Cogges

St. Mary's parish church had been established by the second half of the 11th century.[4] The walls of the nave are Romanesque and may be either late Saxon[4] or early Norman.[5] The south aisle was added late in the 12th century,[4] but the two arches of the arcade between the nave and south aisle were rebuilt in the 13th century.[5] The chancel and chancel arch were enlarged and rebuilt in the middle of the 13th century.[4] In about 1340 the north chapel was added,[4] linked with the chancel by an arcade of two bays and with the 14th century effigy of a lady under one of the arches.[5] The Decorated Gothic[5] north aisle and adjoining bell tower were built in about 1350.[4] The present east window of the chancel is also Decorated Gothic.[5] The tower's upper stages are octagonal,[5] possibly in reference to a style of church towers in Normandy whence the monks from Fécamp would have originated.[4] In the 15th century a Perpendicular Gothic clerestory was added to the nave, and the roofs of the nave, aisles and chancel were all rebuilt in the shallow-pitched late-mediaeval manner.[4] Late in the 15th century the Perpendicular Gothic west window[5] of the nave was inserted.[4] The windows of the north chapel were decorated with stained glass depicting the heraldry of the de Grey family.[4] During the English Civil War in the 17th century the church was damaged and the heraldic glass was destroyed.[4]

A priory of the Benedictine Abbey of Fécamp was founded at Cogges in 1103.[6] The priory became closely associated with the running of the parish church.[4] In 1441 Henry VI seized the priory and its estates and gave them to Eton College,[7] which thus acquired control of the parish church as well.[4] The priory fell into disrepair[2] but the remains of a 13th-century building have survived in an altered form, with an intermediate floor inserted to make it a two-storey building.[8] Early in the 17th century[2] a wing was added to the surviving building to make it into a farmhouse.[2] In 1859 Eton College sold the priory house to the Diocese of Oxford to become St. Mary's Vicarage.[7] A high, gabled Victorian wing was added to enlarge the house, so that the 13th century core is now sandwiched between 17th and 19th century additions.[8]

The Domesday Book records that by 1086 Cogges had a water mill, presumably on the River Windrush.[9] For much of its history Cogges had two water mills: one at the southern tip of the parish and the other north of the Priory.[9] The southern mill was originally called Gold Mill, and its name evolved by 1279 to Gill Mill.[9] By 1670 Gill Mill was being used as a fulling mill and in 1702 and 1712 there were two fulling mills on the site.[9] The last known record of Gill Mill being in operation is from about 1803.[9] The northern mill existed by 1272 and was being used as a fulling mill by 1387.[9] It was still in operation in 1702 but had fallen out of use by 1704.[9]

Cogges Manor Farm House

Cogges Manor Farm House (main article: Cogges Manor Farm) is a 16th- and 17th-century house built around the remains of one wing of a manor house that originated in the middle of the 12th century.[8] The remains of the 13th-century building were altered in the 16th century[8] and a second wing was added after 1667.[7]

In 1974 Oxfordshire County Council bought the house and converted it into a museum, now the heritage centre Cogges Manor Farm.[7][10]

An open field system of farming prevailed in the parish until 1787 when an Act of Parliament enabled the common land to be enclosed.

Cogges was a separate civil parish until 1932, when the former village became part of Witney and the remaining rural parts were divided between the civil parishes of Ducklington and South Leigh.[1]