Sunningwell
| Sunningwell | |
|---|---|
 Sunningwell Road with the tower of St Leonard's parish church |
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 Sunningwell
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| Sunningwell shown within Oxfordshire | |
| Population | 1,554 (2001 census) |
| OS grid reference | SP4900 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Abingdon |
| Postcode district | OX13 |
| Dialling code | 01865 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Sunningwell Parish Council |
Sunningwell is a village and civil parish about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south of Oxford, England. The parish includes the village of Bayworth and the eastern part of Boars Hill. The parish was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.
Sunningwell is notable for the successful campaign run by parishioners against the plans to develop Metropolitan Green Belt land surrounding the village and elsewhere in Oxfordshire.
Sunningwell's toponym has evolved from Suniggawelle in the 10th century through Soningewell in the 11th century before reaching its current form.
The Domesday Book records that Abingdon Abbey held the manors of Sunningwell and Bayworth by 1086, and it assessed Sunningwell manor at five hides. The manor retained both manors until 1538, when it surrendered all its properties to the Crown in the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
In 1545 the manors of Sunningwell and Bayworth were granted to Robert Browne (a goldsmith), Christopher Edmondes and William Wenlowe. They seem to have been speculators who bought them for a quick profit, as they alienated the manors in 1546. The buyer was John Williams, later Baron Williams of Thame. Baron Williams died in 1559 without a male heir, and the manors passed to his elder daughter Margery and her husband Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norreys. In 1583 Margery sold Sunningwell and Bayworth to her younger sister Isabel and her second husband Richard Huddleston. By 1589 Richard and Isabel were dead and had left the two manors mortgaged to a Richard Martin.
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Wikipedia