Buckland

Buckland is a very attractive village, larger than some of the nearby villages. It is situated just off the A420 Oxford to Swindon road roughly midway between the market town of Faringdon and the village of Kingston Bagpuize, and about a mile south of the River Thames.

To the west of the village is Buckland House, built in 1757 by Sir Robert Throckmorton and clearly visble from the road. It was built in the Palladium style and has been described as the most splendid Georgian house in the country. The house stands in landscaped grounds which include a deer park and two lakes. Nearby is the earlier manor house, which was turned into stables and grooms quarters when the new Buckland House was built. Although at one time Buckland House housed a college of Oxford University it is now once again used for residential purposes and has been extensively restored since 2004.

Buckland was built as an estate village and until the late 20th century nearly all the houses and land in Buckland were in one ownership and, up to the Second World War, most people who lived in the village worked on the estate in one way or another.

The present church of St. Mary the Virgin replaced an earlier Saxon church. The nave is 12th century and other parts of the church, including the tower, are 13th century.