Photograph of the interior of the Hallway of Bampton Manor in 1900 taken by Henry Taint

Photographs of Bampton Castle, now called Ham Court taken by Henry Taint in 1890

9244 Bampton castle Interior (Gatehouse Ham Court) 1890
9246 Bampton Castle from East Ham Court 1890
9247 Bampton Castle from West Ham Court 1890

two views of the Deanery taken by Henry Taint in 1890

Newspaper report about refurbishment of the Old Grammar School.
Community groups in Bampton had spent years fundraising to upgrade the Building, used as the Cottage Hospital in the hit TV series Downton Abbey. The 17th Century building already housed the village library and archive, plus a small shop, renovation work was to start December 2020. and it was scheduled to open in Spring 2021. West Oxfordshire District Council’s approved a £48,750 grant for Bampton Community Archive (BCA), owned by the Bampton Exhibition Foundation, who themselves made a ‘substantial contribution’ to the project. But the BCA has raised more than £50,000 plus grants, including almost £38,000 in £1 donations through the Bampton Mile appeal. This aim to collect one mile of £1 coins, which laid flat around the Downton Abbey Location Tour would raise £71,527.

During some building work at her cottage, the owner, Leanne Mullen, found a child’s shoe. The shoe was found in December 2024, within the original back wall of Dunlaoghaire, Primrose Lane. The cottage had a catslide roof added in later years so this original back was currently an internal wall. It is thought that the cottage dates back to 1800-1820? The shoe was badly worn and in pieces with the top, heel and sole all separated as 3 separate parts. It was around 15cm in length, composed of black leather which surprisingly was still soft to the touch (once the dust was removed). In order to keep the shoe as an intrinsic part of the structure of the cottage, it has been placed with a new wall that has just been used to block up a chimney breast.
Dunloaghaire was the home of Francis and Anne Shergold, for many years, and Paul McGrath, their grown up nephew lived with them.

Excavations at Thatched Cottage, Church Street by John Blair

Thatched Cottage by Terry Crowley 1963 & excavations. This is a fascinating description of the renovation and history of the thatched cottage in Church Street.

Selection of Photographs
BA5EDB This is a 14th century hooded fireplace in Ham Court in the room called the solar. Seen
here is 1946. It is a small room in the large farmhouse and would soon have been made warm with
the fire, ideal for warming up after a day's hunting in the cold.
BA676F An old drawing of Ham Court, sometime referred to as Bampton Castle. In the 1870s the
turret walling was restored and an addition put on the south side of the building. The old building
seen in this picture was once the west gate house to the castle. The archway has been filled in on
both sides to make a fully enclosed farmhouse.
BA80E7 This is the east side of what was the western gatehouse of Bampton Castle. The archway
was originally open on both sides of the gatehouse to allow carriages to come and go.
BA9E81 Ham Court farmhouse, originally the western gatehouse of Bampton Castle.
BA05A2 This boss is in the middle of one of the two rooms on the first floor of Ham Court which are
directly above what was once the passageway through the gatehouse in the west wall of the castle.
BAC569 This is the western aspect of the west gatehouse of Bampton Castle, which is now Ham
Court Farm.
Internal door in Ham Court

High Street shops in the 1940s, 50s and 60s

Restoration and renovation of Roseann, Church Street 36 photographs of building and renovation of old cottage in Church Street