Page 13 - Moreton Village Only Book

Moreton Village Only 13

Whilst much of the early history of
Moreton shows its close association with
Thame Park with most of the land owned
by the Wenmans and the Berties, there is
also evidence of a few properties in
Moreton being owned by Oxford colleges.
In 1860, one of the (then) seven farms in
Moreton was owned by Balliol College and,
as the Declaration Document shows in
1876 the Master of Balliol College declared
that his college owned one acre and five
perches (about 5,000 square yards) at
College Brook and that the college had
held the land since the late 1600’s. It is
believed that this declaration was made
about the time that the land was purchased
by Isaac Mott who died in 1878.

One of the principal leisure activities of
the “gentry” of the 1800’s was fox hunting
which had been a pursuit of the nobles and
military right back to the time of William
the Conqueror. Being surrounded by
farmland, fields and copses, Moreton no
doubt provided prime “hunting country” for
the South Oxfordshire Hunt, which became
the Vale of Aylesbury Hunt around 1970.
The hunt sponsored many events on and
off the hunting field, one of these being
the annual point-to-point races held on
Lobbersdown Hill. Moreton’s association Declaration in 1876 by the Master of Balliol
with the Vale of Aylesbury Hunt continues College of land ownership at College Brook.
to this day with two Past Masters of Fox
Hounds (MFH) still resident in the village
and with the stirring sounds of the horn
and the hounds still often heard. The
hunters themselves have changed – they are
as likely today to be market traders and car
mechanics as farmers or earls, but did John
Peel with his coat so grey hunt in Moreton
at the break of day?

Alan Stevens – MFH 1960-1980.

The South Oxfordshire Hunt point-to-point races
at Lobbersdown Hill – circa 1904.