Middleton Cheney

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Middleton Cheney is a large village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, about 3 miles east of Banbury and 6 miles west-northwest of Brackley. The A422 road used to pass through the village but now bypasses it. The population was 3,597 at the 2011 census (including Thenford). The name means “middle farm” or “middle settlement.” Traces of Neolithic, Bronze Age and Roman settlements have been found here, and farming was once based on an open field system until the 18th century. Parliament passed the Middleton Cheney Inclosure Act in 1769 to divide and enclose common lands.

A railway line ran through the parish in the mid-19th century, with Farthinghoe station opening in 1851; it closed in 1952 and the line closed in 1963. The Holt, a house designed by William Wilkinson, stood here from 1864 until it was demolished in 1973. The parish used to include Overthorpe, which is now a separate parish.

All Saints Church is a Grade I listed, early 14th-century Decorated Gothic church with a tall tower and spire about 150 feet high. It was restored in 1865 by George Gilbert Scott, who added stained-glass windows designed by Morris, Webb, Burne-Jones, Ford Madox Brown and Simeon Solomon. The church has a ring of six bells and a churchyard with historic gravestones; the Horton mausoleum is a Gothic Revival monument by Wilkinson and Earp. Middleton Cheney belongs to the Chenderit Benefice with several nearby parishes.

Religious life and community: A Baptist chapel, dating to around 1740 (the present Baptist Centre was built in 1806), and a Wesleyan Methodist chapel (built 1867) serve the area. Local facilities include a village hall, a library, a sub-post office, two veterinary surgeries, a pharmacy, a supermarket and a cookery school. There are two pubs, The Dolphin Inn and The New Inn, plus a sports and social club. The villages has Middleton Cheney Primary Academy and nearby Chenderit School.

Recreation and events: The village has playing fields and clubs for cricket, football, karate and tennis. The football team plays at Astrop Road, with a senior team in the Oxfordshire Senior Football League and juniors in the Witney and District Youth League. The annual Middleton Music Festival is a rock music event held each July.

Notable resident: Vice Admiral Lancelot Holland (1887–1941) was born in Middleton Cheney. He served in both World Wars and died when his ship Hood was destroyed in 1941. The Admiral Holland pub in Banbury was named after him (demolished in 2017).