Clare brings together a small-scale, hedge-enclosed pasture landscape and the history of a medieval hamlet whose settlement pattern has changed. The place is of particular interest to travellers who want to consider rural landscapes and the historical development of buildings and settlements together. The ridge, Clare Copse and several named houses give these themes a tangible connection.
Landscape and location
The medieval hamlet of Clare lies along a ridge crossed by the road between Cuxham and Stoke Talmage. At Clare Hill, the ridge rises to 121 metres. Small pasture fields bounded by hedges shape the landscape around Clare. Together, these details describe the hamlet’s location, the elevation of the terrain and the small-scale use of the landscape.
Clare Copse is a small protected area of ancient, semi-natural woodland. The character of the landscape therefore includes both woodland and pasture fields divided by hedges. If you want to take natural and cultural landscapes into account when choosing a destination, these offer two different points of interest: the protected woodland and the small-scale pasture landscape.
Medieval settlement history
In the Middle Ages, Clare was Pyrton’s largest hamlet. It is also a shrunken medieval settlement; its archaeological potential and interest are considered likely to be high. This combination brings its historical character into focus: Clare was significant within Pyrton, while its settlement size has also changed. Clare was depopulated after a plague epidemic. This loss of population is also part of the place’s history.
Historical measurements and dates offer insight into different aspects of the place. Between 1066 and 1539, Clare was a township covering 517 acres; in 1279, Clare had seventeen tenants. Land in Clare’s “village and fields” is mentioned in 1422, and there were small enclosures between 1500 and 1516. The 517 acres refers to the area of the township, while seventeen is the number of tenants in 1279—not a population figure.
Earthworks near the road between Cuxham and Stoke Talmage could indicate the sites of former buildings in Clare. This is a possibility, not a definite identification. For travellers interested in settlement development, this is a different historical clue from the dated houses: it draws attention to possible former buildings associated with the medieval hamlet.
Historic houses and building phases
Hamlet House (1–4) is a Grade II listed building dating from the late 16th or early 17th century. Lower Farm Cottages (1 and 2) are also Grade II listed buildings and date from the mid-18th century. Lower Farm Cottages were originally a farmhouse and are now divided into two cottages.
Hamlet House is a farmhouse that now comprises two dwellings. It was remodelled and extended around 1740; a slight timber structure is located on the left side of the rear extension. The distinction between the earlier date and the remodelling around 1740 helps explain the house’s different building phases: its original construction date and later changes are two distinct aspects of its history.
Discover more destinations: Waterstock, Hailey, Minster Lovell, Clifton Hampden, Chadlington, Kingston Bagpuze, Dorchester, Shipton Under Wychwood
For the main travel overview: Oxfordshire.
