NEWTON PURCELL

Newton Purcell was originally a settlement where the Roman road crossed a spur of higher ground, in other words 'the new tun'. It took its second name from the Purcel family, who held it in the 12th century.

Today there are one or two groups of old cottages on the main Bicester to Buckingham road and a few more cottages and houses and the church on a loop to the west of the main road. Apart from the church the other significant buildings in the village are the Victorian rectory, Elms Farm and the small Old School building, now the parish hall.

The village church, the Grade II listed Church of St. Michael and All Angels, is probably Norman although little of the original church building still survives except a 12th-century Norman doorway and a 13th-century piscina.  In 1813 the church was repaired and most of its original features were destroyed. In 1875, the building was restored and the vestry, bell-turret and south porch were added. Full details about the Church of St. Michael and All Angels can be found here.

Newton Purcell is very close to the county boundary with Buckinghamshire, 4.5 miles south-east of Brackley in neighbouring Northamptonshire.