Spelsbury

"SPELSBURY, a parish in the hundred of Chadlington, county Oxford, 2.5 miles S.W. of Enstone, and 4.5 S.E. of Chipping-Norton. Charlbury is its post town. The village, which is of small extent, is situated near the river Evenlode. The parish includes the hamlets of Dean, Ditchley, Fulwell, and Taston. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Oxford, value £211, in the patronage of Christ Church, Oxford. The church is dedicated to All Saints. It contains brasses of John, Earl of Rochester, and of his father Lord Wilmot. The charities consist of Cary's almshouses, with an endowment of £12. There is a free school, chiefly supported by Viscount Dillon, who is lord of the manor."

"DEAN, a hamlet in the parish of Spelsbury, hundred of Chadlington, in the county of Oxford, 3 miles S.E. of Chipping Norton."

"DITCHLEY, a hamlet in the parish of Spelsbury, in the county of Oxford, 4 miles N.W. of Woodstock. There is a fine collection of paintings and marbles at Ditchley Park, the seat of Viscount Dillon. William, Lord Rochester, was born at Ditchley."

"FULWELL, a hamlet in the parish of Spelsbury, county Oxford, 4 miles S.E. of Chipping Norton."

"TASTON, a hamlet in the parish of Spelsbury, county Oxford, 6 miles N.W. of Woodstock."

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