Skirmish at Great Haseley 1644
Who Fought
History & Significance
Great Haseley is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England. The village is about 4.5 miles (7 km) southwest of Thame. The parish includes the hamlets of Latchford, Little Haseley and North Weston and the house, chapel and park of Rycote. The parish stretches 6 miles (10 km) along a northeast — southwest axis, bounded by the River Thame in the north, Haseley Brook in the south and partly by a boundary hedge with Little Milton parish in the west. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 511.
The Domesday Book of 1086 records that a Norman nobleman, Miles Crispin of Wallingford, held the manor of Great Haseley. In the 13th century the manor was held by Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk. In 1332 Edward III granted Great Haseley to William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton.
In 1482, Edward IV granted the manor to the dean and canons of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. The present Manor House was built in the 17th century, altered in about 1700 and has a Georgian stable block. It is a Grade II* listed building.
The Church of England parish church of Saint Peter dates from about 1200. The three-bay arcades linking the nave with the north and south aisles are in a Transitional style from Norman to Early English Gothic, as is an external doorway that has been re-set on the west side of the bell-tower. The chancel and its arch were built late in the 13th century, and it retains all of its Decorated Gothic windows from that time. In the 14th century each aisle was extended eastwards with a fourth bay, and at the end of each aisle is a chapel with a squint into the chancel. The northeast chapel is Perpendicular Gothic, as are the bell-tower and the clerestory that was added to the nave. The Gothic Revival architect Thomas Garner restored the chancel in 1897. St Peter's is a Grade I listed building.
The tower has a ring of six bells. Four of them — the present third, fourth, fifth and tenor bells — existed by 1552. In 1641, Ellis I Knight of Reading recast what are now the fourth and fifth bells and cast a new bell (now the second bell), increasing the ring to five. Late in the 1690s William and Robert Cor of Aldbourne, Wiltshire recast what is now the third bell. Thomas Rudhall of Gloucester recast the tenor bell in 1774 and cast a new treble bell in 1775, increasing the ring to six. In 1925, Gillett & Johnston of Croydon re-cast the treble and the third bells, an event watched by King George V and Queen Mary. Also in 1925 all six were re-hung in a new iron frame, which has capacity for the ring to be increased to eight.
St Peter's had a church clock by 1666, when it is first mentioned in the churchwardens' accounts. It was replaced by a new clock in 1759 or 1760. This in turn was replaced by the present clock, which was installed in 1865. The churchyard contains one war grave from World War II, of Lieutenant-Colonel Anthony Muirhead, the first British Member of Parliament to die serving in the war. St Peter's parish is now part of a single benefice with the parishes of Great Milton and Little Milton.
The ground they fought on
The site of Skirmish at Great Haseley 1644 lies on Portland Group, bedrock that formed in the Portlandian. The rock here is limestone and calcareous sandstone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything a full report reveals about Skirmish at Great Haseley 1644
This page covers Skirmish at Great Haseley 1644. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Scheduled Monuments near Skirmish at Great Haseley 1644
Other English Civil War Battles
Battles near Skirmish at Great Haseley 1644
Explore the landscape around Oxfordshire
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in the UK — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.
- Great Haseley (Including Little Haseley, Latchford, Rycote), Victoria County History of Oxfordshire, vol. 18 · British History Online / Institute of Historical Research
- Great Haseley · Wikipedia