Grove, Oxfordshire

Flower Delivery to Grove with Clare Florist

Grove is considered a village and a civil parish, located in Oxfordshire on the southeastern side of England. It’s on Letcombe Brook and 2.4 kilometres from Wantage. It’s also close to Hanney and Swindon. It has about 7200 residents. Grove used to be a part of Berkshire, but this was switched to Oxfordshire in 1974 when the boundaries changed. Grove is the largest village in the Vale of White Horse.

In 1142, land was granted to Benedictine Abbey of Bermondsey. A chapel of St. John the Baptist existed until it was destroyed in 1733.

There is a record from 1622 that Thomas Grove owned a watermill in Grove. There is also the Grove Farmhouse dating from 1684. This building is made of brick with three bays, and a doorway featuring bolection moulding.

In the 1770s, the turnpike road was first built. It was built for simple travelling between Wantage and Oxford.

In 1803, the lands of Wantage and Grove were enclosed together into an Act of Parliament for the owners. It took from 1796 to 1810 for the Wilts & Berks Canal to be built. The canal flows directly through the village, with a branch of the canal flowing between Grove and Wantage.

In 1832, a Church of England church was built in Grove. In 1900, the old 1832 building was replaced. This newer church was designed in the Gothic Revival style, with six bays and a south aisle. This church was named St. James’ and was designed by P.A. Robson, son of Edward Robert Robson. It reused an old font from the All Saints’ parish church from Pusey. Apparently the church became derelict in the 1960s.

The Wantage Road railway station opened in 1840. This was a Great Western Railway stop. In 1875, the Wantage Tramway was built. These rail lines took traffic away from the canal, so industry stopped on the Wilts and Berks around 1901. By 1925, there was competition from road transportation, so passengers’ line services were stopped. In 1945, the Wantage Tramway closed to freight traffic. In 1965, British Railways closed the Wantage Road station. Plans are underway to build a new line for Wantage and Grove.
Later in the 60s, a newer church was built, called the St. John the Baptist Church. The foundation stone dates it as being 1965. Some features were saved from the old St. James’ church, including the font, a panel with a list of the vicars, and a stained glass window image of St. James.

Today, residents can still walk around portions of the Wilts and Berks Canal that are still visible. The Canal Trust is planning on opening up the rest of the canal after rejuvenation.

The Grove Rugby Football club plays in the Southern League North division, and was founded in 1971. There is also the juniors’ side called the Grove Challengers FC.

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