History Shorts: snippets of local history

Though technically within the boundaries of Oxford city, Iffley retains a distinct village charm and historical significance of its own, most notably through its remarkably well-preserved Norman church dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. Perched on the east bank of the River Thames (or, Isis in this stretch), Iffley sits safely above the river, approximately two miles downstream of Oxford. The origins of Iffley can be traced back to the chronicles of Abingdon Abbey in the 940s, where it was referred to as Gifteleia. In the Domesday Book in 1086, it was called Givetelei , with "ley" likely deriving from the Saxon term for cleared ground. The name transitioned through Iftele in the 13th century and to Iffley in the 16th century. Evidence of even older settlements is abundant: a sixth-century Saxon brooch found in Iffley is now housed in the British Museum, while nearby Roman pottery sites and Neolithic artifacts hint at a site with a long history. A timeless masterpiece  Dating

The idea of a lost medieval village sounds mysterious and thrilling, conjuring images of streets and houses lost to modern maps, abandoned for reasons unknown and buried under layers of subsequent history. In reality these deserted villages were most likely very small settlements populated by a few families linked to a manor house and perhaps a church. There are literally thousands in England alone and the factors driving their abandonment were probably more mundane than catastrophic.  One such abandoned settlement is Bix Brand nestled in a valley in the Chiltern Hills a few miles from Henley. What remains today is the ruins of a Norman era church dedicated to St James but the area is known to have been populated in Roman times - a Roman farmhouse and artefacts have been discovered in the vicinity. Also nearby lies part of the prehistoric earthworks known as Grim's Ditch.  By the time of the Domesday Book, there were two settlements in the area known as Bixa Brand, which had ten fa