Location Location
Ewelme in a Nutshell
Ewelme is located on the western tip of the Chilterns, and on
the eastern slopes of the Thames Valley in Oxfordshire (see
map), within an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB).
It is an ancient village, boasting a hilltop cluster of
fifteenth century buildings consisting of the closely associated
Church, Almshouses and School. The thriving junior school is
said to be the oldest in the country. All this was due to the
charitable works of a local girl Alice, daughter of Thomas
Chaucer - Speaker of the House of Commons, and Grand-daughter of
Geoffrey Chaucer of Canterbury Tales fame. She married to become
Duchess of Suffolk, and thenceforth began to put Ewelme on the
map so-to-speak. Another famous writer - Jerome K Jerome (Three
Men in a Boat) is also buried in the Churchyard.
Watercress
Ewelme was/is well known for its Watercress, which throughout
most of the 20th century provided a thriving local business,
with distribution as far as Covent Garden. The Watercress beds
flow through the whole length of the village from South East to
North West (see
map), and at some point had a water mill, the ruins of which
can still be seen. It then feeds the River Thames at Benson, a
couple of miles away (see
map). However, during the latter quarter of the 1900s, the
water from the Chilterns became less pure and could not meet
European standards. This together with greater competition from
other areas and countries, led to its demise. It was most
fortunate that the Chiltern Society agreed to purchase the beds,
and have invested in a programme of conservation and revival.
Although it is unlikely that watercress will ever be produced in
commercial quantity again, it is envisaged that example areas
will be maintained for demonstration of its historical
importance for the village. Will this also revive the old
superstition, that any childless women who stares upon the
Ewelme Watercress Beds will become pregnant? You can make up
your own mind - but it worked for us!
Recognisance
These days, Ewelme cannot be completely isolated from its
surroundings without referring to the adjacent airfield of RAF
Benson. This area was constructed using open countryside,
including the old Oxford to London Road, in 1937. Although it is
understandable that many local protests ensued, it has in fact
ensured that the surrounding area has been left as open
countryside, and while the airfield exists, will prevent Ewelme
turning into a satellite of Oxford or Didcot. RAF Benson was
used during the war for recognisance, and is said, amongst
other important work, to have provided all the photographs for
preparation of the Dambusters operation. It was then used as
part of Transport Command, together and then solely as Queen's
Flight. Obviously, there have been many royal visitors to the
area, but none have ever called in! Apparantly, Henry the Eighth
was supposed to have fallen into King's Pool in the centre of
the village. The airfield is currently used as a helicopter
base, and although frequent flights are always apparent,
does not interfere with the sleepy atmosphere of the village
(double glazing also helps!).
A Taste of Honey
Not so long ago, Ewelme was also well known for its Honey. The
Rowse family settled here and built a packing factory on land
adjacent to the now defunct Post Office. It has to be admitted
that this was a bit of an eye-sore, but provided significant
local employment (including some pocket money for Margaret!).
This has now expanded to the nearby Market Town of Wallingford,
but Rowse Honey jars (and other similar spreadable products),
can be seen on many Supermarket shelves throughout the country.
The land has now been developed into a small estate of
sympathetically designed village houses adjacent to Kings pool.
Another area of employment now no longer present, was a Unigate
Dairies distribution centre. Four terraced houses are now due to
be built here in the near future. The demise of the Honey
factory and the Dairy has now significantly reduced the amount
of heavy vehicles using the High Street.
As Seen on TV
To the East of the village is the picturesque Cow Common, where
ancient grazing rights are still being "discussed" between the
parish council and local farmers. The adjacent playing field is
still an area of somewhat time warped cricket matches and
village fêtes. Indeed, the village has been recognised as a
place to film historical TV productions e.g. Paradise Postponed.
Ewelme was also used in an episode of MidSomer Murders (Beyond
the Grave), and even Morse mentioned "Ewelme Wood", although I
can't find it on the map. Perhaps Colin Dexter meant Hyde
Shaw (see
map), which I call Eyre's Wood, through which many pleasant
jogs and walks have been made? This is where I spotted my first
Red Kite a few years ago, and not being a real "twitcher",
concluded that this was very rare and only to be found in mid
Wales. It was soon discovered that this was a product of a
programme of preservation, where a number of pairs of Red Kites
had been released around Stokenchurch - a few miles away as the
Crow flies! Although Ewelme is not the centre of Red Kite
country, it is certainly part of it. There is not a day
that goes by, when a
Red Kite cannot be seen, and on one occasion during a walk,
I saw eleven of them soaring above the surrounding fields at the
same time - wonderful!
Going Nowhere
Thus the history of Ewelme has ebbed and flowed in significance
throughout the last 600 years, and it is amazing to realise that
we have lived here for over a third of our lives. It is perhaps
a fortunate factor that Ewelme is not en-route to anywhere in
particular, which may help to preserve its somewhat quiet and
isolated character, but it's well worth taking a detour for at
least a transitory visit!
NEW - Village Web Site
If you would like to know some more about Ewelme in terms of
Parish Council activities, local society news or just some more
general information about the village, the new
www.ewelme.info web site is
well worth a visit.