Woodstock
 Woodstock
sits at the entrance to the Cotswolds and is probably best
known for its proximity to Blenheim Palace. But there is a
lot more to Woodstock than that - to start with, there is
a great deal of history. There is rather thin evidence that
King Alfred came to Woodstock in 890 (the name means stockaded
settlement in a wood) and Ethelred the Unready (978-1016)
certainly held Council at Woodstock and issued a decree for
the maintenance of peace for the whole nation.
At the time of the Norman Conquest (1066), Woodstock, which
was sparsely populated, was in the Wychwood Forest and was
listed in the Doomsday Book as forest land reserved for hunting.
It was Henry I (1100-1135) who built a stone wall, 7 miles
in circumference, to enclose a park in which stood Woodstock
Manor House which he used as a hunting lodge.
Woodstock, was also the scene of one of the great historical
romances, Henry II and his mistress, Fair Rosamund. There
is some doubt about how she died (some say she was poisoned
by Eleanor, Henry's jealous Queen) but there is no doubt that
she was buried at Godstow, only a few miles away. Later, two
of Edward I's children were born in the Manor House, whilst
Edward the Black Prince is rumoured to have been born in a
house in Old Woodstock, just across the River Glyme.
For 600 years, Woodstock maintained a close connection with
the Kings and Queens of England - it was Henry VII's favourite
hunting lodge, Henry VIII visited it with this first wife,
Katherine of Aragon, and Elizabeth I was incarcerated in the
Manor gatehouse by her sister, Queen Mary. However that all
came to an end when Queen Anne, gave the first Duke of Marlborough
the honour and the manor of Woodstock in recognition of his
victories against the armies of Louis XIV of France.
Today, Woodstock is a lovely small town, which should be
visited in its own right. The centre of the town contains
many charming houses, including one known as Chaucer's House
which the author of Canterbury Tales often visited and in
which his son lived. But visitors will also be rewarded if
they get off the beaten track and explore the narrow alleyways
and side streets in the town. The County Museum, in Fletcher's
House opposite the church, is well worth a visit, as is the
church itself, although it suffered badly from the depredations
of the Puritans after the Civil War and as a result, is now
a rather austere building.
Finally, the connection with Sir Winston Churchill should
not be forgotten. He was born in Blenheim Palace, he proposed
to his future wife, Clemmie, there and he is buried a few
miles away in a simple grave in the churchyard at Bladon.
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