Bellman's Covert

After WW2 there were a lot of displaced Polish people who needed somewhere to live. Old military buildings provided accommodation for a Polish community here up until the 1960s. Abandoned buildings from that time can still be seen in the woods. History on Link

Another one of the derelict buildings left over from WW2 which can still be seen in the woods round here. These were lived in up until the 1960s by community of Polish people displaced by the war. History on Link

Looking towards Church View.

This is an unlikely looking structure to find in an Oxfordshire village. Its origins lie in the friendship that developed between Edward Anderton Reade, the son of a local squire who spent his working life in India, and the Maharajah of Benares. In Victorian times the villages of this part of Oxfordshire had only limited access to clean water bringing considerable hardship to the poor of the area. Learning of these difficulties, the Maharajah - who had remained loyal to the British during the Indian Mutiny of 1857 - determined that a charity should be set up to relieve the problem. The result was a well dug to a depth of 368 feet, a considerable engineering achievement. To honour the Maharajah, who never visited Britain, a splendid well canopy was built incorporating a gold elephant representing the Hindu god Ganesh. The well was used until the beginning of the Second World War although by that time most houses in the village had a mains connection. Today the well has been renovated and preserved and is maintained by the Maharajah's Well Trust. The octagonal cottage to the right was built to house the well warden. The last warden died in 1979 since when it has been rented out to supplement the charity's income.

This is looking under the canopy of the well where the gold elephant takes pride of place. See SU6784 : The Maharajah's Well, Stoke Row for a wider view and some historical notes.

Beeches to the west of Checkendon Court.

Corker's Farm viewed from the footpath passing to its west.