Clifton Hampden [SEP] located next to body of water
Clifton Hampden
Clifton Hampden is a village and civil parish on the north bank of the River Thames, just over east of Abingdon in Oxfordshire. Since 1932 the civil parish has included the village of Burcot, east of Clifton Hampden. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 662.
Manor.
The toponym was originally simply "Clifton", meaning "tun on a cliff" in Old English. There is no documentation for the "Hampden" part of the name from before 1726.
In the Anglo
the early 14th century. From its opening a toll was payable but this ceased in 1946 when the County Councils of Berkshire and Oxfordshire joined to buy the bridge from its private owners.
Background.
The reach at Clifton Hampden was rocky and shallow, with water levels often dropping to barely so it was usually fordable by cattle and horses. The earliest record of a ferry is a mention of John Broun being ferryman in the early 14th century. The archives of Exeter College, Oxford show that Clifton Ferry was given to