Parish History

Sited at the southern extremity of Northamptonshire and bordering the counties of Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire the parish of Evenley is one of the prettiest in the county.

At the centre of the village lies the conservation area and at the very heart is the Village Green, bought in 1961 by the parish council and registered as a Village Green in 1968 to protect the land for the community. Cricket has been played on The Green for many years and draws a fairly good band of supporters, who can enjoy a welcomed drink in the local hostelry (The Red Lion), and watch the cricket at the same time. There are several important trees around the perimeter of The Green, which adds shade on a hot summer’s day.  The green is also home to the Evenley War Memorial.

The Church of St George lies at the end of Church Lane and enjoys an active gathering of supporters, Church wardens, a choir, organists, a team of bell ringers and all  those who volunteer their services for events at other functions held there.

Evenley is a rural community, surrounded by farmland. On the southern exit (Bicester Hill), is the Pocket Park, an area of common land and important for rare flora and fauna, which was registered by the Parish Council in 1968. As you continue along the road you see one of the farming establishments in the parish, where the owners take immense pride in the accredited Jersey herd it owns. To the north side of Evenley lies a second family run farm which also provides holiday accommodation.

The private ‘Evenley Woods’ is a well known area for locals and visitors alike to visit and during the year.  There are many open days; the first takes place in February for the many species of snowdrops of which the owner is extremely proud.

Evenley Parish boundary extends as far south as Lilybird House on the A43; North to include the car park at Tesco supermarket and the front part of the Formula 1 Mercedes/Petronas site (the boundary is marked by the river Great Ouse which runs under the existing entranceway to the supermarket). The development of about six properties at Plomers Furze, lying between Brackley and Charlton, although on the edge of the Croughton boundary, remain in Evenley while the boundary continues to the outskirts of Croughton, taking in part of the Royal Air Force base.  On returning to Evenley along the B4031 lies the hamlet of Astwick where, opposite are fishing lakes and visitor facilities under construction, which will, when completed, attract anglers from a wide area.   Approximately 500m to the north, close to public foopath AK9 lies The Astwick Mediaeval Village site, designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

From the Barley Mow roundabout, the boundary encompasses properties at Barley Mow and East on the A421, taking in some properties at Bowling Green.

There are currently 502 residents on the electoral register of which 69 actually live outside the village confines but still within Evenley Parish.

Evenley is part of the South Northamptonshire District and according to the latest life survey by the Halifax Building Society it (SND), is the third best place to live in the whole of the United Kingdom and the best in the East Midlands.

For more information have a look at Wikipedia for Evenley or to continue reading about our very own village flag visit the Flag Institute website.