This picture shows the spire of St Mary The Virgin Church in Bampton seen across Sandford field. It was taken early in the twentieth century. Today, a hedge obscures the view of the houses in the foreground but not all still exist.

This article is about the AGM of the Bampton with Clanfield and Aston, Lew and Shifford church AGM. The vicar was Rev. Andrew Scott and this was his first year here. Alan Keef was elected secretary. Hilda Pickard was electoral roll keeper, Tim Bryce was treasurer and reported a 40% increase in parish share. A report of the diocesan synod was given by Ruby Riches and of the Mothers' Union by Mrs Betty Cooper.
Churchwardens elected were
Aston - Mr P Hook and Mr A Keef
Bampton - Mrs Hilda Pickard and Mr Norman Gregory
Clanfield - Mr P Horne and Mr Fred Farmer
Lew - Mr Charles Radclyffe and Mrs Olive Gush
Shifford - Mrs Betty Cooper and Mr Tim Bryce.

This picture is of Bell Cottage which was visible briefly across the Market Square after Market Square Garage was completely removed and before Thornberry Flats were built on the site. The people living in the cottage at the time couldn't wait for the flats to go up to regain their privacy.
The little lane, known by long-time locals as 'Back of The Bell' got its name from the Bell Inn which used to be where the Village Hall stands today. The Inn was bought by three ladies in 1923 for conversion into the WI Hall. In the 1980s the WI could no longer afford the upkeep of the building and it became the Village Hall ... next to the Town Hall.

A bird was found to have made its nest inside the letterbox at Bampton and Brize Norton Railway station by Mrs Emmie Papworth who along with Mr F G Cannons was a post lady in Bampton about 1960. It was thought to be a member of the tit family and was disturbed only once while the eggs were being hatched.

The Friends of St Mary's have recently been arranging a series of 3 talks, one in Feb, March and April to raise funds for the church. This poster was for the Feb 2018 talk entitled
"The Graveyard Shift: surgery and body snatching at Guy's Hospital in the 19th century."
The talk was given by Professor Roger Jones.

William Nathan 'Jingy' Wells danced, fooled and played the fiddle for Bampton Morris from the late nineteenth century and well into the twentieth.
In this picture he is seen with his fiddle.
The hat, waistcoat, trousers and socks (odd socks) are still cared for by the Bampton Traditional Morris Men.

15 year old Claire Wythes first went along to Guides aged three because her mother, Margaret Wythes was Brown Owl with the Bampton Guides. Claire was awarded the Queen's Guide Award, the Guides top award, at the WI Hall by the District Commissioner Mrs C Cooper.

Originally called the Bampton Charity Shop, it had a name change and a legal status changed to enable it to donate monies to other charities in Bampton. Apparently a charity cannot give money to another charity and Trevor Milne-Day gave his time to deal with the legal matter of the change. In this article Fenella Gray talks about the history of the shop from its inception in 2004.

A house and field called Long Paddock in Weald Street for sale, offers in excess of £750,000 wanted

The staircase to the top floor of the Grammar School was removed in the 1960s when people stood a greater chance of getting to the ground floor by falling through the rotten floor than coming back down the stairs. The Bampton Community Archive members have worked incredibly hard to raise funds on the back of the tourism boost from visitors flocking to Bampton to see the this building which was used as the Cottage Hospital in ITV's Downton Abbey. The grant from WODC means the work to bring the whole building into good heart can begin.