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WATCHFIELD
The present church of St. Thomas, erected in 1858, is a stone building consisting of chancel, nave, and west bellcote containing one bell. The plate consists of a cup, the date letter of which is obliterated, but the maker's mark is the same as one the Shrivenham patens (1636); a paten of 1711 inscribed, 'The gift of Mrs. Ann Blagrove to Watchfield Chappel, Nov. 5, 1749'; and a flagon of 1853, 'The gift of Lady Catherine Berens, wife of the Vicar, Nov. 1857.' The living is a chapelry of Shrivenham in the gift of the Lord Chancellor. To the north of the village, and north of the A420, is Westmill Wind Farm, situated at Westmill Farm on the site of the former Watchfield Airfield. The wind farm was established as a Co-op in 2004 for the purpose of constructing and operating a community-owned wind farm and will produce enough 'green' electricity to power more than 2,500 homes. Watchfield is just south of the A420 Oxford to Swindon road, about a mile north of Shrivenham. |
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