STEVENTON

As you drive through Steventon the most striking thing is the imposing village green where cricket is played in the summer. The green is surrounded by an assortment of attractive houses and is bisected by the main road lined with magnificent trees. In the corner of the green is the village hall. Village greens are comparatively rare in this part of Oxfordshire, and the nearby large allotments add to the village's character.

Running along one side of the Green and allotments is the causeway, a paved, tree-lined route believed to have been built in the C14 by monks. It runs from one side of the village to the other and ends at the C14 church of St. Michael and All Angels. Near the church is The Priory (C16) which is owned by the National Trust. For the history and full information about the Church of St. Michael and All Angels click here.

Access to part of the village, including the church, is by a level crossing over the main London to Bristol railway which cuts it off from the rest of the village.

The origins of the name of the village are unclear as it could have meant the estate belonging to a man called Stif(a) or alternatively it might have meant 'a farmstead at the tree stump place'.

Unfortunately Steventon is threatened with the construction of a new reservoir as the area between the village and, East Hanney, Marcham and Drayton is Thames Water's preferred site for a huge new reservoir which if built will provide water for London, Swindon and Oxfordshire.

Steventon is about 5 miles south of Abingdon on the B4017, formerly the A34 before the village was bypassed.