ASTON AND COTE

To the visitor Aston appears a rather ordinary village. In the centre is the village war memorial which is on a small triangular green (for some reason known as "The Square"). Around the green are one or two village shops, a pub and a works.

The parish church is the 19th century Church of St. James. For the history and full information about St. James' Church click here.

A number of Basque refugee children from the Bilbao region of Spain (the "Aston Colony") were housed in the village during 1937-39 as part of a scheme to provide a refuge during the Spanish civil war.

The village is home to the popular Aston Pottery and Chimney Meadows, a 250 hectare nature reserve rich in wildlife, is nearby on the banks of the Thames.

A house on the River Thames close to Aston has been used as a location in the popular TV series Midsomer Murders.
http://midsomermurders.org/astonloc.htm

Aston is about 2.5 miles north of the River Thames crossing at Tadpole Bridge a mile or so east of Bampton and about 3 miles west of Brighthampton on the B4449. The village is in the area of flat flood plain between the River and the higher ground to the north.

The hamlet of Cote is about half a mile to the east of Aston, and it spreads southwards for half a mile or so towards the hamlet of Shifford. Cote House is a magnificent largely 16th and 17th century Cotswold manor house.