Stoke Row

Stoke Row is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills, about 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Henley-on-Thames in South Oxfordshire.

History

The toponym was first recorded in 1435. It simply means a "row of houses at Stoke" (Stoke being a common name for a secondary settlement or outlying farmstead).

Stoke Row was historically a hamlet divided between the ancient parishes, and later civil parishes, of Ipsden, Newnham Murren and Mongewell. It became a chapelry in 1849. From 1932 it was divided between Ipsden and Crowmarsh (into which Newnham Murren and Mongewell were merged) In 1952 Stoke Row was created a new civil parish.

Parish church

The Church of England parish church of Saint John the Evangelist was built in 1846. It was designed in 13th century style by the architect R.C. Hussey^. St. John the Evangelist parish is now a member of The Langtree Team Ministry: a Church of England benefice that includes also the parishes of Checkendon, Ipsden, North Stoke, Whitchurch-on-Thames and Woodcote.

Maharajah's Well

Edward Anderdon Reade, the local squire at Ipsden, had worked with the Maharajah of Benares in India in the mid nineteenth century. He had sunk a well in 1831 to aid the community in Azimgurgh. Reade left the area in 1860.

A couple of years later the Maharajah decided on an endowment in England. Recalling Mr Reade’s generosity in 1831 and also his stories of water deprivation in his home area of Ipsden the Maharajah commissioned the well at Stoke Row and it was sunk in 1863. The originally intended site for the well was Nuffield Common. All work was completed by the Wallingford firm of R. J. and H. Wilder.

Amenities

The village has two public houses. The Cherry Tree Inn dates from the 17th century and is a Brakspear tied house.

The Crooked Billet, a free house, was built in 1642 and is reputed to have once been the hideout of notorious highwayman Dick Turpin, who was alleged to have been romantically attached to the landlord's daughter, Bess. It was England's first gastropub and was the venue for Titanic star Kate Winslet's wedding reception. In June 1989, the British progressive rock band Marillion played their first performance with Steve Hogarth as frontman at the Crooked Billet, and a documentary DVD entitled From Stoke Row To Ipanema - A Year In The Life was subsequently produced.

In the 1851 census the head of the household at No 1 Stoke Row was George Hope, who built "The Hope" public house. This was later known as "The Farmer" and today is known as Farmer's Cottage, located on the corner of Main Street with Nottwood Lane.

The village has a Church of England primary school.