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March 1995             Issue 57

CHURCH NEWS

The March Link goes to press as millions start to prepare for Holy Week and Easter by recalling Christ's 40 days in the wilderness. Millions more will not notice, and that will be a relief because it isn't done to be noticed - in fact the gospel says if we do it to be noticed that spoils it. But even those who do not participate in any religious observance may if they are thoughtful want to understand what makes some of their neighbours tick - and e.g. observe Ramadan or Lent etc.

Behind and alongside Islam and Christianity stands Judaism, whose prophets are still read each week in churches, including the local one. Last week we heard Hosea (chapter 14) inviting God's people to return to the Lord their God and to provide themselves with words. That's what religious instruction in church and school and marriage preparation is about. Regardless of how much of it we believe, or how deeply we understand (that only comes with experience and takes time) we need quite early in our lives a moral and religious vocabulary to express our values, loyalties, aspirations. We need to be able to say what kind of a world we strive for.

Words like justice, peace, goodness, reconciliation, have to be part of our language to become part of our life. Words like greed, betrayal, dishonesty, have to be current coin for the realities to be recognized and coped with. Self-knowledge is only possible if we have and can use words. Religion is like a language - we learn it by doing it. Even something as simple as saying the Lord's Prayer or the Jewish Shema each day opens a window on life and gives it some direction.

Other practices are more complicated and some are hard work. Meditation is not everyone's cup of tea because it involves uncluttering our minds and finding a bit of space. Some are helped by others doing the verbal bit - like listening to the Daily Service on Radio 4, or 20 minutes in church on Thursday evenings in Lent at 9 pm for the monastic service called Compline. Or for 25 minutes on Sunday evenings at 6.30 to join in an old-fashioned form of words that has been happening there for 450 years in English, and most of it for 450 years before that in Latin. It's a strange activity at first, and some find other forms of worship in the city. Or in less formal house groups and meetings. But it is a seed of community and a beginning of attention to God.

PLAY SCHEME (SPONSORED BY YOUTH CLUB AND SUNDAY SCHOOL) PLANS ARE AFOOT TO ORGANIZE A PLAYSCHEME IN THE VILLAGE HALL FOR CHILDREN AGED 5-11, 3 PAYS A WEEK (MON, TUES, WED) 10 AM - 4 PM (BRING OWN LUNCH) FOR 3 WEEKS OF THE SUMMER HOLIDAY (31ST JULY - 16TH AUGUST). A PLANNING MEETING OF PARENTS ETC. WILL BE ANNOUNCED LATER, BUT THOSE INTERESTED CAN MEANWHILE CONTACT SUE AT 10B HEYFORD HILL AND/OR PHONE THE VICAR FOR MORE INFORMATION. OFFERS OF VOLUNTARY HELP WELCOME, AND PRE-BOOKING FOR PARTICULAR DAYS OR WEEKS WILL BE ESSENTIAL AS PLACES ARE LIMITED.

For your
diary . . .

Country and Western Dance	25th March 7.30 p.m. (details below)
Lewis Carroll Evensong	4th June 6.30 p.m.
Sandford River Run	24th June 4.30 p.m.
	(Over 50s division, start training now)
Flower Festival and Parish Fete	8th/9th July
Historic Churches Cycle Ride	9th September
Harvest Festival and Supper	1st October
Christmas Bazaar	25th November

Oxford Park Homes Residents Association News:

to Mick and Carole Leary on their silver wedding anniversary

Welcome to: Haydee and Carol, to Dr Miller from Ireland, and to Drs Kenyon and Robertson, all to Church Road. To Paul and Alice Daglish with Helen (11), Matthew (6), Thomas (4), and their Grandma, and to Adrian, Mandy and Daniel Matthews, and to Sean Woodward and Georgia Hole, all to Keene Close. To Dr Emma Akuffo and Denzil (4) to Henley Road. And to Lesley Daniels to River View.

Village Hall Extension

It has therefore been necessary to postpone the project until these are unfrozen. Meanwhile fundraising and garnering continue - so get your sponsorship forms for the River Run in June... On a smaller scale the church plans to build a meeting room between the tower and the old school, to be used for creche, Sunday School, and smaller activities. Offers of help and support welcome, as we plan to do it ourselves.


Personal note from one of the Sandford Welshmen: A message of thanks to all those kind friends who have in their own way expressed sympathy over the Five Nations Champions experiencing a disappointing season so far. There is only once a year some people root for Scotland, but we can all join in hoping the Whites will get their act together this summer.

Youth Club

The bus companies advise us that very few passengers make journeys passing through Wallingford on this service. Any end-to-end journeys (or any journeys from Oxford to Cholsey or points beyond, or vice versa) would be best made by train. Some journeys from the southern outskirts of Oxford to points beyond Wallingford, will probably now be quicker by catching a bus into Oxford and changing onto a train there. Any other passengers who wish to make through journeys which will no longer be possible on one bus, will need to change at Wallingford and wait a variable length of time there for a bus to their destination.

Whilst we must regret any reduction in the facilities offered to bus passengers, there is little we can do to ensure the continuation of the through service. Both separate services will continue to operate at roughly their present frequencies, and will still be the most frequent bus services in nearly all the places they serve. The County Council cannot therefore simply put in a re-placement service from Oxford to Reading; it would be against the law.

If your Council wishes to makes representations about these changes I suggest you should make them direct to whichever of the two bus companies involved serves your area [Mr K. Moffatt, The City of Oxford Motor Services Ltd., 395 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 2DJ]. Whilst you may wish to copy to me any letters you may write (and any replies received) I cannot honestly see any realistic prospect of the County Council being able to intervene in answer to these proposals.
Yours sincerely,
Alan Witton, Dept of Planning and Property Services

Rest in peace

Vera Norton
has asked the Link
to express her very grateful thanks
for all the kindness and expressions of sympathy she received
on Bert's death.

Quiz Night

The meal was excellently nourishing, as was the bar. The raffle raised £110, and Tim's auction of his usual goodies raised £113.20, with the total profits again topping £500, for village concerns. Tim writes below to thank his team - the rest of us thank him for organizing it and sweating blood over the questions (and especially for the increase in biblical ones which confounded the specialists and sunk the Black 'n Tans).

Tim writes: Thanks to everyone who came to the quiz night and made it another successful evening, raising a total of £508 to go to local causes. Thanks to all helpers on the day - Claire Rolston bar, Yvonne Hutton and Helen Willmot waitressing, Sharon Gibbons food, Lyn and Steve Brookings marking, John Willmot PA system electrics. Special thanks to Maurice Earp for donating and preparing the chicken. Also to Nigel and the vicar for efforts with the ticket sales. The auction was also successful, with Mike Norton finally getting the cherry brandy, the vicar procuring (*) the sloe gin (again), and the two goose eggs freshly laid that morning by Clive's ex-geese went to Jackie Smithson.

Youth Club	£100
Toddler group	£100
St Andrews church building fund	£100
Village hall committee	£ 50
Summer playscheme	£ 50
Forget me not club	£ 50
Village hall extension fund	£ 50
Parish Council for bulbs or plants	£ 8

(* 'procuring' means he didn't pay - everyone else did. - Ed.)

Rock Farm was the last working farm in the village. Its original name was Sandford Farm, one of the major estates in the parish. It may have been one of the lands mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086) as held by Robert Roger from St Mary's Abbey in Abingdon.

In 1639 Elizabeth Dinch of Little Wittenham, who had become by marriage Elizabeth Isham - the religious dame mentioned on the plaque over the church porch, and a village benefactor - is recorded as owner of the land, comprising Sandford Farm, from which her tenant paid out a village charity of £5 yearly to the poor of Sandford, and to Brightwell near Wallingford 20 shillings per annum to four poor widows. Elizabeth died on 7th August 1657.

She had probably lived at Sandford Farm, in a large house which has long since disappeared, and the site of which can only be conjectured. The Dinch male line become extinct in 1719. However it appears that a Dinch daughter, Jane, had married into the family of Keck of Great Tew, and the Sandford estate continued in their ownership until at least 1825, when a great great grandson was still paying the parish rate.

In 1825 the estate was put on the market. It then consisted of 308 acres of arable, meadow and pasture land with 18 acres of coppice and plantations including Sandford Brake, and six cottages. The purchaser was James Morrell, brew of Oxford, and for the next few years the farm was called Morrells Farm. Morrell improved his farmstead and estate, modernising the old farm buildings and erecting new ones, and installing machinery.

During this period also, fox hunting was becoming very popular, and Morrell did much to turn his estate into hunting country by planting gorse coverts to encourage the foxes. The Keepers' cottage probably dates from this time. Nor should it surprise us that his new beer house was named 'The Fox'.

James Morrell died in 1863. We learn little of what became of his Sandford estate until 1897 when Sandford Farm (i.e. Rock Farm) came up for auction. It must have been broken off from the rest of the estate, as it then consisted of only 115 acres. Mr Benfield became the new owner, but did little to improve the farm - it was somewhat neglected as his major interest lay in exploiting the clay found on his southern boundary, for which he had built a new brickworks by 1900 (now Park Homes). But he improved a number of cottages, and also opened up a small narrow footpath that led to Minchery Farm from what is now known as Rock Farm Lane. It was during Benfield's occupation that the farm's name was changed to Rock Farm.

[Kingcup - more info]

Map showing site of proposed Football Stadium development:

Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 7th November 1994 at 7pm in the Village Hall, at which six members were present.
The minutes of the previous meeting were approved, and there were no matters arising, and no correspondence.

Matters for consideration:
1. Removal of Any Other Business from future Agendas. The Chairman had proposed that the heading 'Any Other Business' be removed from future Agendas and that items previously discussed under this heading be included under 'Matters for Consideration' as appropriate. Only items included on the Agenda to be considered by the Parish Council. Urgent late entries must be added to the agenda prior to the commencement of the meeting.
Amendment: Future agendas to include 'Items for next meeting'. Motion carried by 4 votes to 2.

C. H. BROWN & SON (SADDLERS) Saddlery Repairs. Fitting Service. Full range of Riding Accessories Country Clothing. Barbour etc., Musto, Caldene, Javlin, Aigle, Driza Bone, Stylo, Christy Beaufort Veterinary Products. Pet Requisites. Member - Society of Master Saddlers 52/53 The Market Tel & Fax Oxford (01865) 244700