ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST CHURCH - OVINGTON

The Church is believed to have been built around 1095 and is located in Church Road, on high ground to the north of the main village settlement. It is essentially a Norman building with an important south doorway, described later.

Location and Early History

The village of Ovington is situated in an agricultural landscape, one mile north of Watton along the A1075; a road which effectively divides the parish into east and west sections. The main residential area is to the east of this road; access is obtained by taking the right turn off the A1075, into the road designated as The Street, at the cross-roads just prior to the infamous "Ovington Bends".

Ovington is not mentioned in Domesday Book. However, despite the lack of a manor being listed at this time, Ovington is located in an area which has been occupied by man since Neolithic times. Occupation of this area has been constant since those far off days; artefacts, urns, enamelled horse bronzes, and Roman coins have been unearthed in the area. These finds indicating that Ovington was a place of some importance, especially during the Iron age, even warranting at some stage an extensive hill fort; signs of which are still evident at "High Banks" or "Danes Graves" on the north western boundary of the parish.

Roman activity in the parish is also well documented. The Romans were quick to recognise the strategic importance of the old Iron Age hill fort; utilising the original earthworks, they rebuilt it as a base for their armies during their long-standing conflict against the local, in the main rebellious, tribes.

The village name, Ovington, is derived from the old English, and very common, personal name of "Ufa". Ufa presumably settled in this area, which had extremely good pastures; his kinfolk, realising the potential of the place, stayed with him, forming a small, self sufficient, community. The old English name for such a community is, "ingas" meaning the people / family / followers of the aforementioned Ufa.

The basis for their becoming established here was for agricultural purposes and animal husbandry. Thus the village became an extended farmstead, and the old English for that is "tun". These elements combined make "Ufa-ingas-tun", not too dissimilar from the "Ovington" of today. Language and pronunciation does change over the ages and by 1202 Ovington was known as "Uvinton"; later, in 1254, we regained the "g" and became "Uvington". In the 750 years since, the variations in the spelling of "Ovington" have been numerous.

There were two principle manors here, called Bozuns(or Bozomes) and Woodhouse, which were, at the time of the Domesday survey, included in the neighbouring parish of Saham Toney. It has not been established whether, or where, any manorial structures or houses existed in Ovington at that time. Lord Bozun held the knights fee, a princely sum of £20 for Ovington, but he had yet to receive a knighthood. He also was given a charter for free warren in this village for which, later, he was granted a further half fee, the manor at this stage being described in the documents as Oviton.

The ownership of the lands within the parish were subject to continual change until around the early part of the fourteenth century, when they were seized and given to the Hospitalers of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, coming under their command from their stronghold in nearby Carbrooke, or Kerbrooke as it was then known. These landlords were, perhaps, considered by the residents of that time, to be an improvement on previous ones, as they imposed no tolls; this was in line, it must be stressed, with the instructions issued by King Henry III.

There were many subsequent changes of ownership, the land being divided between different factions and families until the mid seventeenth century when the then Lord, one Thomas Wright of Downham, passed it on to an ex courtier of King Charles I, Sir Thomas Rustat (anagram of Stuart). Sir Thomas also purchased a farm in Ovington, now called College Farm, and the "advowson", which meant he had the right to nominate the holders of the land. He in turn presented these to The Chancellor, Master and Scholars of Cambridge University, who remained Lords and Patrons until the early twentieth century.

In the eighteenth century the church came under the auspices of Kings College, Cambridge, who appointed the rectors. All lands are now under public or private ownership.

The parish of Ovington today extends to some 1500 acres and has a population of around 280, neither of which statistics have varied much over the past 300 years. Until the mid-twentieth century, when housing development began to create a more defined village, there was no central settlement; farms and associated cottages were scattered fairly evenly over the whole parish. The village is now primarily a residential community which still retains its agricultural heritage in its five farms.

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