts were added, but during the 13th century the Early English Gothic nave was built on the site of the Norman chancel. The nave is flanked by north and south aisles. The present west doorway in the tower and several of the windows in the aisles are early 14th century. In 1706 the 1st Earl of Lichfield had the bell tower restored. In 1740 the 2nd Earl of Lichfield had the chancel rebuilt. In 1774 the 4th Earl of Lichfield had the nave and aisles remodelled. The chancel was rebuilt again in 1851.

Parish

Spelsbury was an ancient parish, which became a civil parish in 1866. Until 1985 the parish also included the hamlet of Fulwell, but in that year Fulwell was transferred to the civil parish of Enstone. At the same time the eastern part of Ditchley Park was transferred from the civil parish of Kiddington with Asterleigh to the parish of Spelsbury.

References

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Camerons2010spelsburu.JPG" caption="2010 General Election"] ::

References

"Area selected: Spelsbury (Parish): Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics". [[Office for National Statistics]].
Corbett, 1962
"Place: Spelsbury". Open Domesday.
"Spelsbury Fountain". Spelsbury Parish Council.
{{harvnb. Sherwood. Pevsner. 1974
"The West Oxfordshire (Parishes) Order 1985".

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