It seems that the village grew out of two focal points, one being around Sheepwash Lane and the other in the vicinity of Mill Street. Some of the evidence for this comes from various medieval records, which refer to two tythings called the Eastsyde and Westsyde. In Saxon and medieval times, a tythe related to a method of social organisation known as frankpledge. The men of a tythe, under the leadership of a tything man, pledged surety for each other in terms of keeping the peace: if a man broke the law in some way, then the other men of the tythe were pledged to bring him before the courts. Women, children under twelve and the clergy were exempt!

Typical of a Green village

Both Eastsyde and Westsyde were probably organised around greens. The green at Eaststyde can still be envisaged, being the open space between Sheepwash Lane and Kennel Lane, and is typical of a ‘Green’ village with a number of tracks entering it at different points. The green at Westsyde is harder to discern, assuming there actually was one. However, the open space in the vicinity of the site of the old mill does hint at one. The two ends of the village were linked by a track known as Twychens, now evident only in field boundaries.

A bigger Green

Today, of course, the village is dominated by a much larger green, cut across by the B4017 with the football and cricket pitches on one side and the small green and allotments on the other. How does this green fit into the history of the village? It seems that it might be almost as old as the two much smaller greens at Eastsyde and Westsyde. Some historians have argued that the serpentine line of Twychens is typical of a track that follows the edge of a green and therefore Steventon Green might be as old as Twychens.

Allotments as compensation

There is some sense in this. Greens were common land upon which the peasantry had the right to graze their livestock. As the village grew, the two smaller greens would have been insufficient for the purpose and thus an additional area was set aside from the arable fields. Common land was generally poorer quality land and perhaps the potential for flooding rendered this particular area of Steventon most suitable for the purpose. The west end of The Green was converted to allotments in 1885 when the three great Open Fields were enclosed: allotments were compensation for tenants who lost their land in this process. It was also around this time that the sports pitches were laid out.

Why a triangle? A distinctive feature of The Green is its triangular shape, the apex of the triangle being at the play area near the school, and the base of the triangle being the ditch linking the old bakery to the east end of The Causeway. What determined this shape? The south side of the triangle was defined by Twychens and the north side by the road from Abingdon via Drayton (now the B3017 and previously the old A34)), which originally had a different course to the current one.

A different route

Evidence from 17th and 18th century maps indicate that the road from Abingdon via Drayton (now the B4017, may have skirted The Green on its north side, its line being marked the row of cottages facing the little green. It would have met The Causeway where the school now stands, and then continued on its way along what is now Stocks Lane and so onward up the hill alongside The Copse.

John Ogilby’s Britannia Road Atlas

In 1675, a man called John Ogilby’s produced the Britannia Road Atlas of Great Britain and he signposts this road at the point it leaves Abingdon over the Ock Bridge as heading to Wantage and not Newbury as it does today. It was only later on when horse drawn vehicles became more efficient that Steventon Hill could be tackled face on. At this point in time, the road changed course, cut across The Green and followed the route of the current High Street; in so doing, it became the direct route to Newbury. However, before this new route became established, Its earlier route made a natural northern boundary to The Green and thus defined the triangular shape we see today. Its more recent route had the effect of cutting the triangle in half.

A village pound

Two other features of The Green are also worthy of mention, one long gone, the other still to be seen. Before the west end of The Green was converted to allotments, there existed a village pound – an enclosure used for the corralling of livestock. This was located next to The Causeway where a path cuts across the allotments and is marked today by nearby Pound House.

The Folly

The second feature is a peculiar mound of earth crowned by various trees, sitting in the middle of the allotments. There is a story that the number of trees represents the number of bells in the church. This doesn’t stand up to scrutiny though as 19th century documents refer to three trees. Perhaps more pertinent is that the mound is marked on a map of 1839 and labelled, ‘The Folly’. This was long before this part of The Green was converted to allotments, and it would be interesting to know exactly how old The Folly is and why it is there.

The Causeway

There is one final thought worthy of more exploration. If The Green dates back to the time that the track called Twychens linked the two ends of the village, then it must be very ancient indeed, dating back at least to the period after the Norman conquest and even back into Saxon times. Why then would The Causeway have been built right across The Green, thereby creating an obstacle to the movement of livestock between the peasant’s houses and the common land? It’s possible that The Causeway was constructed with gaps in it (as we see today) to allow the passage of livestock to and from The Green. However, the consequent ups and downs would have made transit along The Causeway difficult, especially for carts.

Which is older...

Perhaps a solution is that The Causeway is even older than The Green, and it was The Causeway that defined the southern edge of The Green and not Twychens. It’s just a thought but an enticing one at that