South Moreton

South Moreton is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England, about 3 mi east of Didcot, 4 mi west of Wallingford, and 7 mi south of Abingdon. It is only separated by the Great Western Railway cutting from its twin village of North Moreton, a quarter of a mile to the north. Mortune took its name in the Domesday Book from the houses on the ridge above the moor of Hakka's Brook (now known as the Hagbourne or Hadden Marsh), and was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 420.

Manors
The Domesday book of 1086 refers to Moretune. Its meaning is not entirely clear but four of the five manor houses are identifiable. Saunderville is still called The Manor. It is a moated manor house with horses grazing in the railed paddocks, seen to advantage from the railway. Huse or Bray is a recently renovated low building nearby, with a paddock in front, at the T-junction at the east end of the village. The only trace of Adresham is the terrace on which it once stood, opposite the village school. There is a 1950s house on the site. Fulscot is 1/2 mi west of the village, and is still a farm. It seems likely that the fifth manor on the Moreton ridge was in North Moreton.

At the time of the South Moreton Inclosure Act, 1818 c.18, the main landlord was Henry Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham and many of the inclosures were allotted to him. Eventually a London butcher called Hedges used Rich's Sidings of the new Great Western Railway (2 mi west by Didcot railway station) to supply much of the London meat trade. Hedges amassed a fortune and much local land, including the inclosures at Hall Farm and Fulscot Manor, both of which are still owned and farmed by his descendants.

Churches
The Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist at Bethesda, with its possibly Saxon doorway, stands by ancient earthworks at the southwestern edge of the village, by a ford on the former pilgrim route from the Downs to Dorchester. The church holds services only on major feast days and a few other occasions. Weddings, funerals and baptisms are also held by arrangement. The parish is part of the Churn Benefice, along with the neighbouring parishes of North Moreton, Aston Tirrold, Aston Upthorpe, Blewbury, Hagbourne, and Upton. South Moreton has a Strict Baptist chapel which has three services a week.

Character and amenities
There are a few large old houses on the High Street, some newer cottages at the east of the village, modern social housing to the west, and some 17th-century cottages between, many thatched. The largest house in South Moreton is The Hall, very close to the Huse. It is the last working farm in the village. Much Victorian history of the village is recorded in The Rector's Book, handwritten around 1905 from memories extending to 1845. It is now deposited in the Berkshire County Archives in Reading.

South Moreton has a pub, a school, a church and a chapel.

School
South Moreton School, 200 yd from the former village school, (The Old Church School) is a county primary school. with an attached pre-School.

Transport
Thames Travel route 94 provides a term-time weekday service to South Moreton, linking the village with Didcot and with Didcot Parkway railway station. Didcot Parkway, 3 mi provides rail services to the rest of the country and has frequent 40-minute train services to and from London Paddington. Cholsey railway station is equally as close and is served by the line between Reading and Oxford.

Community pub
The Crown Inn is the only surviving public house in the village. Formerly owned by Wadworth Brewery, it was saved from demolition and redevelopment in the late 2010s by the South Moreton Community Benefit Society who lobbied the district council to designate the building as an Asset of Community Value and reject the planning application. The society fundraised to buy the pub, and reopened it in May 2019 as a community pub.

At the time of the building of the Great Western Railway, the fit young "navvies" (originally "navigators") offered cash for lodgings, so many more of the village cottages were opened as public houses. The only one which still bears its name from that time is The Anchor on the road to the Astons, now extensively rebuilt.