CROPREDY

Cropredy is a large village on both the River Cherwell and the Oxford Canal. The former Great Western Railway line, now part of the Chiltern Line, passes the village and at one time Cropredy had a railway station but this was closed in 1956.

The name of the village is derived from the Old English words cropp, meaning a hill, and ridig, meaning a stream. The older parts of the village, especially near the parish church, are built in the local golden ironstone and there are some historic thatched ironstone cottages.

The parish church is the Grade I listed church of St. Mary the Virgin, also built in the local stone. Although parts of the south aisle date from the 13th century, most of the present building was built in the 14th century in the Decorated Gothic style. The church was extended in the 15th century in the Perpendicular Gothic style. Full details about the church of St. Mary the Virgin can be found here.

As well as the parish church Cropredy also has a Methodist Chapel.

Near Cropredy lock a former wharf originally handled coal from the Coventry coalfield, but now serves the canal's popular leisure traffic and still has some commercial traffic.

An annual folk and rock festival is held near the village. The festival was started in the 1970s by the band Fairport Convention and is now known as Faiport's Cropredy Convention.

In June 1644, during the Civil War, the battle of Cropredy Bridge was fought. The battle extended over several miles, involving several crossings of the river and extending across to the Northamptonshire border at Hay's Bridge, near Chipping Warden. The King's army was prevented from crossing Cropredy Bridge by two Parliamentarian infrantry regiments but the battle ended in a stalemate with both armies facing each other across the River Cherwell for the rest of the day.

Cropredy is about 4 miles north of Banbury, very close to the county boundary with Northamptonshire.