Brize Norton Parish Council Newsletter
The Communities of Brize Norton and Carterton
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Brize Norton Parish Council Newsletter |
The Communities of Brize Norton and Carterton |
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You are here: Community > Brize Norton > Parish Council NewsletterPlease note that this might not be the latest issue of the Parish
Newsletter. Here is the text from the latest newsletter (March 2004).
CHAlR’S REPORTThe village has had a blustery start to the New Year. Gale force winds and even snow have arrived in Brize Norton in the past weeks but, so far, not much rain. Ironically the bad weather conspired to scuttle our planned Flooding Meeting, which was held on Wednesday 28 January in the Elderbank Hall. After months of coordinating our invited guests, a fierce snowstorm arrived just 2 hours before the meeting was to commence. Although several villagers and I braved the weather to attend the meeting, the invited guests were thin on the ground. I have since been in touch with these principle figures to the meeting and they are happy to make themselves available to residents either by telephone or at a future meeting. Most of the organisations involved can be contacted through John Clarke at West Oxfordshire District Council on (01993) 861353. May I extend a special thanks to the ladies of the WI for turning up and providing much appreciated hot drinks and cakes. Some positive news has arrived in regards to our continued lobbying for traffic calming in the village. A notice was published in the local press stating that a 40mph speed limit has been proposed for the Carterton Road. I have spoken with County Council Engineers on this matter and they assure me that this will go through the consultation stage and the new speed restriction signs should appear towards the end of March. This will not only slow the speed of drivers on that dangerous stretch of road but will also provide the Thames Valley Police with a better chance of enforcing the new established limit. A resurfacing of this road is to be carried out towards the end of May. The flooding that has occurred in Manor Road (on Chapel Hill) has been taken up by the County Council as well. A work order has been issued to fix the offending drain and I am told that the work will be carried out as a matter of urgency. A plan has been drafted to reconstruct the pedestrian area outside the Village School. The paving stones have been in a poor state for some time and the County Council has decided to revamp the footpath to create a much safer area for the school children. Due to it being the end of the financial year, this work will be carried out sometime in April when the new budget has arrived. The Parish Council is pleased to announce that we have employed a new Village Caretaker. We would like to introduce Mr Leach as the person who will be taking over this vital position. He will be known to many of you as he has worked in Brize Norton for many years. He has already been spotted putting things to right in the village. Hopefully this will help put us in good stead for this year’s entry into the Best Kept Village Competition. Let’s hope the weather will continue to be kind to us. Surely Spring is just around the corner! Shane J Rae ST BRITIUS CHURCHAll the Christmas Services were very well attended, especially the Candlelit Carol Service when over 160 people enjoyed singing carols and the children’s nativity pageant. Thanks to all the representatives of the village organisations who read the lessons. The Challengers held a very successful Christmas Party to which their friends were invited. Junior Church and Brize Norton Primary School children joined together to prepare the oranges for the Christingle Services at Candlemass (February 1). The carols and hymns were accompanied by all the children with percussion instruments, Jacquie Griffin on the sax and the Vicar on guitar. It was very moving with sixty Christingle candles glowing in the darkness. The collection was sent to the new John Radcliffe Children’s Hospital. Our first Family Service will be on Sunday 7 March at 9.15am and thereafter on the first Sunday of each month. Everyone is most welcome, come and see what it is like! This is in addition to the bi-monthly Junior Church services, the next one being Mothering Sunday on March 21 at 9.15am. Do join us for these and for services over Easter, the most important time in the Church’s year. Services at St Britius will include:
Everyone is very welcome. Please watch the notice board or visit the web site at www.brizenorton.org.uk/community where you can also see photos of the above events. DOMESDAY BOOKBRIZE NORTON IN 1086William of Normandy was not named William the Conqueror for nothing. In 1066 land in England was taken from the English owners and given to his Norman Bishops, Earls and followers who in turn had Norman tenants or trustful English thegns in charge of their land. (Brize) Norton, Black Bourton and Astrop (Estrope) was owned (with others) by ROGER d’IVRY, a Norman Lord, who had tenants in charge of these villages. In 1086 – 1087 a survey was made to ascertain what size of land there was in each estate and county, who held it and the number of people who lived on it. It was named the Kings Book and by the 12 century became the name we know it by today – The Domesday Book. By this book we know that Brize Norton and Astrop were in existence before that date. FULK HOLDS ROGER 14 HIDES AND 11/2 VIRGATES IN NORTON. LAND FOR 12 PLOUGHS. NOW HE HAS IN DEMESNE 5 HIDES OF THE VILLANS LAND AND THERE ARE 5 PLOUGHS WITH l KNIGHT OF HIS. THERE ARE 8 SLAVES AND 13 VILLANS WITH 17 BORDARS AND 24 ACRES OF MEADOW, A GROVE 1 FURLONG LONG AND HALF A FURLONG BROAD. IT WAS WORTH K9: NOW K13. 14 THEGNS HELD THIS LAND. ROGER HOLDS 1 HIDE IN ASTROP. LAND FOR 2 PLOUGHS. HE HAS THESE THERE WITH 4 SLAVES AND 1 VILLAN AND 4 BORDARS. THERE IS PASTURE 3 FURLONGS LONG IN LENGTH AND 2 FURLONGS IN BREADTH. IT WAS WORTH 20S: NOW WORTH 30S. Old English Terms
Wendy Morgan ELDERBANK HALL AGMThe Elderbank Hall AGM will be held on Wednesday 5 May at 8 pm. COMMUNITY WEB SITEThe community web site covering Carterton and Brize Norton continues to grow. We can now report that we have an up to date street index and linked map for the area including new streets and the A40 link road in place. We will shortly add postcode information so that the street index also doubles up as an aid to those looking for the correct postcode. The maps have been designed to facilitate easy updating so we can keep pace with new housing developments. Our next project is to develop a series of web pages covering local places of interest and attractions within easy reach of Carterton. This will help visitors to the area and help those who set up their homes in the district. There is also a lot of interesting material being assembled and added to the web as time permits. In the history section you might look at extracts from a 1916 Almanac that gives a description of Brize Norton at the time and the names and occupations of those who lived there. More recent history is represented in a copy of the original proposals for the North East Carterton Development that makes very interesting reading when compared with what has happened ”on the ground”. The Gallery has some new pictures related to activities in Brize Norton and highlights the need for pictures of similar activities in Carterton – which would be most welcomed. Once again we welcome suggestions and feedback to improve the web site and make it a frequently visited and invaluable aid. If you represent an organisation in Brize Norton or Carterton then make sure we have the latest information about your organisation giving us dates for our online diary and photographs to illuminate the site. For example, we have recently added photos from the Brize Norton Over Sixties showing how they entertain themselves. You can find photos of recent events as well as the contents of previous Parish Newsletters. Our web site can be found at www.brizenorton.org.uk/community and the editor Phil Holmes, can be emailed at p.holmes@brizenorton.org.uk. Thanks for your input. WOMENS INSTITUTEThe Christmas period was a busy one for the WI. We took part in the carol concert at the church having been invited to give one of the readings. We were also pleased to support the Pre-school at their Christmas Fayre. Our monthly meeting took the form of a Christmas meal at the home of the President, and in Christmas week itself a party went to Oxford to see a performance of ’Cats’. In November one of our members, Brenda Franklin, gave a timely demonstration of the art of making greetings cards, while in January we had a delightful talk from Martha Blake on ’Coming to the UK as a Bride from Italy’. And if you saw a group of us on our knees in front of the Elderbank Hall during autumn, you may well be seeing, by the time this news sheet comes out, the daffodils we were planting to celebrate our 75 year in Brize Norton. On the wider front a party of us went to visit the new Headquarters of the Oxfordshire Federation of WI’s at Tackley which is very different from the rabbit warren of rooms where we used to meet in Middle Way of South Parade in Oxford. However, there is a nice pub a few yards away! And we are continuing to knit the tiniest of little jackets and hats (not bonnets, for fear the strings might present a danger to the wearers) for the Neo Natal Unit at the John Radcliffe. We have a full programme of talks lined up for our meetings in 2004, and we are busy finalising details for outings to Rousham, Cirencester and the Mill Theatre at Bagnor. Come and join us and help us to stay friendly and active for our not-so-far- away centenary! Hazel Goldman BRIZE NORTON OVER 60’S CLUBWe have enjoyed a talk about Local History by Tom Smith and been to the Witney pantomime ”Alice in Wonderland”. A group will be going to an Old Time Music Hall at Northampton and a meal at ”The Squire Bassett”. Speakers will talk on Derbyshire and The Peak District (with video) and Amusing Poems by Grace. Our future programme includes a cream tea, a BBQ and treasure hunt, a visit to the Mechanical Music Museum in Northleach and Windsor with a river trip. Our thanks to Edna, Carol, Bevita and June for our lovely teas. All are welcome to join us for a coffee morning at Joy’s house at 10.30am on Monday 16 February. Joy Douglas BRIZE NORTON DANCE CLUBWe are pleased to welcome new members after the Christmas break. The club meets every Thursday at 7pm for those who wish to learn Ballroom, Latin American and sequence dancing for enjoyment. Thanks to Mabel and Jean for providing tea and biscuits each week. We hold Tea Dances during the winter months. £250 was raised for the British Heart Foundation and we are now raising money for Children’s Charity. £110 has gone to ”Little Hearts Matter” a charity for children born with heart problems and their families. Our next tea dances are on:
(Arthur Tipper Organist) There will be tea and biscuits. We hope you can come. Joy Douglas BRlZE NORTON PARlSH COUNCILChairman: Shane Rae, Vice Chairman: J Bromley (843296) Councillors: S. Cooper, K. Glazier, C. Dawes, L. Meeks, D. Kirby. Clerk to the Council: Mrs S Goodwin, 13 Daubigny Mead (846827) Parlsh Representatives:- Oxford County Council, Steve Hayward, Bees Pool Club, Witney (703385) W.O.D.C. Verena Hunt, 2 Rocky Banks, Brize Norton (841853) Meetings held in the Pavilion, first Tuesday every month at 7:30pm, all welcome to attend. USEFUL CONTACT NAMES
ELDERBANK HALL ACTIVITIES
The Hall le available for Private Hire Contact:- Mrs Diane Davies on 843430 |
