Village Map
WALKS THROUGH THE HISTORY OF APPLETON WITH EATON
Welcome. We hope you enjoy exploring the village and its surroundings. These notes should help you find your way. Please be sure to respect the privacy of the houses and their occupants. This is an early draft of our walks. We expect to add more description and visual material over time. If you have feedback do please send it to awehg1@gmail.com.
- The Basic Walk
Starting from the map lectern next to the War Memorial, Eaton Road is to your right, Netherton Road to your left, and White’s Forge in front of you, with the narrow unpaved Pigeon Lane bridle path to its left.
Take the Eaton Road, around a long S-bend, passing the Plough Inn, (currently closed but expected to re-open soon), until the road widens out. Inside the second bend, on your right, behind railings, you can catch sight of a large pond, part of the Manor, one of several once found across the village for fish and for farm stock to drink from. Rounding the bend, on your left is the village shop and on your right Church Road, leading to St Laurence Church. This stretch of Eaton Road was once the village green. A tiny section on the left remains “green”; the rest has gradually been taken over for housing. There are several buildings to note: the row of three thatched almshouses on your left, and thereafter two listed cottages. On the right, at the bend, you will see the former inn, the Thatched Tavern (no longer thatched nor a tavern!) Just beyond it turn right briefly along Englands Lane (no apostrophe!) to see Tudor Cottage on the right, another listed building. Eaton Road at this point bears slightly left past C20th housing. This is the route of the third walk listed below.
Now retrace your steps back along Eaton Road to turn left into Church Road, passing the school on your left. St Laurence Church and Appleton Manor are the oldest buildings in the village. Their origins go back to the late C12th, though each was much added to over the centuries. The Manor is private and cannot be visited (as are its grounds), but the church is usually open during the daytime. It has an unusual raised tower over a peal of no fewer than ten bells, and inside there is a splendid monument to former lord of the manor Sir John Fettiplace who died in 1580.
Exiting the church follow the path round to the south side, spotting if you can the idiosyncratic C19th gravestone of two members of the local bell-hanging dynasty, who founded Whites of Appleton. Walk on through the graveyard towards the yew trees and a kissing gate. Go into the field in front of you, called Long Close, where in the right light you can see the vestiges of medieval ridge-and-furrow ploughing patterns. Now follow the footpath to your right down to a small gate at the bottom of Long Close. Turn right passing through another metal gate. You are now in Park Lane, containing a collection of cottages, former farm houses, and modern houses. Walk up Park Lane towards the junction with Oaksmere, where the Village Hall is ahead of you. Across the road beyond the War Memorial you can spot, over the wall, Appleton House – the former vicarage, today a private house.
Now head west along Netherton Road, (the Village Hall should be on your left). Here you will see another pond, curiously paved to allow carts wheels to be washed and their iron rims tightened, and further listed farmhouses and cottages from earlier centuries, culminating in a fine thatched barn, standing side-on to the road. When you have seen it retrace your steps to the War Memorial and go all the way along Doctor’s Lane eventually to turn right into Badswell Lane, which has several more listed houses. Badswell Lane curves back round to rejoin Eaton Road, where your walk ends.
- Longer walks
To the Thames: At the junction of Doctor’s Lane and Badswell Lane you can turn left instead of right, following this grassy avenue between high hedges past the Badswell itself, a spring with some – allegedly – medicinal healing properties. From here you can go all the way down to the Thames. Note however that there is no exit along the Thames Path at this point. The latter is on the other side of the river. But just three hundred or so yards before you reach the Thames you can take a left turn along a footpath running parallel to the Thames. This will eventually take you out into Millway Lane, where there are footpaths across Appleton Lower Common, allowing you eventually to reach a footbridge across the Thames to the path on the other side of the river. Bear in mind that if you cross the river you will have a fairly long walk upstream or downstream to another crossing point if you need to return to Appleton village.
To Eaton and Bablock Hythe: Eaton is a small farming hamlet with several old farmhouses reflecting the era after private enclosure in the early C17th which established various farms, mostly tenancies of the main Eaton land-owner, St John’s College Oxford. They were viable until the mid-C19th, but thereafter were gradually consolidated into two larger farms. To reach Eaton you can either take the “Eaton straight” running for ¾ mile at the end of Eaton Road, or if you are well-shod you can take a footpath along the edge of one of the former medieval open fields. The footpath is through a gate just after the Hengrove sign at the start of the straight. When you reach the hamlet, turn right to see the various farmhouses, and eventually the Eight Bells (which will be pleased to offer you hospitality), or for a longer walk you can turn left down the hill, eventually reaching the Thames at Bablock Hythe. Again, you cannot cross the Thames here (though you once could by ferry – alas it sank many years ago). You can only head right, for an even longer walk towards Farmoor Reservoir, or up the hill, via a (frequently very muddy) footpath, eventually arriving at Cumnor village.
Happy exploring!
Updated May 2023.