Walton Lodge: History: very old settlements at Hillmorton and a modern speedy trip on the canal thru the locks

A little more about Hillmorton before I put up the photos sent to California in 1939 of Sarah and James' children as adults. For future reference, I usually add their birth order number after their nicknames to keep them in order and clearly distinct from others in the extended family with the same given name - Annie #1, Lydia #2, Tom #3, George #4, Eva #5, Jimmie #6.

The town name, Hillmorton, is a blend of Hull (the upper ground), and Morton, (the lower ground) where St. John the Baptist was built in the 1300’s. In 1086 Hull, the hundred of Marton (now Hillmorton), had 5 landowners and 44 households.[i] It was part of the 100 manors given to Hugh Grenmesnil, a proven companion of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. William I commissioned the Domesday Book, “the Great Survey,” of England and Wales in 1085.

original Domesday Book pages reprinted

Men were sent all over the country to gather information about how many hundreds of hides were in each shire, what land was the king’s, who lived there, what occupations they worked, and what dues he ought to have from them annually. Hillmorton had been a community for a lot longer than that. Roman pottery was unearthed in 2017 during a dig for a new housing development.[ii] And there is evidence of inhabitants there during the bronze age.[iii]

Hillmorton was a market town from a 1265 charter, and St. John the Baptist church was built in the 1300’s.[iv] Today Hillmorto may be best known for its flight of canal locks on the Oxford Canal. Originally single locks were built in the late 1700’s. They were turned into paired locks in 1840 to relieve traffic (like adding a lane to a freeway). The 1840's is when our Walton and Atkins kin came to town.

Oxford canal before and after the change

Today holiday makers and canal enthusiasts make pilgrimages through. An earlier post had link to a youtube video ride down the Oxford Canal from Brinklow to Hillmorton. This one is the journey (speeded up) from the south through all the locks. The short tunnel over the canal near the end goes right by Badsey’s pub on the right where we had our 2010 reunion. Old Vic is across the canal from Badsey's. The last two locks are after the tunnel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPnlCXWkPWk If you prefer a more leisurely ride here is the same route slowly.[v]

Hillmorton Wharf 2006

James and Sarah lived at this wharf in 1851. But after he chose the railway as his work, they moved to Old Vic where Annie #1, Lydia #2, Tom #3, George #4, Eva #5, and Jimmie #6 had a parade of boats to watch each day, along with the christenings, weddings, and burials in the churchyard by their house which is now wildly overgrown.