Kingston Bagpuize

"KINGSTON BAGPUIZE, a parish in the hundred of Ock, county Berks, 6 miles W. of Abingdon, its post town. At the Conquest it was given to Sir Richard Bagpuize, from which circumstance it derives the suffix to its name. At Newbridge, in this parish, the Earl of Essex, commanding the Parliamentary troops, was defeated while attempting to cross the river in 1644, and compelled to retreat. The village, which is very small, is situated on the road from Oxford to Bath within 2 miles distance of the river Isis, which is navigable as high as Lechlade. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Oxford, value £298, in the patronage of St. John's College, Oxford. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is a modern structure, rebuilt in 1800. In the interior is a monument to John Flandy, Esq., whose family now hold the manor. The charities produce £10 10s. per annum, besides the endowment of Flandy's free school. Kingston House is the principal residence. Fairs are held on the 21st March and 28th September."

"KINGSTON INN, a hamlet in the parish of Kingston-Bagpuize, county Berks, 5 miles W. of Abingdon."

From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland(1868). Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003.

Other descriptions can be found from other periods in various trade directories covering Berkshire from the early 19th century onwards from Berkshire FHS (members only) and from A Vision of Britain Through Time.