| Taston | |
|---|---|
 Thor Stone (left foreground), with the Medieval preaching cross beyond | |
  Taston Location within Oxfordshire | |
| OS grid reference | SP3621 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Chipping Norton |
| Postcode district | OX7 |
| Dialling code | 01608 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Spelsbury Parish Council |
Taston is a hamlet in Spelsbury civil parish, about 1.6 miles (2.6 km) north of Charlbury and 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.
Taston is about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of the Akeman Street Roman road.
Name
[edit]The survey of English Place-Names records Taston as Thorstan in 1278–9, Thorstane in 1316, Torstone in 1492 and Taston in 1608–9.[1]
The name element Thor is a reference to the Norse God Thor. The name element stan is from Old English stān (stone ). The toponym might be Thor stone or Thor's stone.[citation needed]
Thor Stone
[edit]The Thor Stone is a monolithic standing stone that stands about seven-foot tall in the centre of Taston.[2] It is a menhir, meaning that it was manhandled there by humans. A local myth maintains that the stone portrays the image of a thunderbolt, and that it was created by a thunderbolt from Thor himself.[3][4] It is a scheduled monument.[5]
Listed buildings
[edit]
At the centre of Taston are the base and broken shaft of a Medieval preaching cross.[6] It is a Grade II* listed building.[7]
Middle Farmhouse is a house built of coursed rubble in the 17th and early 18th centuries.[8] Part of the roof is of Stonesfield slate. The farmstead has a four-bay barn that was built of stone early in the 18th century and altered in 1884.[9]
The Firkins is a small house near Thorsbrook Spring. It is built of rubble and probably dates from early in the 18th century.[10]
At Thorsbrook Spring, about 140 yards (130 m) southeast of the preaching cross, is a Victorian Gothic Revival memorial fountain. It was built in 1862 in memory of Henrietta, Viscountess Dillon,[11] wife of Henry Dillon, 13th Viscount Dillon.
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ "Survey of English Place-Names: Taston". University of Nottingham. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ Burnham 2018, pp. 116: "...a hefty seven foot stone that leans dramatically into a garden wall in the centre of the village. One story goes that it was a thunderbolt thrown by Thor himself..."
- ^ "Thor Stone - Standing Stone (Menhir) in England in Oxfordshire". The Megalithic Portal. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
An impressive seven-foot tall standing stone,. . .told in local folklore to have been a thunderbolt cast down from the skies by Thor. . .first recorded in the late thirteenth century in the survey of the Chadlington hundred
- ^ faerygirl (6 January 2011). "Thor Stone; Standing Stone / Menhir". The Modern Antiquarian. Julian Cope. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ Historic England. "Taston standing stone 12m north of Taston village cross (1008407)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). Oxfordshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 776. ISBN 0-14-071045-0.
- ^ Historic England. "Cross (1251432)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- ^ Historic England. "Middle Farmhouse (1262715)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- ^ Historic England. "Barn Approximately 15 Metres South East of Middle Farmhouse (1251433)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- ^ Historic England. "The Firkins (1262714)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- ^ Historic England. "Memorial Fountain (1262769)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
Sources
[edit]- Burnham, Andy (2018). The Old Stones. Watkins Media Limited. ISBN 9781786781543.
- Williams, Gareth; Naylor, John (2016). King Alfreds Coins, The Watlington Viking Hoard. Ashmolean museum, University of Oxford. ISBN 978-1-910807-13-2.
- Oliver, Neil (2012). Vikings; A History. Phoenix. ISBN 978-1-7802-2282-0.
- Crossley, Alan; Elrington, C R, eds. (1979). 'Medieval Oxford', A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 4. British History Online. pp. 3–73. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
External links
[edit]- Megalithic Portal Map Search – Thor Stone The Megalithic Portal
- The Modern Antiquarian – Thor Stone The Modern Antiquarian
The District of West Oxfordshire | ||
|---|---|---|
| Towns |  | |
| Large villages | ||
| Other civil parishes (component villages and hamlets) |
| |
| Former districts and boroughs | ||
| Former constituencies | ||