NEWS FROM THE WYCHWOODS - The Wychwood Magazine

Welcome to The Wychwood magazine; serving the West Oxfordshire communities of Ascott under Wychwood, Fifield, Idbury, Leafield, Milton under Wychwood and Shipton under Wychwood with news, stories and information.

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Read Now: AUGUST SEPTEMBER 2025

A note from the editor

With each edition of the magazine, we try to come up with a theme. This is easier said than done. Themes are easy if you are writing for BBC Good Food or Sailing Magazine, but much more difficult when you are publishing a magazine for a community. Too narrow, and many people will find that they are not interested. Too broad, and it will lose its purpose.

For this issue, we have chosen the theme of ‘companionship’. Companionship can take many forms, from the companionship of a much-loved and trusted pet (in our case, Murray, our Jack Russell) to the companionship of a life partner to the companionship of friends and family. But as we began working on this issue, we discovered that companionship can mean much more.

In this issue is a lovely story by Edie Szep about The Old Prebendal House, where residents find companionship in both the staff and each other. Meanwhile, John Bennett from The Wychwood Local History Society has written a fascinating story about gargoyles, which have provided companionship for churches and worshippers since the Middle Ages. Finally, Jenna Saunders has written about her garden bees and how they provide her with a kind of companionship with nature.

We hope you’ll enjoy this issue, and as always, we look forward to your feedback and thoughts.