Wendlebury

Coordinates: 51°52′19″N 1°11′13″W / 51.872°N 1.187°W / 51.872; -1.187

Wendlebury is a village and civil parish about 2 miles (3 km) southwest of Bicester and about ¹⁄₂ mile (800 m) from Junction 9 of the M40. The village is on a stream that flows through its centre, parallel with the main street. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 421.

The toponym is derived from Old English, meaning the burh of a Saxon named Wændel.

Manor

Before the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century one Asgar held the manor. After the Conquest, William the Conqueror granted Wendlebury to Geoffrey de Mandeville. The manor remained with his heirs, including his grandson of the same name whom King Stephen made 1st Earl of Essex in about 1140. The de Mandeville lineage became extinct upon the death of William FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex in 1227, and its manors including Wendlebury passed to Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford in 1236. Henry III made Humphrey Earl of Essex in 1239. Wendlebury remained with the Earls of Hereford and Essex until the death of Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford in 1373.