- Freeland, Oxfordshire
Freeland is a village between
Witney ,Long Hanborough andEynsham in Oxfordshire. The village originated as a post medieval settlement, was known as Frithlands in the 16th century (from the nearby Frith, later Thrift wood) and became Freeland in the late 17th century.Overview
The name
Freeland means Free Land for the use of people to graze their animals in the18th century.The village is home to Freeland House, built in 1807 and now a nursing home. There is also a convent, St. Mary's House, for the Community of St. Clare. The local pub started life in 1842, was The New Inn in the 19th century and was restored and renamed to The Oxfordshire Yeoman in 1974. The 1738 house Roslyn was reputed to have been a 19th century pugilists meeting place known as the 'Wrostling House'. The local school is Freeland CE Primary School
In 1981 there were 435 households and a population of 1374.
Church and Chapel
Designed by John Loughborough Pearson, St. Mary's Church was built as a high Victorian style church with stained glass and decoration by
Clayton and Bell . The church, parsonage and school, all designed by Pearson, were built from 1869 to 1871 with funds provided by the Taunton family. The church was consecrated in 1869 bySamuel Wilberforce In addition to the church there is also Freeland Chapel, a Methodist chapel built in 1805
Freeland Sports
Freeland has two main sports teams, Freeland Football Club and Freeland Cricket Club.
Freeland Football club was founded in 1908, and is now 100 years old.
Although there is a gap in the history of the club, the recent activities are more recorded, and are now documented at the clubs website [http://www.freelandfc.co.uk Freeland FC official website] . The clubs history lies in the
Witney and District League with at least one team in the league in the last 100 years.In recent years the club has had two teams entered in the witney and district league; Freeland Firsts (WDFA Prem) and Freeland Reserves (WDFA Div2). However in the last season 2007/08 there has been a third team added, the Freeland A's.
The freeland firsts have won the last two seasons back to back in the WDFA Prem (2005-06 & 2006-07).
References
* Jennifer Sherwoode and
Nikolaus Pevsner , "Oxfordshire " London: Penguin, 1974, pp. 606-607.
* 'Eynsham: Barnard Gate and Freeland', A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 12: Wootton Hundred (South) including Woodstock (1990), pp. 116-117. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=6882. Date accessed: 29 March 2008External links
* [http://www.acny.org.uk/venue.php?V=5863 St. Mary's Church on the Church of England website]
* [http://www.minstercaregroup.co.uk/Brochures/d1a1eaf0-531d-485d-87f7-456341ac890f.pdf PDF brochure with image of Freeland House]
* [http://www.freelandfc.co.uk Freeland Football Club Website]
* [http://www.freelandcc.co.uk Freeland Cricket Club Website]
* [http://www.freelandoxon.com Freeland Village Website]
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