256 THE DOMESDAY INQUEST 



of Stowood comes down an old road one of the old coaching 

 roads between London and Worcester which crosses the Ray 

 at Islip Bridge, and runs along the highest point of the 

 northern ridge to Bletchingdon and Kirtlington, where it is 

 continued in the pre-Roman road known as the Portway. On 

 the east of these ridges the Ray valley spreads out into 

 Otmoor, where, in spite of the enclosures and drainage, the 

 floods to-day lie out after a heavy rain, and which in the old 

 days was an impassable swamp. On the west of them lies 

 the Cherwell valley, which, too, is flooded very frequently. If 

 the city of Oxford was held by a hostile force, the only means 

 of passing through the county from south to north in flood- 

 time was along this road and over Islip Bridge. Charles I. 

 recognized the military importance of Islip, and maintained 

 a garrison in the village ; and there was at least one 

 skirmish between his forces and the Parliamentarians at Islip 

 Bridge. 



Although there is no mention of Islip in any document 

 older than the reign of Edward the Confessor, there can be 

 little doubt that its military importance was recognized from 

 the earliest times. Here was obviously the best place to 

 check raiders coming from either south to north or north 

 to south. And, from the fact that the greater part, and that 

 too the older part, of the village is on the north of the Ray, 

 it would seem that the first settlement was made by those 

 who wanted to defend themselves from a raider from the 

 south. 



Passing from surmises to records, we find that the record 

 of Islip in Domesday Book is as follows : 



" The wife of Roger of Ivry holds of the King 5 hides in Islip. 

 Of these, three hides never rendered geld. There is land for 15 

 teams. Now there are in demesne 3 teams and 2 slaves, and 10 

 villans with 5 bordars have 3 teams. There is a mill of 2o/- and 

 30 acres of meadow. Pasture 3 furlongs long by 2 broad. Wood 

 one league long and half a league broad. It was worth l in the 



