Chadlington History

St. Chad of Northumbria
St. Chad of Northumbria

Chadlington is mentioned in the Domesday book in 1086 as Cedelintone, which became Chadleytone in 1268 and Chedelinton in 1307. It has been said that St. Chad, a native of Northumbria who died in 672 lived in the village.

To the north-west of the village is Knollbury, a neolithic enclosure believed to be defensive in nature. In a field in the hamlet of Dean to the east of Chadlington stands the Hawk Stone megalith, a fine example of a standing stone.

In 1517, Chadlington Hundred* included 27 parishes extending from Little Compton to Hook Norton and Enstone to Minster Lovell. In 1642, troops lined up in the village before the battle of Edge Hill in the Civil War.

The name Chadlington is said the mean “The Hill” or “Tun” of Ceadda or Chad. A cluster of houses in Saxon times was called a ‘Tun’.

There is a division of the parish at the Green Lane into Chadlington east and west. In the parish church of St. Nicholas, an ancient carver notes this division in the south nave.**

“Hundreds were subdivisions of counties, from the 10th century onwards, in those parts of England that lay south of the ‘Danelaw’. They had military, judicial and administrative functions…In the late Anglo-Saxon period hundreds probably consisted of 100 ‘hides’, a unit of taxation. Their names were taken from their original meeting places, which were usually remote from settlements, often at a river crossing or by a major highway. The site was often marked by a stone, tree or tumulus.” Hey, David (ed. 2008) The Oxford Companion to Family and Local History. Oxford University Press Oxford. p. 436.

This text adapted from “Chadlington – 60 Years in Old Photographs” (and then extended by the Editor). We would welcome any input to the content for this page and in general for content related to the history of the village.

Chadlington History Books

The history of Chadlington is recorded in print in three books published by the Chadlington History Group and a further book “Millenium Year” published by the Chadlington Millenium Committee. These books are invaluable records of life in the village are sadly no longer in print. We are hoping to find out whether all or some aspects of each book can possibly be made available online.

Image of Photo Book     Picture of History Book Vol. 1     Picture of History Book Vol. 2     Picture of Millenium Book

More History Pages…


More memories of 1930s and 1940s Chadlington

The Editor has received correspondence from a website reader who was fostered in Chadlington as a boy before the Second World War. This gives a vivid first-hand picture of life in the village at the time. Ron Cuthbertson was fostered by Mr Ailsworth and Mrs …

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Picture of the Chadlington Five

The “Chadlington Five”

The Chadlington Five – but who are the other children in this photograph? The story of five children who were evacuated to Chadlington during the War Years. Jan has written to us on behalf of her mother Joyce Fish, who was briefly evacuated to Chadlington during …

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Old Photographs

A selection of old photographs of Chadlington. If you have old photographs you would like to add to this gallery please contact us… Click on any image to launch the viewer – use the left / right arrows on your keyboard to navigate, press ESC …

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