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Moulsford
Moulsford is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire. Before 1974, it was in the county of Berkshire, in Wallingford Rural District, but following the Berkshire boundary changes of that year it became a part of Oxfordshire. Moulsford is on the A329, by the River Thames, just north of Streatley and south of Wallingford. The west of the parish is taken up by the foothills of the Berkshire Downs, including the Moulsford Downs. Moulsford Bottom and Kingstanding Hill are traditionally associated with King Alfred and the Battle of Ashdown.
Moulsford Manor was the principal home of the prominent Carew family, who also lived at Carew Castle in Pembrokeshire. It was used by the American Army Air-Force during World War Two, then a nursing school, before being bought as a private residence for Kevin Maxwell in 1994, who lets it out for the filming of Midsomer Murders. Moulsford Railway Bridge, situated just north of the village on the Great Western Main Line, was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
The Bronze Age 'Moulsford Torc' was discovered in the parish and bought by the Museum of Reading with the aid of a grant from the Art Fund in 1961. It is a hoop-shaped decorative neck ornament, made of four spirally twisted gold-alloy strips held together by a delicate piece of twisted gold wire.
Evidence of later prehistoric and Roman activity has been identified in the surrounding area, reflecting the long-standing importance of the River Thames as a route for communication and trade. The parish’s position near a natural crossing of the Thames, close to Streatley and Goring-on-Thames, is likely to have encouraged early settlement.
Moulsford is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a small agricultural settlement held by a Norman tenant-in-chief. The place-name is generally taken to derive from Old English, possibly meaning “Mūla’s ford”, indicating a river crossing associated with an individual or family. During the medieval period the village formed part of a predominantly agrarian landscape, with open-field farming and meadowland along the Thames floodplain.
A ferry crossing operated at Moulsford from at least the medieval period, providing a link across the River Thames to the Berkshire bank. The ferry remained in use until 1967, when it was closed following the decline in demand and the availability of nearby road bridges.
In the post-medieval period, Moulsford remained a small rural community. The river continued to shape local life, both as a transport route and through periodic flooding of low-lying land. A major change came with the construction of Moulsford Railway Bridge in the 1830s as part of the Great Western Railway. The bridge, designed under the direction of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, improved connections with Reading and Oxford.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries the village developed modestly while retaining its rural character. The Thames became increasingly associated with leisure activities, particularly rowing.
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Moulsford
Moulsford is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire. Before 1974, it was in the county of Berkshire, in Wallingford Rural District, but following the Berkshire boundary changes of that year it became a part of Oxfordshire. Moulsford is on the A329, by the River Thames, just north of Streatley and south of Wallingford. The west of the parish is taken up by the foothills of the Berkshire Downs, including the Moulsford Downs. Moulsford Bottom and Kingstanding Hill are traditionally associated with King Alfred and the Battle of Ashdown.
Moulsford Manor was the principal home of the prominent Carew family, who also lived at Carew Castle in Pembrokeshire. It was used by the American Army Air-Force during World War Two, then a nursing school, before being bought as a private residence for Kevin Maxwell in 1994, who lets it out for the filming of Midsomer Murders. Moulsford Railway Bridge, situated just north of the village on the Great Western Main Line, was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
The Bronze Age 'Moulsford Torc' was discovered in the parish and bought by the Museum of Reading with the aid of a grant from the Art Fund in 1961. It is a hoop-shaped decorative neck ornament, made of four spirally twisted gold-alloy strips held together by a delicate piece of twisted gold wire.
Evidence of later prehistoric and Roman activity has been identified in the surrounding area, reflecting the long-standing importance of the River Thames as a route for communication and trade. The parish’s position near a natural crossing of the Thames, close to Streatley and Goring-on-Thames, is likely to have encouraged early settlement.
Moulsford is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a small agricultural settlement held by a Norman tenant-in-chief. The place-name is generally taken to derive from Old English, possibly meaning “Mūla’s ford”, indicating a river crossing associated with an individual or family. During the medieval period the village formed part of a predominantly agrarian landscape, with open-field farming and meadowland along the Thames floodplain.
A ferry crossing operated at Moulsford from at least the medieval period, providing a link across the River Thames to the Berkshire bank. The ferry remained in use until 1967, when it was closed following the decline in demand and the availability of nearby road bridges.
In the post-medieval period, Moulsford remained a small rural community. The river continued to shape local life, both as a transport route and through periodic flooding of low-lying land. A major change came with the construction of Moulsford Railway Bridge in the 1830s as part of the Great Western Railway. The bridge, designed under the direction of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, improved connections with Reading and Oxford.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries the village developed modestly while retaining its rural character. The Thames became increasingly associated with leisure activities, particularly rowing.
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