Page 35 - Moreton Village Only Book

Moreton Village Only 35
Moreton Village Only 35
Into Another Millennium

ND SO OUR STORY OF MORETON for over a thousand years comes to a close
as we enter another millennium and Moreton again looks to its future. The hamlet
A will finally enter the 21st century as we go to print with the advent of mains drainage
but they haven’t connected us to the gas yet. Still – in the last hundred years we’ve had a post
box, mains water, electricity, street lighting and telephones so we mustn’t rush things. Changes
in farming mean that farm buildings may be converted into offices and holiday homes on the
two principal farms in the village and so Moreton’s agricultural landscape, which we have seen
change so much over a thousand years, changes again.

Moreton is a tranquil rural backwater which is probably why most people live here.
There have been no village shops for forty years, there is no bus service, no village hall and no
pub. We are two miles from the nearest town (Thame); five miles from a major motorway
(the M40) and only about 45 minutes driving time from the world’s busiest airport –
Heathrow. There are no longer highwaymen on the road to Tetsworth.

Moreton has evolved from a collection of Saxon mud huts, for the serfs that served the
church prelates of the time, to a thriving agricultural community as part of the estates of
Thame Park and the Earl of Abingdon, through to being a diverse community with a range of
architectural styles that date from the 1500’s to the 1990’s. The farm workers have been
replaced with machinery, the horse-drawn carts by cars and four-wheel drives, many of the
fields by a championship golf course and coal by oil. There is probably now a wider range of
occupations represented in Moreton than at any time in its history. The temperance tradition
established in the mid 1800’s has been forced on us again by the closure of the last pub.
Many of the houses in The Furlongs built for rent have been purchased by the occupiers.
The single properties of today housing two or three people were three or four cottages
housing families of eight and over yesterday.

Our story shows a flexible, hard working community that has been able to adjust to
what the world throws at it. The population has declined from its height in the mid 1800’s
as families are smaller today. We end as we began –
“Mor’tun – a piece of low-lying or marshy ground” – Long may we remain so.

Epilogue

ND THAT’S NOT ALL! I am sure that if anyone ever has the time or inclination
there is much more history to be discovered about Moreton, both long ago and more
A recently. Unfortunately, the lottery grant to cover the printing costs had to be used
up by the end of the year, so we ran out of time for any further research. There are websites
relating to Moreton Village: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moreton,_Thame,_Oxfordshire
and https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/local/moreton-south-oxfordshire

In producing this little book, I am greatly indebted for the help and information provided
by my fellow Moretonians and also by members of various old local families. Names such as
Bradbury, Grace, Howes, Howse, Mott and Philips are amongst those who deserve special
thanks. All have been of great assistance. However, of all those who have assisted, the
contribution made by Ron Mott has been quite outstanding. Ron has dug and delved
untiringly and he has provided us with the most amazing amount of information. Thanks
are also due to the support of Maurice Kirtland, Chairman of the Thame Historical Society,
who has checked our facts and supplied additional material. My sincere appreciation is therefore
due to everyone, as without their great help this book could not have been written.

Sarah Wynn – November 2000