Worton (hamlet), Oxfordshire

This article is about hamlet in Cassington civil parish. For the parish that includes the villages of Nether Worton and Over Worton, see Worton (civil parish), Oxfordshire.

Worton
Worton  Worton shown within Oxfordshire
OS grid reference	SP4611
Civil parish	Cassington
District	West Oxfordshire
Shire county	Oxfordshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Witney
Postcode district	OX29
Dialling code	01865
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Oxfordshire
Ambulance	South Central
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Witney
Website	Cassington Parish Council
List of places UK England Oxfordshire

Worton is a hamlet in Cassington civil parish, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) northwest of Oxford.

History

The Domesday Book records that in 1086 William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford owned the manor of Worton, and that Roger d'Ivry and Robert D'Oyly were the Earl's feudal tenants. However, the 1st Earl had died in 1071 and in 1075 his heir Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford had forfeited his lands for his part in the Revolt of the Earls. It therefore seems that d'Ivry and D'Oyly held the manor in chief between them.

By 1127 D'Oyly's share of Worton had passed to the church of St. George in Oxford Castle. After 1536 in the Dissolution of the Monasteries it passed first to Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford and then in 1546 to Christ Church college. Christ Church sold its land at Worton in the 1950s.

D'Ivry's share became part of the honour of Saint Valery. This share of Worton belonged to one of the Counts of Dreux early in the 12th century, passing to Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall in 1237. Richard's son Edmund, 2nd Earl of Cornwall died childless in 1300 and there is no record of the overlordship of this half of Worton Manor after 1324.

When the poll tax was levied in 1377 Worton had almost as many inhabitants as Cassington. However, in preceding and subsequent centuries the hamlet has been considerably smaller than Cassington. A licensed public house, the Crown, was trading in Worton from the 1750s but had closed by 1796.

Economy

Commercial activities at Worton include livery stables and holiday cottages.