History of Village

Activity in the area can be dated back to the Bronze Age, with further artefacts from the Roman era.  Ridge and furrow marks in the fields testify to the medieval occupation of the village.  By the time of the Domesday Survey the village was in the hands of Robert D'Oilly who had come to England with William the Conqueror.  The manor later came into the possession of Osney Abbey until the dissolution of the monasteries when Henry VIII gave it to Lord Williams of Thame and by descent the manor remained in the Norreys Bertie family until the whole estate was sold in 1918.  With a few exceptions, the entire village, both cottages and farms, belonged to the Manor until this time.
The history of the village was very much related to the fortunes of the Norrys Berties  and when the lord of the manor was killed in World War I and the village estate sold, the people who lived here had the opportunity of purchasing and therefore owning their own home and in some cases their own land.