Langford Situated just north of Lechlade on the very western edge of the county, the name obviously derives from the Anglo Saxon for a "long ford". Given its location close to the broadening River Thames it should come as no surprise that the area is prone to flooding. Two major military skirmishes have been played out within the confines of the parish due to the strategic importance of Radcot Bridge. In December 1387 the army raised by Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV) defeated the forces supporting Richard II here. During the Civil War the Royalists garrisoned the bridge as an outer defence for Oxford, but during the final phase of the war a small but well-drilled Parliamentary force stormed the garrison and took 200 Royalist prisoners. There has been a place of worship in the village since late in the 10th century, with the present church dating to about 1080 by Aelfsige of Faringdon and using Saxon masons. The tunnel vault inside the tower is possibly one of only three such Saxon vaults in the country, although there is some dispute that it may have been inserted a century or so later. The south porch carries the limestone sculptures of the Crucifixion with the figures of Our Lady and St John, and the Langford Rood, a robed figure of Christ unique in England. Both are thought to have been preserved from the previous building. The back five bells were cast in 1741 at the Witney works of Henry Bagley III, although the tenor was recast in 1953. Up until early 2008 the bells had lain unrung for over a decade, but a ground-swell of local interest led to practices resuming.

The town of Witney came to prominence during Saxon times, and expanded again in the years leading up to the Reformation. The Bishops of Winchester had a palace here which they used as a country residence, and the remains of which are to be found at the rear of the parish church of St Mary the Virgin. For many centuries Witney was a pivotal centre for the weaving of blanket cloth due to the waters of the Windrush containing nitrous qualities suitable for the fulling process. Church Green is surrounded by the very impressive presence of the church, the buttercross and the rows of C16th and C17th almshouses. The ring of eight bells always leaves a good impression. South Leigh This three-pronged village runs from the River Windrush across to Tar Wood and Cogges Wood. By the early part of the 13th century the settlement was documented as Suthleye (southerly clearing of a wood). During medieval times the village actually resided within the Lincoln Diocese. The church is set away from the main part of the village, and surrounded by a scattering of farmhouses and cottages. This is the first church that John Wesley is recorded as preaching in back in 1771. The chancel, north chapel, nave, north aisle and west tower are all late 15th century, whilst certain other aspects of the church possess a Romanesque style. The bells are rung from the ground floor and are ideal for extended periods of ringing.

Chaddleworth A small settlement was first noted as Caedelnwyrth (Ceadala's Enclosure) in 960 A.D. with no fewer than three ancient sites having been excavated locally. Although diggings were inconclusive, pottery found here pointed towards this having been an Iron Age site. During the Middle Ages the manor was held by Amesbury Priory. The village of today is still largely surrounded by woodland with the church situated west of the village. The south doorway is the only Norman remnant of the present church. The bells are rung from the ground floor and are a revelatory splendid four. Brightwalton The earliest notation of a settlement here was as Beorhtwaldingtune (Beorthwald's Estate) in 939 A.D. The church is in the rock-faced C13th style but actually dates to 1862/3 by G.E. Street with exceptionally fine quality stained glass of that time by eminent Burne-Jones. The south-west tower is capped by a shingled broach spire. The bells are rung from the ground floor and are reassuringly fluent, although the treble is set rather fine. As at Farnborough the stained glass window of the tower is of immense interest and widespread renown. Farnborough Being one of several so named towns or villages in southern England, Farnborough derives its name from a hill or mound covered with ferns. The nave of the church remains from late Norman times with the late Perpendicular west tower being constructed of flint. The bells are rung from the ground floor and are due to be converted to be rung mechanically in the near future. The treble and tenor are C17th from a foundry that existed in Wokingham. Compton Parva Noted in the Domesday Survey as Contone (Farmstead in a valley) the affix Parva was added to differentiate the village from several other Compton's in the south of England. The village is probably best known for the Agricultural Research Station here. Adjacent to Compton on Cow Down is the site of a 15 acre Iron Age hill-fort known as Peterborough Castle that followed a circular plan. The church is set some distance to the east of the village, with the main body primarily from 1850, although the west tower remains essentially untouched from C13th. The bells are a fluent six ideal for minor method ringing. Peasemore The village name refers to a pond that adjoined a field of peas from the 11th century. Evidence has been found of an Iron Age settlement here around five thousand years ago, with the stone and flint tools that have been unearthed now residing in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. The first church in the village was founded in 1104 by Richard of Peasemore, although it was subject to a rebuilding on a rather grand scale from 1842. The bells have very recently been re-hung and re-tuned and we were privileged to be the first visiting band to experience this resurgent and resonant six.

Colden Common The parish has grown out of what was originally the hamlet of Bambridge, having been granted to the then newly-established Corpus Christi, Oxford. In 1974 the village hit the national headlines when 70,000 tons of tyres stored in a disused clay pit here caught alight and required 68 fire engines to bring the conflagration under control in what was nicknamed the "tyre pyre" and took 15 days to damp down. The campanile bells are rung from within the garage of the property and help and advice is readily on hand from the owner as to what is a thoroughly different style of bell control. Owslebury Taking its name from Osla's stronghold frequented by blackbirds, the settlement here came about due to its strategic position at the top of a hill, and subsequently several ancient routes such as the Pilgrim's Trail, Monarch's Way and the Roman road from Winchester all criss-crossed near here. Despite all these routes nearby the village (pronounced Osslebury) was known up until early C20th as the "unknown village" such was its isolation and lack of documentation. The majority of the church is Early English with the west tower dating to 1675. The bells are rung from the ground floor with the 5 & 6 requiring a stance on the plinth of the font. Twyford First noted as Tuiforde c.970 the name refers to there being a double ford here. After the coaching era drew to a close Twyford remained a popular through route to the coast with cyclists as late Victorian fashionable society embraced this new pursuit. On the eastern fringe of Twyford is a diligently preserved Edwardian water pumping station that extracted water from the chalk downland for over a century and which is now open to the public. The church of 1876/7 is situated on meadowland next to the river and is built of knapped flint. With the churchyard dominated by a 1000 year old yew tree that is argued to be the best maintained in southern England. The bells are a splendid eight with no foibles. The Phoenix Inn Following our last two outings that included great pubs for lunch, the standard was more than kept up here, with all the elements of a memorable lunch, namely a warm welcome, excellent meals, service, prices, and a wealth of photographic memorabilia pointing up the abundance of angling and cycling activity associated with the pub since Victorian times onwards. Compton Known locally as Compton Street, the village also incorporates Shawford and primarily consists of a long main street that follows the course of the chalk valley. The area is noted for its wealth of butterflies, attracted by the proliferation of orchids in particular. The church is highly unusual in that it has two naves and two chancels due to the original Norman examples being supplemented by new examples in 1905. The bells are rung from the ground floor in a semi-circle around the font. Sparsholt The name of the village is a reference to the propensity of spear shafts once made here from the local forest around 901 A.D. when the settlement was documented as Speoresholte. The village is best known by regard of the agricultural college that bears its name and which features regularly on BBC Radio 4's Gardeners' Question Time. The majority of the church is Victorian restoration work from 1883 with only small reminders from C13th such as the priests' doorway and south arcade. The bells here are ideal for fluent ringing. Avington The village is situated amidst the Upper Itchen Valley alongside the river as it meanders to Cheesefoot Head. King Edgar granted the land to Winchester Priory. In 961 A.D. King Edgar granted the land to Winchester Priory. The manor house of Avington Park was used by Charles II and his mistress Nell Gwynne when he visited Winchester. The village is one of the few in the country to have a folk song named after it, namely "Avington Pond". A distinctive row of cottages here served as barracks for some of the Duke of Wellington's crack troops during the Napoleonic Wars. The brick built church dates from 1768 - 71 on the death of the Marchioness of Caernarvon who is buried here. The interior of the church is of immense interest with inordinately high sided Spanish mahogany box pews. The bells are rung from a gallery and though fluent are extremely loud.

Shabbington This low-lying village, first documented as Slobintone (Sleobba's Estate), is situated on the northern bank of the sublimely meandering River Thame with the road on its western fringe often being impassable due to flash flooding. The spelling of the village name only changed to Shabbington during the Victorian era. The first recorded owners of the manor here were the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. The southern edge of the village is particularly scenic, approached via two bridges and dominated by the widely known riverside pub the Old Fisherman and then a few hundred yards further on the graceful C11th parish church. These excellent bells are hung anti-clockwise and though currently rung from the ground floor, late 2010 will see an upstairs ringing chamber installed. Emmington Known as Amintone (Eama’s Farm) in 1086, Emmington is more like a hamlet than a village, reached via a narrow lane, and consisting of a mere handful of cottages, a church, a large duck-pond, a modern mansion house, and a pub on the main road between Thame and Chinnor. The early C14th church was rebuilt in 1874 by Buckeridge and Pearson to the original plan, and possesses a saddleback roof to its tower. It was declared redundant in 1987, but the tower was strengthened and new fixtures added to allow the bells to be rung again, and they considerably easier to ring than most three bell sets. Access to the church and surrounding land is by prior appointment only. Tetsworth The village is situated on the fertile plain of the Chiltern escarpment and derives its name from Taetel's enclosure, being documented as Tetleswrthe circa 1150. The main trunk road between Oxford and London long ran through Tetsworth and the broach spire of the church is easily visible from the M40. Although the village no longer has a general store it does specialise in antique shops, and is known to many outsiders for being the venue of a massive weekly Car Boot Sale during the summer months. The parish church was rebuilt in 1855 by J Billing in the Early English style as a replacement for what had once been an elaborate Norman building. The bells are a splendid light six.

Beedon The village name denotes the enclosure that primarily was used for the growing of beans, and long comprised two hamlets attached to Reading which subsequently expanded around the two pubs and then eventually merged into a single village. The present church is situated away from the village on the site of its predecessors, the original Saxon church having burned down after being struck by lightning in 1794 and its replacement meeting a similar fate just a century later. The broken bell metal was collected up and used in the casting of a new set of bells, with the nearby Six Bells pub having taken its name by way of commemorating this event. Chieveley First documented as Cifan-Lea, the village name denotes the proliferation of chives that were once grown here. Set amidst rolling chalk hills the village is chiefly known by dint of the M4 service station at Jct 13. There has been a church here since Saxon times when King Edred held the manor, although only the C15 west door, C14 chancel and C13 tower remain in the wake of a wholesale Victorian rebuilding. The original peal of six bells were tuned and hung in a new frame in anticipation of the augmentation to eight which took place in 1982. Peasemore The village name refers to a pond that adjoined a field of peas from the 11th century. Evidence has been found of an Iron Age settlement here around five thousand years ago, with the stone and flint tools that have been unearthed now residing in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. The first church in the village was founded in 1104 by Richard of Peasemore, although it was subject to a rebuilding on a rather grand scale from 1842. The bells have very recently been re-hung and re-tuned and we were privileged to be the first visiting band to experience this resurgent and resonant six. The Bell, Aldworth This C13 building has been run as a pub since the mid 18th century by the same family and is not only full of ambience, but offers an array of meals in rolls or ploughman's.

Souldern Documented as Sulethorne around 1160, the village name denotes its inception at a thorn-tree in or near a gully. The crossroads at the heart of Souldern is graced by a large pond that adjoins the lane leading to the church and rectory that William Wordsworth stayed in whilst writing his sonnet A Parsonage in Oxfordshire. For a couple of centuries the village was a centre for lacemakers, with three specialist schools here at one point during the C19th. The church dates to the 12th century, having four bells from C17th onwards. The tower was dismantled and rebuilt 1906/07 with the bells being recast at Whitechapel and two trebles added, a further recast and rehanging taking place in 1997 that now makes these one of the most pleasingly fluent sets in the county.