Radley has an interesting history dating back to ancient times. Archaeological excavations have been carried out at Barrow Hills, most recently in the 1980s and, more extensively, at Thrupp on the southern edge of the parish over the past 25 years. These have revealed evidence of human habitation dating back to the Stone Age (Palaeolithic) era.
Some of the historical sites that you can still see today located around the Parish are:
Radley C of E Primary School
The oldest section of Radley Primary School was built in 1872. The adjourning School House predates it though its precise age in uncertain. Prior to 1897, the school and the land on which it stood was owned by the Bowyer family and leased to the Church for 26 shillings (£1.30) per year. In 1897, despite the lease having 77 years to run, Mary Bowyer gave the entire property to the Church.
Radley Oak
The Radley Oak stands in the grounds of Radley College adjacent to the public footpath leading up to Lodge Hill. With a girth of 28 feet (8.5 metres) it is certainly more than 300 years old, though, since the bole is hollow, its true age cannot be determined with any certainty. However, the tree is undoubtedly in decline.
St James the Great Church
The current parish church of St James the Great in Radley was consecrated in about 1300. It is a beautiful building with the original, and rare, wooden pillars still standing. The church does not have a north aisle and transept, giving a rather lop-sided feeling. There is a long-standing tradition that both were destroyed during the Civil War but evidence for this is limited. There is a Norman font, a fine peal of bells and some interesting stained glass windows by the noted British stained glass maker, Thomas Willement, many of which show representations of the Royal Arms of Tudor and Plantagenet kings. The influence of the patron and local landowner, first the Stonhouse and then the Bowyer family, is evident inside the church. Stonhouse and Bowyer memorials line the chancel walls, while the impressive 17th century Stonhouse tomb is to the right of the altar. The intricate wooden choir stalls were a gift from George Bowyer in the 1840s; he may also have donated the carved wooden canopy over the pulpit.
Radley Vicarage
The original date of the timber-framed vicarage is uncertain, but it is thought to date from the 13th or 14th century, with 15th century modifications and a 17th century extension. Radley Vicarage might well be the oldest building in the country to have been in continuous use as the home of a church’s incumbent. It still possesses much of its original character with many wooden beams and low ceilings and an impressive 15th century oak doorway. In 1869 the church’s new patron Radley College paid for a red brick extension. Today it is still a residential property.
Village Pond
The village pond is what remains of the village smithy and the smithy pond. It is known from old maps and pictures that the smithy was still in situ as late as 1885.
This painting (courtesy of Radley History Club) shows pieces of a cart under construction. The smithy would attach iron surrounds to the wooden wheels while hot and then put the assembly into the pond to cool the iron and tighten it round the wood.
The Railway
Since it was built in 1844, the railway through Radley has had an important influence on the village and its surroundings. Radley Station was established in 1873, providing a junction between the main line and the branch line (now dismantled) to Abingdon. It replaced an earlier basic junction in the south of the parish, the new location being more convenient for the village and Radley College.
The Bowyers Arms
The village pub, the Bowyer Arms, was built around the middle of the 19th century, at least 10 years before the nearby station opened. The name derives from the Bowyer family who, at the time, owned the Radley Hall Estate and many properties in and around the village, having inherited them from the Stonhouse family in 1794. Morlands, the Abingdon brewers, originally rented the property from the Bowyer estate and eventually purchased it in 1889. With the demise of Morlands and the Abingdon Brewery in 1999, the pub passed into the hands of Greene King.
For more historical information about Radley please visit: A brief history of Radley | Radley History Club