In 1999 there was a mass cycle ride organised to highlight the need for a cycle pathway from Bampton to The Trout Inn at Tadpole bridge on the Buckland Road. The bridge crosses the River Thames.

In May 2012 our papershop known as Emmies, run by Tom and Silvia Papworth closed for the last time. The letter gives a history of the shop, the people who ran it. It documents not only the passing of the papershop but records the very active part both Sylvia and Tom have played in Bampton's life, for which those of us lucky enough to have known them, their families and their shop will always be very grateful.

This is a list of Bampton Traditional Morris Men c1981 plus people who regularly had a connection with the side. It is hand written by Dave Rose for Francis Shergold but does not have Francis's details on it

The White family lived in Sandford Cottage, the thatched cottage on the south side of Sandford field from at least as early as 1900. These photographs cover the period 1910 to 1960. They are all family related, some babies, children, adults.

Ham Court along with the barns and outbuildings plus 22 acres was put up for sale by Jesus College Oxford in 2010 and was bought by Emma Bridgewater. This is the sales brochure and I'm sorry to say the scanned versions given to me clearly had something wrong with the colour but the text is perfect. The diagrams of the first and second floor are very interesting. See also entry 2017.529

This report on the Survey & Plan of Bampton was done under the guidance of M W Robinson FRICS MTPI in October 1966. It makes very interesting reading and the conclusions are as relevant today as they were then. The topics covered are 1. Population 2. Situation 3. Character 4. The people 5. Shopping 6. Principal road connections 7. Schools 8. Open spaces 9. Social facilities, Public Services etc 10. Surface water drainage 11. Sewage disposal 12. Water supply and much more. It makes a very interesting read particularly in the light of all the dwellings that have been built here since October 1966, all those being built now (Jan 2017) and those being proposed when considering the access into Bampton has not been improved yet in 1966 one of the conclusions states was that Bampton could not take further development, a by-pass was not possible and no further space for parking other than possibly in Church Street could be made. Houses have since been built on the land in Church Street

Adrian Simmonds had the general store on the west side of Market Square and was wonderfully placed to record the demolition of the Market Square Garage and the building of Thornberry Flats for the over 55s.

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The demolition of Market Square Garage and the building of “THORNBERRY” Flats

The Demolition of the Garage and Proposed Development of Flats

A meeting was called by the parish council, because there was a lot of opposition to the proposed development and the loss of the garage. On the evening of the meeting the hall opened with the parish council seated at a table in front of the stage, but the hall very quickly filled with interested villagers, so that the council had to retreat to the comparative safety on the stage. The hall by this time had filled up with very interested and angry villagers, so much so that the windows were all opened so that the people who could not get in, could hear and see what was going on from outside. Opinions were voiced. The meeting went on for a long time. The view was that the village was against the development. The result of course stands in the square for all to see, but Democracy had to been seen to be done. The then chairman of the Parish Council shortly afterwards emigrated to Australia.

This small exhibition shows a brief period of around thirty months in the late Twentieth Century which altered the character of the Market Square completely. I have included some earlier photographs of the Square for those of you that did not know it before the flats were built. The picture of the pub [with the two children outside] was The Lamb Public house, and the building on the end was at one time a Fish and Chip shop. It was demolished in the 1950s in order to build the Market Square Garage, which in turn was demolished in 1998/1999 for the erection of the Flats. These were offered for sale on the 30th June 2001.

After the garage was demolished there was a period of several months, when the soil was tested regularly because of contamination by oil and other garage waste from the previous 50 plus years. During this period, over forty large lorry loads of contaminated soil were removed and replaced with clean soil. The site was then passed as suitable for the building to start.

After the holes were drilled, each one had a frame work of reinforcing rods {which were welded together on site} lowered into it. Then cement was poured into the holes up to footings level. Then, of course, the footings were laid and the main structure was started.
After the pre-made floor of the first storey was installed, the building was taken up to the next level, and the same procedure was repeated for the top floor.

The Flats were offered for Sale 30th June 2001. As a small point of interest, the first occupier of the front ground floor flat was a member of a local business family, who had at one time a grocery shop in the premises which is now known as The Romany hotel. The wife of the second occupier of the same flat was the daughter of the landlord of The Lamb which stood on the site up until the 1950s.

The Flats and Skateboards
Shortly after the flats were in full occupancy, it was decided to add a pair of gates to the front of the arch, because of teenagers using the entrance to skateboard through the archway and across the small garden in order to jump onto the footpath at the rear of the property. This was before the skateboard ramp was built in the sports field.

These pictures show the work and expertise in building the flats (Thornberry). I also included some earlier photographs to illustrate the appearance of the square in the past. With all the changes that have taken place the square is still the centre and heart of the village. It is a meeting place for countless people and is used for special occasions such as the Golden and Diamond jubilee celebrations, and of course for the finishing post for the annual shirt race which always attracts a large crowd. The Morris dancers use it every Whit Monday. The annual fair comes every August, and of course Remembrance Day in November, and the lighting of the Christmas tree in December also take place in the Market Square.

Postscript.
Those of you that know me would have probably noticed that my surname was incorrectly spelt, on the posters. This is a common error as there are so many ways of spelling “Simmonds”. My grandfather left Reading in the 1920s with two M’s to his name leaving behind an H. G. Simonds with only one M, and a Brewery and a fortune! I still have only two Ms in my name, which prompts me to recall a situation in my shop.
Some years ago, I had an American lady who was a regular customer. After a few months she said to me would I take a cheque? To which I replied, “of course”. She made her purchases and proceeded to write the cheque asking me how I spelt my surname? I told her, and she said to me, “That’s interesting, I have five great uncles, back in the states all named Simmonds but all spelt differently. When they arrived in New York from Eastern Europe they embarked at Ellis Island and each went to an immigration officer to give their details and each officer spelt their name differently, so it ended up with five brothers with the same name, all spelt differently.”

The were first available to buy in 2002 and people have to be at least 55 years old to purchase them. The lane is Bell Lane, known by all long-time locals as 'back of the Bell' because the Bell Inn used to be where the Village Hall is today. The Village Hall was initially the WI Hall straight after the Bell closed before becoming the Village Hall when the cost of upkeep was just too much for the WI.

This is the Service program for the Thanksgiving Service for Victory held in 1945. As the service sheet was printed in London it was probably a standard service to be held across the UK

These are a collection of records compiled by Lloyd Hughes Owens and cover many aspects of local life and people. 1247 local tithes; 1275 extract from Quo Warranto Roll concerning tenures; 1288 Bond of obligation to pay rent for Vicars' house; 1262 Grant of land in Chimney; 1307-8 Confirmation of the rights of the D & C to manorial privilege in Bampton; 1318 Composition concerning common pasture; 1308-19 Records in suit - depositions of witnesses etc - concerning the tithes of Standlake and concerning the burial of the people of Standlake in Bampton parish church; 1360 Judgement in a suit against the chaplain of Standlake; 1406 Memoranda about the burials of the people of Standlake and Herdwyck away from Bampton parish church; 1445 Copy of an earlier grant, exemplified by Edmund Lacy, bishop of Exeter by the Bishop of Lincoln of portions of the parish church of Bampton to the D & C of Exeter; mid 15th century Draft letter recommending Richard Daber as Vicar of Bampton; late 15th century Group of letters about the manor of Bampton, addressed to the bailiff of the manor; 1503-4 Reference to the rebuilding of the chancel of Bampton church; Repairs made in 1496 at a cost of £20 in the accounts spread over 20 years; late 15th century? Reference to a suit between the Earl of Shrewsbury and the D & C concerning common of pasture in Bampton; 1670 Certificate by Bishop of Oxford re William Hodge's resignation of the vicarage; 1691 Receipt by Mr Veysey for the court rolls of Bampton. There is much more information in this collection of papers.

Esther Hepworth grew up in Bampton as did her parents and grandparents. Esther was an Extra in Downton Abbey and she commented that dressed as an older lady, she felt she was walking in the footsteps of her great-grandmother