Littleworth

The parish of Littleworth is a rural community close to Faringdon in Oxfordshire. The parish extends from the River Thames at its most northerly point. To the west is the boundary with agricultural land around Barcote and Carswell. The eastern boundary runs along the edge of Cromwell’s battery near Faringdon, reaching Wadley Manor in the south. At the time of the 2011 census 239 people lived in the parish. There are around 100 houses, 65 in the village of Littleworth with the others close to the farms at Thrupp, Haremore and Wadley. Much of Littleworth village is a Conservation Area.

Littleworth has been shaped by its history as an agricultural estate. People have lived in the parish for over 6,000 years, with evidence of farming from the Roman period. By the time of the Doomsday Book in 1086 the land was owned by the Crown, which in 1138 gave it to a medieval abbey. By the 1400’s the parish came back into the ownership of the King, who then granted it to Oriel College, Oxford. Oriel College managed it as a farming estate until 1922, when the land was sold to local farmers.

The parish is characterised by open countryside with wildlife all around. As you enter the village of Littleworth you are greeted by an old oak tree, one of two planted at either end of the village to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.On clear nights the stars shine brightly against the dark sky because there are no streetlights in the parish. Depending on the season you may be met with the bleating of newly born lambs, the firing of bird scarers in surrounding fields, occasional smells from muck spreading, the rumble of machinery from late evening harvesting, along with a range of seasonal village events. All part of living in the countryside.