Stanford in the Vale
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Image:Green2.jpg Stanford in the Vale is a large village with approximately 2,000 residents situated in the Vale of the White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. It lies on the A417 road, four miles from Faringdon and six from Wantage. It has two churches, one primary school, two pubs, shops and businesses, as well as numerous clubs and societies.
The village is built on Corallian Limestone and there is heavy quarrying activity, extracting sands and gravels.
Until the county boundary changes of 1974, the village was in Berkshire.
Stanford in the Vale takes its name from the ancient crossing of the River Ock, which flows into the River Thames at Abingdon. In Saxon times, the crossing was known as "stony ford". It is often assumed that this ford once served where the bridge now spans the river on the A417, near Stanford Mill, however others speculate that it was actually a crossing of Frogmore Brook. In mediaeval times, the village rivalled Abingdon as a market centre, having the unusual feature of two village greens. It was also noted for its chive cheese. During 1644 and 1645, the English Civil War came to Faringdon and Radcot (a strategic river crossing over the Thames). Cromwell's Cavalry was billeted in the village.
Stanford in the Vale featured on national UK news in August 2005 because of a serious fire affecting a row of thatched cottages on the village green. [1]
The poet Pam Ayres was born in the village.
It is also the home of the internationally-known Alternative Veterinary Medicine Centre.
External links
- Stanford in the Vale - community website
- Civil War detail