I have passed this way several times, and moored both above and below the locks. I have even walked across the fields to the east, over lawn hill, but had not visited the village itself. To be fair there is not much to attract passing boaters: no shop, or pub, but there is marked on the Ordnance Survey and “M” for museum, and, as in most English villages a church of some age. So I took a short excursion away from the canal, taking the unnamed lane from the bridge by Claydon Middle Lock.
It was a brighter day when I side-tracked to Oxfordshire’s most northerly village, and here are a few images:
Sadly, due to the virus, the church was not open, but it might be worth a revisit another time.
The Church of St James the Great serves the parish of Claydon with Clattercote. Originally Norman, built around 1100, some features remain from that time, including the south door. The bell tower was added in the fourteenth century, and the nave extended eastwards at about the same time.
The Knibbs were clock and instrument makers of some reputation, operating mainly in Oxford and London. Joseph Knibb was the most famous. He supplied a turret clock to Windsor Castle and counted King Charles II among his clientele. According to the BBC one of his long case clocks sold at auction at Donnington Priory, Newbury, in March 2014, for £286,800. Apparently, three others survive, as well as other clocks.
The privately owned Bygones Museum is no longer operating.
Once upon a time there were three pubs, but the last closed thirty years since.
Andrew's Kindred 