West Hanney
| West Hanney | |
|---|---|
 St James the Great parish church |
|
 West Hanney
|
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| West Hanney shown within Oxfordshire | |
| Population | 490 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SU4192 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Wantage |
| Postcode district | OX12 |
| Dialling code | 01235 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | TheHanneys |
West Hanney is a village and civil parish about 3 miles (5 km) north of Wantage. Historically West and East Hanney were formerly a single ecclesiastical parish of Hanney. East Hanney was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 490.
In September 2009 a metal detecting club held its annual rally at a site in the parish. One detectorist found a Saxon grave from early in the 7th century AD containing the skeleton of a young woman with grave goods including one spindle whorl, two iron knives and two ceramic pots that may have contained food.
Near the grave the detectorist found an ornate circular Saxon metal brooch inlaid with gold, garnets and coral. This type of brooch was previously known from Kent, East Anglia, Essex and Bedfordshire but the one from West Hanney is further west than all previously found examples, making it "a find described as of national importance". It has yet to be determined where the brooch may have been made.
Also yet to be determined is whether the young woman belonged to the local Saxon Gewisse tribe. She was about 25 years old when she died, and shortly after her grave was discovered an osteologist said that her skeleton would be examined to try to determine her cause of death.
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Wikipedia