Goosey
Goosey
is a small village made up of a few houses, cottages and
farm buildings scattered around a large green. On the
south side of the village a few C20 houses spread either
side of Goosey Lane as it leaves the village. The village
is about two miles south east of Stanford in the Vale
on a minor road to the east of the A417.
The
name comes from Goose Island; this part of the Vale having
once been a marsh, and the 'ey' part meaning
'island' is very common locally indicating a number of
island settlements. Geese were kept in the village by
the Benedictine monks who had a cell on the site of Abbey
Farm. The manor belonged to Abingdon Abbey after Offa,
King of Mercia gave it to the Abbot of Abingdon in 785.
The monks established dairies in the village which provided
dairy produce for the Abbot's table.
The
Church of All Saints in the village is an attractive small
church with an early C13 nave and a C16 chancel.