Welcome to the Bartons’ History Group

The Bartons’ History Group has been active in the Bartons’ villages in Oxfordshire for the last 40 years. Over this period many images, documents, research articles and stories have been collected and stored on this web-site. Feel free to browse and research your own or our villages histories. Of particular interest is the photographic gallery collected by the late Audrey Martin which can be found HERE. Further, more recent additions to this gallery can be found HERE.

Parish and Church documents can be found HERE. Village documents can be found HERE. Family history documents can be found HERE. Items for sale can be found HERE.

For security and confidentiality reasons, some pages and documents are password protected. Please apply to the Group, enquiries@bartonshistorygroup.org.uk, for the password.

Millennium Window, Steeple Barton Church, 2000, designed by Vicky Fleming

In Memoriam: World War I (23 Barton losses)

(Work done recently by the Group for the 50th anniversary of the end of the first World War)

Standards of the British Army (22 losses) and the Royal Engineers (1 loss)

Harold (Bidmead) BASSETT, Frederick CARPENTER, Horace Vaughn CASTLE, William John CLACK, Frederick William CONSTABLE (brother), John CONSTABLE (brother), Ernest James HAWKINS (uncle), Albert Edward HAWKINS (brother), Ernest James HAWKINS (brother), George Henry HAWKINS (brother), William Edward HUMPHRIES, William KEEN, George Felix KIRBY, Frederick John LUING, Jenner Stephen Chance MARSHALL, William James PARSONS, Wiliam Daniel PROFFITT, Nigel Malcolm Stewart RIACH, John Edwin SMITH, Charles Bernard STEPHEN, Horace Percy STEWART, Felix Francis George STOCKFORD, Walter Allison WOODRUFF.

                       Biographical Material:      Basset to Humphries        click HERE
                                                                       Keen to Woodruff              click HERE
                       WW I War Records:                                                            click HERE

In Memoriam: World War II (2 Barton losses)

Standard of the British Army (2 losses)

Walter Henry BOFFIN, Frederick John SHIRLEY.

                        WW II War Records:                                                            click HERE

St. Edward’s Cross, Westcote Barton Church, early 20th century stained glass

In Memoriam: World War I and II – Biographical information for the 2020 Memorial Stone (shown below)

Names in the Book of Remembrance: click HERE

Census records for the Book of Remembrance: click HERE

War memorial stone 2020

WW II 1941 The Home Guard on North Street, Middle Barton

1941. The Home Guard on the bank outside 1 North Street. Back row: Frank Gascoigne, Arthur Bosley, Tom Hazell, Tom Stewart, Charles Davis, Archie Price, Hedley Gardiner, Alec Gardiner, Will West, Unknown. Middle Row: Derek Pritchard, Harry Bassett, John Butcher, Will Baker, Norman Cross, Philip Fleming, Harry Stevens, Ralph Greenslade, Charlie Eaglestone. Front Row: Charlie Boffin, George (Pudgy) Simson, Bill Meakin, Arthur (Baggy) Willkes, Jack Eaglestone, Charlie Hazell, Bunty Simson, Reg Shirley.

Family History Searches

To contact other site users searching their own family histories, CLICK HERE. Site users have registered for the following families: Allington, Boddington, Busby, Clarke, Eaglestone, Gibson, Hope, Hounslow, Jellyman, Parish, Peachey, Smith, Soden and Wilkins. Please e-mail the Group for the Contacts file password.

Useful Oxford and Oxfordshire Links

Useful Town and Village Links

Grant aided by West Oxfordshire District Council, the Boutell Trust, Steeple Barton Parish Council and Westcote Barton Parish Meeting.

3 thoughts on “Welcome to the Bartons’ History Group

  1. Maree Garstang

    The Bartons Historical Group web pages have been so very helpfull in my search for historical background to my Blackwell family. They were farm labourers who later moved about in the 1830s and finally two family members made their way to New Zealand. The first was a Richard Blackwell born in Middle Barton in 1821 who became an Imperial Foot soldier of the 58th Regiment. He was shipped to New Zealand in 1845 to quell the unrest of a local famous Maori activist Hone Heke.
    It has been hard trying to find information and images of the life and times of Middle Barton and I want to thank you for your interesting site.

    Reply
  2. Kay Sage

    My family the Stockfords lived in Steeple Barton & Westcott Barton,they were bakers & agricultural workers,Would be nice to know more about them if anyone knows anything about them

    Reply
  3. Norma Greene

    I was very interested to read about the Post Office in Middle Barton as I remember it fondly when it was run by Ruth Kirby and her brother George who were very good friends of my granny, Florrie Simons who was married to Chris Simons and lived in Middle Barton and Enstone. My mum is Elsie Simons, their daughter and my uncle is Brian who married Pam and used to live in Middle Barton. I have very happy memories of visiting family often and going to visit George and Ruth was always a special time. I always remember helping George in the garden behind the post office, he had a huge vegetable garden and a love of gardening and cars. He would drive down to Wales once a month on a Friday to do some gardening, have a meal and drive home. It was always a joy to see him. My middle name is Ruth, named after Ruth Kirby and I always remember her as always smiling, rosy cheeks and white hair and always happy to see us, despite us being pesky kids at times. I remember once we played hide and seek and hid the big doorkey for the front door. They had to ring us up to ask where we had hidden it! Sad to see so much new building in the area but the same everywhere, is Kirby Crescent behind the post office named after Ruth or the previous Kirby’s? So pleased to have found this site, so many happy memories. Thank you.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *