Acknowledgements.

I should like to thank all those who have helped me with this book, either by providing material or in other ways. In particular my thanks are due to my husband Mark Keegan for his assistance in publishing the book, with all the problems that entailed. The generous help given by Sue Lester for her constant encouragement and letters, but especially for all the trouble taken in reading the manuscript at an early stage when it threatened to erode her impeccable spelling.

I also acknowledge with gratitude the help given by the following : Paul Baker for some difficult glossary explanations and for of his aerial photographs. The encouragement to begin from late Sidney Roland Cherry which has been kept going by Audrey and Ray Cherry's letters. I cannot thank them enough. Appreciation for Brian Cannon's generosity in allowing access to the terrier in his deeds. To Dolly Monk who has been a great friend and source of local knowledge from the beginning. To Anja and John Tapley who not only allowed access with generous hospitality to their house, but also supplied information in abundance. They and all other parishioners cannot be blamed for any wrong conclusions expressed in this book. To Stephen Wass for the two reconstructions of his house on pages 386 and 401 and for his encouragement. To Mr.E. J. Swingler for his helpful comments about glass and window fittings. Grateful acknowledgement must also be given to Ben Watkiss who suffered constant checking of their property during their renovations. To all the members of the Cropredy Historical Society for their support and for whom the book was begun. To all those very patient householders who made the book possible by allowing inside and outside measurements to be taken, or contributed letters and plans. To the owners of fields and farm buildings who allowed the hedge and barns survey and the relatives who endured quizzing over gravestones and helped with their family history. Without all their help and interest it would have been impossible to face the task.

I would like to thank Mr Barry Nicholas, then principal of Brasenose College, who gave his permission in 1980 to quote freely from the archives. The invaluable and kindly help from the librarians, especially the late Mr Peedell who made the visits to the college library one of the highlights of the whole research. My thanks to Dr. D.M.Barratt, then at the Bodleian, who patiently encouraged a raw searcher and for her help with the folios, will and references to Thomas Holloway. Special appreciation must be given for the skills of the late Mrs Judith Segal who by repairing the documents enabled the Easter Oblations to unlock many of the Cropredy records. I should also like to add my gratitude to the staff at the Public Record Office and all the County Record Offices mentioned in the bibliography for their efficient and encouraging help.

I must express my gratitude for the use of the Banbury Historical Society publications and permission to quote from them especially Dr Thomas Loveday's very interesting and useful article on "The Registers of Williamscote School" in The Cake & Cockhorse. Also to Jeremy Gibson for supplying a list of Cropredy PCC wills and for his help and encouragement.

  • Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following for permission to reprint for the purposes of this non profit making book only, specified excerpts from the previously published material:
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  • Alston Frank for extra information about Skeps. Northern Bee 1987.
  • Hennell T. Change in the Farm 1934 Cambridge University Press.
  • Howell C. Land, Family & Inheritance in Transition 1983 Cambridge Univ. Press.
  • Ingram M. Church Courts, Sex and Marriage in England 1570-1640.Cambridge Univ. Press.
  • Laslett T.P.R. and Walls R. ed. Household and Family in Past Times 1972 Cambridge Univ. Press.
  • Rose W.The Village Carpenter1952 Cambridge Univ. Press.
  • Rose W. Good Neighbours1969 Cambridge Univ. Press.
  • Spufford M. Contrasting Communities 1979 Cambridge Univ.Press.
  • Spufford M. Small Books and Pleasant Histories 1981 Cambridge Univ. Press.
  • Tate W.E. The Parish Chest 1946 Cambridge Univ. Press.
  • Thisk J. ed. The Agrarian History of England and Wales 1500-1640. Cambridge Univ. Press.All extracts reprinted by the kind permission Cambridge University Press.
  •  
  • Copper Bob A Song for Every Season William Heinemann 1971. An extract reprinted by permission of Random House UK Ltd.
  • Hoskins W.E. Age of Plunder: The England of Henry VIII(0-582-48544-4). Addison Wesley Longman Ltd. 1976. Two excerpts reprinted by permission of Addison Wesley Longman Ltd.
  • Hoskins W.G. Provincial England Macmillan Press Ltd 1965.
  • O'Day R. The Family and Family Relationships, 1500-1900. Macmillan Ltd 1994. Excerpts reprinted by permission of Macmillan Press Ltd.
  • Crossley A. ed. The Victoria History of the County of Oxford Vol X. Oxford University Press 1972.
  • Orwin C.S. The Open Fields Oxford Univ. Press 3rd ed. 1967.
  • Russell C. The Crisis of Parliaments Oxford Univ. Press 1971 Excerpts reprinted by permission of Oxford University Press.
  • Permission was granted for the excepts from Emery F.V's "West Glamorgan Farming 1580-1620" published in The National Library of Wales Journal in a non profit making book.
  • Permission was granted for the excerpt from Peate I.O. "The Long-House " published in the Folk Life Vol 11 1964 pp 78,79.
  • Permission was granted for excerpts from the "Oxford Peculiars" by Peyton S.A. issued for the Oxfordshire Record Society Volume 10 in 1928.
  • Permission has kindly been granted by Blackwell Publishers for a quote from Bennet M.K. "British wheat yields per acre for seven " in the Economic History Review 111(1935) p12-29.
  • Permission has been given to quote from the Boothby Letters [Additional 71960-62] by The British Library.
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