South Oxfordshire Research Articles

Barn Owls and Black Rats from a Rural Roman Villa at Gatehampton, South Oxfordshire

ABSTRACT A large assemblage of small mammal and other small vertebrate bones was excavated within a relatively small area of a single room in a Roman villa close to the River Thames in South Oxfordshire. It is argued that these bones are the remains of barn owl pellets and that their presence shows that the roof on this room at least had remained intact for some time after either the entire building or this particular part of it had been abandoned as human habitation. The remains of several juvenile black rats were contained within the assemblage, making this the first record of black rats from a rural Romano-British setting in Oxfordshire and adding to the extremely small corpus of records of this species from a non-urban location anywhere in the country. Radiocarbon dates place the presence of rats and the abandonment of the villa during the second half of the fourth century.

On the nature and significance of two mega Chalk dissolution pipe infills, Goring Gap, Chiltern Hills, south Oxfordshire, UK

Two partially exposed infilled pipes hosted by chalk were revealed in excavations into a hillside some 50m above the modern River Thames. The pipes are interpreted as collapse features induced by voids originating at depth rather than classical stream fed sinkholes. Two kinds of infill could be distinguished, sands tentatively assigned to the early Eocene Reading Formation (Lambeth Group) and gravels associated with the mid-Pleistocene Beaconsfield Terrace. The age of development can be constrained by the Thames terrace chronology and this implies major landscape changes due to fluvial erosion since initiation of the pipes some 2Ma and a reactivation event about 1Ma.

Estimating Sun Exposure of Children in Day Care Nurseries in South Oxfordshire, UK.

Exposure to ultraviolet radiation and sunburn during childhood and adolescence is linked to increased risks of melanoma and basal cell carcinoma later in life. Infants and toddlers are thought to be unusually vulnerable to UVR because of lower levels of melanin, a thinner stratum corneum and a higher surface area/body mass ratio. The aim of this study was to assess variations in the available erythema effective radiant doses to young children in day care nurseries in South Oxfordshire, UK over 7 years between 2008 and 2014. The data were analyzed in three distinct seasons according to a series of realistic exposure scenarios taking into account nursery routines. The results indicate the time of year when high doses are to be expected and provide strong support for arguments in favor of raising public awareness of sun protection earlier in the year.

New patient assessment in old age psychiatry: the importance of risk assessment

Aims and method In recent years, the role of non-medical community mental health team (CMHT) clinicians has widened to include new patient assessments. It is unclear whether all professionals have the skills and confidence to undertake these to a high quality. This project investigated which professionals are doing new assessments, evaluated their quality and explored the assessors' unmet training needs. The study was based on the data extracted from electronic notes and a complete audit cycle in South Oxfordshire Older Adults CMHT; this was a cross-sectional study across Oxfordshire older adults services.Results Most new assessments (72.4%) were done by non-medical clinicians; the majority were missing important information, especially relating to medications and risk assessment. Only 75% of assessors felt at least ‘partially confident’ to do assessments and found them stressful, with 86% keen to undertake further training.Clinical implications Simple measures such as an assessment form, a programme of training seminars and adequate supervision, delivered to all CMHT clinicians, can ensure high-quality assessment in diverse clinical environments.

People and houses in South Oxfordshire, 1300–1650

This article is one outcome of an intensive study of inhabitants’ perceptions of landscape in south Oxfordshire over the long period 500–1650. Analysis of late medieval and early modern vernacular buildings was an important part of the research project, in particular for working out how houses might have been used as part of the wider social space of the village. The study area, the fourteen parishes of the former hundred of Ewelme, is particularly useful for such an investigation because it incorporates a range of settlement types, from the villages of the south Oxfordshire vale to the scattered hamlets of the Chiltern Hills to the south-east. What follows is an initial summary of results, including information about the character and size of tenant houses, discussion of the way internal spaces were organised, and an assessment of key phases of plan-form change. Emphasis is placed on the physical relationship between houses, roads and other features, and the potential implications for the way people engaged with each other on a day-to-day basis. Data collected from recording work on 53 houses (including some new dendrochronological and radiocarbondates) is combined with analysis of documents, notably a survey of Ewelme manor in 1609.

Medieval land remediation of a quarry site at Wallingford, Oxfordshire, revealed by microfossil analysis

Backfill material from a 12th- to13th-century quarry, north of Wallingford, south Oxfordshire, comprises sandy loam overlain by Cretaceous (early Cenomanian; Mantelliceras mantelli Macrofaunal Biozone) Glauconitic Marl Member, of the West Melbury Marly Chalk Formation as identified by its abundant, biostratigraphically useful, foraminifera and ostracods. A local outcrop source of the Glauconitic Marl Member, less than 1 km north of the quarry pit, is the likely provenance of this material, and a contemporaneous road, which was discovered adjacent to the medieval quarry by magnetometer surveys and archaeological excavation, would have aided its transportation, into the town via the North Gate. We hypothesise that the use of a calcareous marl to overlay sandy loam deposits probably encouraged land restoration when the quarried area was returned to pastoral agriculture.

The South Oxfordshire Project: perceptions of landscape, settlement and society, c. 500–1650

ABSTRACT Historians and archaeologists are increasingly interested in moving beyond landscape reconstruction and economics to investigate how past inhabitants perceived their environment. This reflects the subject's intrinsic interest and an awareness of the importance of decisions made by ordinary people in shaping the development of the countryside. However, the evidence available makes it difficult to uncover mentalities and attitudes. To date, most attention has been paid to particular features which seem to say most about self-perception and beliefs, but the greatest advances will arguably be made by studying the landscape as a whole. This article explains the approach to popular perceptions being adopted by ‘The South Oxfordshire Project’, an interdisciplinary analysis of fourteen parishes encompassing lowland clay vales and Chilterns wood-pasture from the early Middle Ages to the mid seventeenth century.

Circular dichroism beamline B23 at the Diamond Light Source

Synchrotron radiation circular dichroism (SRCD) is a well established technique in structural biology. The first UV-VIS beamline, dedicated to circular dichroism, at Diamond Light Source Ltd, a third-generation synchrotron facility in south Oxfordshire, UK, has recently become operational and it is now available for the user community. Herein the main characteristics of the B23 SRCD beamline, the ancillary facilities available for users, and some of the recent advances achieved are summarized.

Transferring service provision from a Primary Care Trust to a charity: what needs to be considered?

On 1 April 2011, specialist palliative care (SPC) services in NHS Berkshire West transferred to Sue Ryder, a third sector provider of health and social care in the UK. Prior to the transfer, Berkshire West Primary Care Trust (PCT) commissioned services from its own provider arm and from Sue Ryder's Nettlebed Hospice in South Oxfordshire.

Micropalaeontology reveals the source of building materials for a defensive earthwork (English Civil War?) at Wallingford Castle, Oxfordshire

Abstract. Microfossils recovered from sediment used to construct a putative English Civil War defensive bastion at Wallingford Castle, south Oxfordshire, provide a biostratigraphical age of Cretaceous (earliest Cenomanian) basal M. mantelli Biozone. The rock used in the buttress – which may have housed a gun emplacement – can thus be tracked to the Glauconitic Marl Member, base of the West Melbury Marly Chalk Formation. A supply of this rock is available on the castle site or to the east of the River Thames near Crowmarsh Gifford. Microfossils provide a unique means to provenance construction materials used at the Wallingford site. While serendipity may have been the chief cause for use of the Glauconitic Marl, when compacted, it forms a strong, almost ‘road base’-like foundation that was clearly of use for constructing defensive works. Indeed, use of the Glauconitic Marl was widespread in the area for agricultural purposes and its properties may have been well-known locally.

Measuring circular dichroism in a capillary cell using the b23 synchrotron radiation CD beamline at diamond light source

Synchrotron radiation circular dichroism (SRCD) is a well-established method in structural biology. The first UV-VIS beamline dedicated to circular dichroism at Diamond Light Source, a third generation synchrotron facility in South Oxfordshire, has recently become operational and it is now available for the user community. Herein we present an important application of SRCD: the CD measurement of protein solutions in fused silica rectangular capillary cells. This was achieved without the use of any lens between the photoelastic modulator and the photomultiplier tube detectors by exploiting the high photon flux of the collimated beam that can be as little as half a millimeter squared. Measures to minimize or eliminate vacuum-UV protein denaturation effects are discussed. The CD spectra measured in capillaries is a proof of principle to address CD measurements in microdevice systems using the new B23 SRCD beamline.

Teaching science in school…: and I still have a blackboard!

Sarah Darkins teaches science at Langtree, a school in South Oxfordshire with 550 pupils, which has just attained Performing Arts status. The school has a comparatively rural catchment area and has no sixth form. I put some fairly probing questions to Sarah on the subject of being a science teacher. Her responses were considered, frank, some surprisingly upbeat and some critical of today's teaching environment.

The effectiveness of a lunch club for the elderly: a rural case study

As part of its ministry to a village in South Oxfordshire a rural Methodist church developed the provision of a monthly luncheon club for the elderly. Those attending were asked to give responses to questions regarding their personal circumstances. Results suggest some of the difficulties relating to the care of the elderly in rural locations.

TO WHAT EXTENT WERE WOMEN’S EXPERIENCES OF MATERNITY INFLUENCED BY LOCALITY? BENSON, OXFORDSHIRE c.1945 TO 1970

The birth of a first child was a life-transforming event for most women in the years between I945 and I970 and the significance of motherhood for women, for their children and for society universally accepted. A number of social surveys, community studies, and medical studies were conducted during this period; however, discourses of class and later gender dominated their analyses. This article argues that by examining the effects of locality as well as those of class and gender on women’s lives we can add to our understanding of women’s experiences of motherhood. The findings are based on fifteen interviews with women who were bringing up their children in the village of Benson in South Oxfordshire and demonstrate how living in a village, knowing other young mothers, and having a village doctor, nurse and surgery shaped women’s experiences of maternity in Benson at this time.

Cranked Inner Principals

This paper discusses a group of roof types found in agricultural buildings, mainly in barns in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and South Oxfordshire. The common feature is a truss with an angled member rising from the tiebeam to the collar for which the generic term ‘cranked inner principal’ is proposed. The various roof structures associated with these and similar timbers are discussed. An attempt is made to identify the date range of the cranked inner principal, and to suggest reasons why it was used. The distribution of known examples is discussed in relation to type W cruck apexes.

A randomized controlled trial to compare alternative strategies for preventing infant crying and sleep problems in the first 12 weeks: the COSI study

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that a behavioural programme was used preventatively to try to reduce crying and improve night sleeping in 1- to 12-week old infants compared with educational support or existing services. The objectives were to develop strategies which can be used to inform, help and support parents of new babies. The study was a three-group prospective randomized controlled trial in West Berkshire and South Oxfordshire, making a comparison between a behavioural policy, an educational intervention and existing services. The participants were 610 mothers giving birth to term healthy infants at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading between March and November 1997. The main outcome measures were interruption-free nights i.e., the number of nights each week when parents reported that their baby slept for a minimum of 5 hours; babies' fuss/crying patterns; and mothers' general well-being and approach to parenthood. There were no significant differences between the groups in the amount of fuss/crying, which gradually reduced during the 12 weeks. At 12 weeks of age, more mothers in the behavioural group reported their babies to have had seven interruption-free nights (61%), compared with the educational (53%) and the control groups (50%). This was significant at the P < 0.05 level. The educational and control groups did not significantly differ at any age. At 6 and 12 weeks, mothers allocated to the behavioural policy were more structured in their approach to parenting and rated it more highly for convenience. At 9 months, their babies were more likely to have a regular bedtime routine. Where mothers followed a behavioural programme, 10% more babies slept for a minimum of 5 hours at night without disturbing their parents at 12 weeks of age. This improved sleeping pattern persisted up to 9 months of age. Mothers in this group also reported a greater feeling of control and increased confidence in their ability to cope. The more widespread adoption of a behavioural approach to the management of early infant sleeping should be considered.

Prehistoric histories

This paper discusses prehistoric forms of history. We propose that all prehistoric societies oriented their actions in the present with the past in mind. The task for archaeologists is to understand the sorts of histories at work in different periods. We propose a distinction between genealogical history, where the past is created through links to known ancestors, and mythical history, where a less well‐known past is evoked. These two forms of history coexist in all societies with implications for the manner in which continuities and change are handled. We illustrate the insights that these ideas may provide through a case study from the late Bronze Age to Romano‐British periods on the Ridge‐way in south Oxfordshire, southern England.

‘The Reading model’: an integrated psychotherapy service

This article describes the principles and structure, staffing and training of an integrated psychotherapy service for the people of West Berkshire and South Oxfordshire (Reading, Henley, Wokingham, Newbury and Didcot) a population of 530 000.The service is integrated internally as a joint outpatient and therapeutic community service that can provide psychodynamic psychotherapy across a wide range of length, intensity and styles. Externally it is integrated with the general adult psychiatry service, referrers, social services and community mental health teams.

The concealed Upper Palaeozoic rocks of Berkshire and South Oxfordshire

Lithological, sedimentological and biostratigraphical (mainly palynological) details are presented of Devonian and Carboniferous rocks proved in five boreholes in Berkshire. The Devonian rocks include both fluvial Old Red Sandstone and marine facies. Two boreholes proved Dinantian rocks, of Courceyan (Lower Limestone Shales) age in one and probable Holkerian limestones in the other. These are overlain unconformably by Westphalian A and B strata (Lower and Middle Coal Measures), with are locally dominated by basic volcanics and intrusives. The Upper Coal Measures (late Westphalian C to early Westphalian D), chiefly composed of coarse-grained and conglomeratic sub-greywacke and belonging to the Arenaceous Coal Formation, unconformably overlie and overlap the earlier Carboniferous strata. The Upper Palaeozoic rocks were deformed into broad open folds during the latter part of the Variscan Orogeny, but steep dips in the south suggest proximity to the Variscan Front. The intermittent periods of erosion through Upper Palaeozoic time, and the late Carboniferous sedimentary history, can probably be related to deformational events in the Variscan Fold-Belt to the south.

Any questions

The South Oxfordshire Branch extend our thanks to Trevor Clay for taking part as a panel member on the BBC Radio 4 Any Questions programme, broadcast from the John Rat-cliffe Hospital, Oxford on March 18.