Tytta's What?

(Extract from our centenary handbook)

When you stand on the outfield at Tiddington you have some very ancient history beneath your feet.

The first documented mention is in the Doomsday Book of 1086 where it appears as "Titerdone" which is a derivative of the old English (meaning "Tytta's dun" meaning Tytta's hill). We have no idea who Tytta was, but with a name like that he probably preferred obscurity. At any rate the name is of very old English origin and indicates settlement at an early date, quite likely in the 6^th century A.D.

The Doomsday Book records that there was a manor at Titendone in 1086 held by a royal official called Sawold. There was also a somewhat larger manor at neighbouring Albury, although both settlements were sparsely populated at this time.

The population fluctuated but generally remained low until the 15^th Century, when things began to change. Enclosure started, and by the 17^th century was complete. More significantly, from the 1640's onward the manor lands were divided into a number of medium sized freeholds and sold to various tenants. This was the beginning of the village as we know it today and some of the oldest cottages date from that time, such as the Manor Farmhouse and the neighbouring property at the top of Albury View and several cottages on the main road. The Fox public house also dates from this period, although much of the present building was constructed at a later time.

By this time, the village had become known as "Tithingtown". The modern name "Tiddington" came into use around 1800, and it was also from this time that the village began to prosper whilst Albury declined. A decisive factor was the opening of the railway and Tiddington station in 1864, which made it the centre of the surrounding agriculture area.

And so we come to 1886. What was life like? Well most people still worked on the land. You could buy an ox at Wheatley market for £17, and the annual show of agriculture roots at Thame was won by Mr Kimbell of Worminghall with a 32½lb wurzel. Not many people have wurzels as big as that nowadays.

On the cricketing front, 1886 was something of a golden age, with teams being formed in many places. Oxford City C.C. dominated the game in the county, and teams were already in action in Wheatley, Little Milton, Garsington, the Baldons and Horspath. At the university, some fine cricket was on offer. The illustrious Dr W.G Grace took all ten wickets in an innings for the M.C.C, followed by a century when he batted. The touring Australians visited the city, and their victory over the university produced one of the lowest ever first class match aggregates – 191 runs for the loss of 40 wickets. One of Australia's all-time greats, F.R. Spofforth, bowled throughout both the university innings to take 15 wickets for only 36 runs. Fortunately Oxford recovered to win the varsity match.

Against this idyllic background, Tiddington Cricket Club came into being. Time has changed, but the club has grown and prospered.