Woolstone is a small village on the spring-line beneath the Berkshire Downs, about 7 miles south-east of Faringdon, just beyond Uffington. It is an old Anglo-Saxon village that was part of the estate given to the powerful thegn (Lord) Wulfric around 944-960, and hence called Wulfrics tūn. It was recorded in the Domesday Book as Olvricestone (1086) and later as Wolfrichstone (1204). The modern spelling may have evolved slowly after around 1600 until its first known appearance in 1830. The Church of England parish church of All Saints was built in about 1195 and is now a Grade II listed building. The 2011 Census recorded the parish’s population as 210.
The village lies on the route from Uffington to the National Trust car park for visitors going to the famous White Horse. A pub of the same name has managed to survive here since at least the early 1800s, although the building is very much older (photo). Publicans have been recorded 1847/Alexander Noake – 1931/Peoples Refreshment House Association Ltd..
More…
Oxfordshire Villages website: http://www.oxfordshirevillages.co.uk/valevillages/woolstone.html
References:
- Photos from FDAHS archives folder V-Y.
- The English Place-Name Society – https://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/search
Researched and compiled by Ian Lee, November 2021.