The Saxon Church in Steventon
From the 9th century onwards, there seems to have been a distinct and fairly rapid change in the way society and land ownership was structured in many parts of England
Estates of land were legally defined and it was within the power of the king to grant these to favoured, influential people or the church. We know this because there is an abundance of charters surviving from the 9th to 11th centuries, which detail to whom the land was being granted, and what the extent of the land was.
Manorial residences
A feature of this revolution in the organisation of land was that the designated owners often seem to have taken it upon themselves to have constructed a manor complex, usually called a curia by historians, for their residence. It would contain some form of manor house, outbuildings and sometimes a church.
Curia
A curia was a mark of status, with a private church being the ultimate distinguishing feature. The curia complex would be bounded by a bank or palisade and, might be laid out in a regular grid square fashion measured in perches (sixteen and half feet). The church and manor house arrangements at Steventon hint at such a situation.
Domesday Book
We know almost certainly that there was a Saxon church at Steventon as one is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, only twenty years after the Normans arrived. Its location has not yet been determined so the assumption is that it is beneath the site of the current church. Depending upon its age, the likelihood is it would have been made of wood. When it was constructed will have to remain a mystery until archaeological excavation not only finds the original building but also identifies evidence that can date it.
King Edgar
There is the slightest of hints though, that there might have been a church in Steventon from fairly early on in the restructuring of land ownership in England. Although there is no surviving charter for Steventon, there are for all the villages bordering it. One of these is for some land in East Hendred dated as long a go as the year 964. It records that King Edgar granted ten mansæ of land to Abingdon Abbey and then goes on to describe the boundaries, which are almost identical to those of the current parish.
The Earldorman
A stretch of the boundary between East Hendred and Steventon south west of Hill Farm is described as bordering the land of the Earldorman:
...eastweardan þæt hit cymð to ðes eadlermonnes gemere...
An Earldorman was a man of rank and power, with authority over a whole county. The implication is that before the year 964, a high-ranking individual had been granted the Steventon estate: if any person had the authority, ambition, control of resources and wealth to establish a church on his land, it would be an Earldorman.
Perhaps one day, archaeology might be able to turn such speculation into knowledge – one way or the other!
