This shop was originally the premises of Mr Money, Boot and Shoemaker in the High Street. After Mr. Money's retirement, Mrs Francis Henley rented the shop for her daughter , Hazel, to run as a boutique. It was later rented by Mona Wilkins whose daughter also ran it as a boutique. It was finally run by Julia Rouse, daughter of Don and Mary, as The Farmhouse Pantry .
These photos show a selection of businesses that are no longer available to the residents: Angela John Antiques, Health Matters, Barclays Bank, John Temple’s Hardware Shop, The Market Square Garage and Showroom where can be seen the clock that originally graced the Town Hall and The Farmhouse Pantry which had previously been a boutique and before that Mr Money ran his shoe maker and repair shop from that premises.
Mrs Bliss, widow of Colonel Bliss, spent her remaing days at Bampton House. Percy Bowerman was her chauffeur and would drive her around the village in her green Morris Minor. When she died, Percy inherited the Morris Minor.
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.
The Bampton Welfare Trust is a local charity that came into its present form thanks to the efforts of Major Robert Colvile in the mid-1970s. He brought together all the ancient charities into one entity , now known as The Bampton Welfare Trust.
The purpose of the Bampton Festival was to celebrate the 350th anniversary of The Old Grammar School. The newspaper article describes the history of the building. The festival was a village-wide celebration which ran fro 13th July to 20th July 1985. The festival included concerts, talks, old photographs, a garden contest, morris dancing and music.