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Aston Upthorpe is a village and civil parish about 3 miles (5 km) southeast of Didcot in South Oxfordshire. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The motion picture National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985) - Stonehenge Scene was filmed a mile to the south of the village on the ancient downland. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 179.[1]

Aston Upthorpe
Thorpe Street, Aston Upthorpe
Aston Upthorpe Location within Oxfordshire
Area	4.74 km2 (1.83 sq mi)
Population	179 (2011 Census)
• Density	38/km2 (98/sq mi)
OS grid reference	SU5586
Civil parish	Aston Upthorpe
District	South Oxfordshire
Shire county	Oxfordshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Didcot
Postcode district	OX11
Dialling code	01235
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Oxfordshire
Ambulance	South Central
UK Parliament	Wantage
Website	The Astons.Net
List of places UK England Oxfordshire 51.574°N 1.205°W / 51.574; -1.205

Prehistory

Half of the 360 foot (110 m) high Blewburton Hill is in the parish. The hill is the site of an Iron Age hill fort that may have been occupied from the 4th century BC to the 1st century BC.[2]

Parish church

The Church of England parish church of All Saints may date from the second half of the 11th century. However, the only surviving Norman features are one small window in the north wall of the nave and the blocked-up remains of a south doorway. The nave roof may be 14th century and its west wall and Perpendicular Gothic window may be 15th century.[3] The wooden north porch is of uncertain date,[2] possibly the first half of the 17th century. In 1859–60 under the direction of the Gothic Revival architect P.C. Hardwick, the nave was restored [3] and the chancel was restored.[2] The bellcote is also wooden and has two bells,[3] and may have been added by Hardwick.[2] All Saints is now part of the Benefice of the Churn.[4]

References

Sources

• Page, W.H.; Ditchfield, P.H., eds. (1923). A History of the County of Berkshire. Victoria County History. Vol. 3. assisted by John Hautenville Cope. London: The St Katherine Press. pp. 280–291.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966). Berkshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 74.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aston Upthorpe.

• The Astons.Net
• Aston [Upthorpe] in the Domesday Book

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