15 December 1804Farming & trade
A colt strays from Clifton Field
Thomas Hore of Somerton advertised for a black yearling cart colt with two white legs and a blaze, strayed or stolen in late November. Five pounds was offered for the conviction of any thief.
- Names and places
- Thomas Hore
- Published in
- Jackson's Oxford Journal, p.3
- Source
- Deddington History transcription, 1800 to 1804
- What we have seen
- Transcript seen
Read more in Economic Life →
30 April 1814Farming & trade
A shopkeeper in difficulties
William Collingridge of Somerton, shopkeeper, made over his estate for the benefit of his creditors. The deed waited for their signatures at a solicitors' office in Deddington. He is the earliest Somerton shopkeeper we know by name.
- Names and places
- William Collingridge; Churchill, Field and Weston, Deddington
- Published in
- Jackson's Oxford Journal, p.3
- Source
- Deddington History transcription, 1810 to 1814
- What we have seen
- Transcript seen
Read more in Economic Life →
27 August 1814Church & school
School places in Deddington
A new National School in Deddington would take poor boys from nine places, Somerton among them, even though Somerton had its own free school.
- Names and places
- Deddington, Somerton, North Aston and six other places
- Published in
- Jackson's Oxford Journal, p.3
- Source
- Deddington History transcription, 1810 to 1814
- What we have seen
- Transcript seen
Read more in The School →
17 February 1827Church & school
The rector subscribes
"Rev. H. Wintle, Somerton" is listed among the local subscribers to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, for 10s. 6d.
- Names and places
- Rev. Henry Wintle
- Published in
- Jackson's Oxford Journal, p.1
- Source
- Deddington History transcription, 1825 to 1829
- What we have seen
- Transcript seen
Read more in The Good, the Bad & the Absent →
3 April 1830Crime & the courts
The rector and the felons' association
Under Somerton, the members of the Deddington Association for the Prosecution of Felons include the Rev. Henry Wintle, jun., the rector. Before county police, associations like this paid for prosecutions.
- Names and places
- Rev. Henry Wintle; Crown and Tuns, Deddington
- Published in
- Jackson's Oxford Journal, p.3
- Source
- Deddington History transcription, 1830 to 1837
- What we have seen
- Transcript seen
Read more in The Good, the Bad & the Absent →
25 June 1836Farming & trade
The butcher marries
Mr J. Bonner, butcher, of Somerton married Mrs Hannah Petty at Somerton. She was the widow of Thomas Petty of the Plough Inn, Deddington.
- Names and places
- J. Bonner; Hannah Petty; Thomas Petty
- Published in
- Jackson's Oxford Journal, p.3
- Source
- Deddington History transcription, 1830 to 1837
- What we have seen
- Transcript seen
Read more in Economic Life →
7 March 1837Village life
A petition to the House of Lords
A petition from the "Inhabitants of Somerton" asked the Lords to resist any attempt to interfere with their "rights, independence, and privileges". Neighbouring villages sent the same wording the same day. No names are given.
- Names and places
- Somerton, Souldern, Deddington, Aynho and others
- Published in
- London Courier and Evening Gazette, p.3
- Source
- Deddington History transcription, 1830 to 1837
- What we have seen
- Transcript seen
Read more in The Village →
January 1850Canal & railway
Found in the lock
Charles Godwin, mealman, of Somerton Mill, walked home along the canal from Bicester market and never arrived. He was found in a lock the next morning, hat on and stick in hand.
- Names and places
- Charles Godwin, Somerton Mill
- Published in
- Household Narrative of Current Events, p.13
- Source
- Dickens Journals Online
- What we have seen
- Online edition seen
Read more in The Railway →
6 January 1855Crime & the courts
The pewter measure
Catherine Blaby, 65, and Emma Blaby, 28, of Somerton were tried for stealing a pewter measure from William Fathers, mason. Catherine was acquitted and Emma given two months' hard labour.
- Names and places
- Catherine and Emma Blaby; William Fathers; Thomas Moulden
- Published in
- Oxford Chronicle and Reading Gazette, p.3
- Source
- Quarter Sessions catalogue, Heritage Search
- What we have seen
- Search text seen. The court records are catalogued; the newspaper page itself has not been read in full.
Read more in The Village →
29 December 1855Crime & the courts
Isaac Berridge's ewe
A ewe was stolen from Isaac Berridge of Somerton on 23 December. Edward Smith and Henry Bird of Souldern were sent to Bicester gaol, and Smith was given four years' penal servitude.
- Names and places
- Isaac Berridge; Edward Smith; Henry Bird
- Published in
- Bicester Advertiser
- Source
- Institutional History Society, "Edward Smith: The Grieving Thief"
- What we have seen
- Later account
Read more in The Village →
24 August 1860Sport & leisure
Three against two
A single-wicket match at Somerton on 20 August: T. E. Berridge, J. Allabarton and J. A. Pratt against R. J. Berridge and B. Allabarton. Who won is still to be found.
- Names and places
- Berridge, Allabarton and Pratt
- Published in
- Bicester Herald
- Source
- CricketHistory single-wicket checklist, 1860
- What we have seen
- Later account
Read more in The Village →
10 August 1866Sport & leisure
Four a side
On 30 July Mr R. J. Berridge's side of four played Mr W. Hore's side of four at single wicket.
- Names and places
- R. J. Berridge; W. Hore
- Published in
- Bicester Herald
- Source
- CricketHistory single-wicket checklist, 1866
- What we have seen
- Later account
Read more in The Village →
1867 and 1870Crime & the courts
The dancing-booth man's horses
Edward Warman of Fritwell, who ran a travelling dancing booth, kept letting his horses stray onto the Somerton road. In 1870 it was his fifth conviction, and the police said they had impounded the horse "times out of number".
- Names and places
- Edward Warman; Mr Godwin of Troy Farm; Superintendent Moulden
- Published in
- Jackson's Oxford Journal and Bicester Herald
- Source
- Keith Chandler, transcribed newspaper reports
- What we have seen
- Transcript seen. Jackson's Oxford Journal, 31 August 1867 and 4 June 1870; Bicester Herald, June 1870.
Read more in The Village →
21 August 1884Sport & leisure
Deddington beat Somerton
Deddington Cricket Club came to Somerton and beat Somerton Cricket Club on its home ground. The teams and scores are still to be found.
- Names and places
- Deddington and Somerton cricket clubs
- Published in
- Banbury Guardian
- Source
- Index to the Deddington Scrapbooks, vol. 2
- What we have seen
- Index entry seen
Read more in The Village →
About 1890Village life
A Victorian visitor's view
William Wing followed the Cherwell from source to Oxford. From the railway, Somerton's "old church, parsonage, and houses around form a delightful picture", with "a less forsaken and better cared-for appearance" than many villages on the river.
- Names and places
- William Wing; the Earl of Jersey
- Published in
- The English Illustrated Magazine, vol. 8, p.484 onwards
- Source
- Transcription on The Victorian Web
- What we have seen
- Transcript seen. The exact year is uncertain.
Read more in The Village →
14 February to 12 December 1917War
Heroes of the War
Three Somerton men appeared among the paper's small portraits: Gunner F. J. Baldwin (14 February), Pte A. G. Lewis, Royal Fusiliers (22 August, four months after he was killed at Arras) and Pte P. T. Baldwin, Machine Gun Corps (12 December).
- Names and places
- F. J. Baldwin; Albert G. Lewis; P. T. Baldwin
- Published in
- Oxford Journal Illustrated, p.6
- Source
- Oxford Journal Illustrated photograph index, Oxfordshire History Centre
- What we have seen
- Index entry seen. The photographs themselves have not yet been seen.
Read more in The Soldiers of Somerton →
12 September 1917Canal & railway
First aid on the Great Western
At a G.W.R. ambulance presentation in Kidlington, three Fritwell & Somerton station men were named: R. Price, lad porter; A. Kimber, porter; and W. Webb, the stationmaster.
- Names and places
- R. Price; A. Kimber; W. Webb
- Published in
- Oxford Journal Illustrated, p.4
- Source
- Oxford Journal Illustrated photograph index
- What we have seen
- Index entry seen
Read more in The Railway →
14 March 1928Sport & leisure
The Varsity point-to-point
The Oxford University point-to-point was run at Somerton. Photographs showed two riders falling at the first jump, Billy Easy winning the Faber Cup nomination race and a fall in the 'Varsity Grind.
- Names and places
- R. Thackeray; G. Aspillaga; P. L. Kindersley; the Bullingdon Club
- Published in
- Oxford Journal Illustrated, p.1
- Source
- Oxford Journal Illustrated photograph index
- What we have seen
- Index entry seen. Which fields the course used is not recorded.
Read more in The Village →
6 and 20 June 1928Village life
Round About Oxford
The paper's series visited Somerton: the church, a Fermor monument, the ruin of the Tudor mansion, and "a large Elizabethan granary and dovecote originally at Somerton but moved to Tusmore".
- Names and places
- Richard and Gabriel Royley; the Fermors
- Published in
- Oxford Journal Illustrated, p.16
- Source
- Oxford Journal Illustrated photograph index
- What we have seen
- Index entry seen
Read more in Catholicism in Somerton →
2 May 1935Canal & railway
Death at the crossing
William Sargeant was hit and killed by a train at the level crossing kept by his daughter, Ellen Sherwood. She heard the whistle, went out and found him beside the line.
- Names and places
- William Sargeant; Ellen Sherwood
- Published in
- Banbury Advertiser, p.1
- Source
- Mike Esbester, Railway Work, Life & Death
- What we have seen
- Later account. The newspaper itself has not yet been checked.
Read more in The Railway →
February 2011Memories
The night the runway went dark
Don McBeth remembered a 1964 job modernising the Somerton telephone exchange, when the runway lights at RAF Upper Heyford went off for about four hours. No official record has been found.
- Names and places
- Don McBeth
- Published in
- Valley News
- Source
- Valley News, February 2011 (PDF)
- What we have seen
- Original seen. A memory, written many years later.
Read more in Memories & Voices →
October 2014Memories
Recollections of Somerton Station
Roy Cooper remembered the 6.10 works train, the newspapers sorted on the platform, and the heavy lever for the Aynho loop points.
- Names and places
- Roy Cooper; Mr Giles; Mr Mold; Mr Attwell; Mr and Mrs Keeys
- Published in
- Valley News
- Source
- Valley News, October 2014 (PDF)
- What we have seen
- Original seen
Read more in The Railway →
December 2024Village life
The village hall at 100
"Barnes Memorial Hall: 100 years of history" marked the centenary of the hall opened on St George's Day 1924.
- Names and places
- Rev. George Barnes; Mrs Barnes
- Published in
- Valley News, p.18
- Source
- Valley News, December 2024 (PDF)
- What we have seen
- Original seen
Read more in The Village Hall →
Do you have a cutting about Somerton tucked in a drawer, or remember something that made the papers? We would love to hear about it. Please use the form below.