THE ancient parish of Adderbury, near Banbury in north Oxfordshire, is largely bounded by rivers: the Cherwell to the east, the Swere to the south and, to the west, the Sor Brook, a tributary of the Cherwell. Generations of landowners and tenants have left their mark on this landscape of undulating hills and river valleys. Tenants were routinely required to plant trees, usually oaks or elms, as, over time, well-timbered hedges and the planting of foxhunting coverts diversified the natural bareness of the uplands.
The good hunting country, a ready supply of building stone from the local ironstone quarries and the proximity of a number of important family seats encouraged the arrival of aristocratic residents. As a result, the 16th and 17th centuries saw the gentry build houses around the green at Adderbury East. It was
