Bletchingdon

Bletchingdon is a village and civil parish 2 miles north of Kidlington and 6 miles southwest of Bicester in Oxfordshire, England. Bletchingdon parish includes the hamlet of Enslow just over 1 mile west of the village. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 910.
The earliest known document to mention Bletchingdon is in the Domesday Book of 1086, which records it as Blecesdone. A charter written about 1130 records it as Blechesdune. The Feet of fines records it as Blechesdon in 1197. A document called the Placitorum abbreviato records it as Blechindon in 1279. It is derived from the Old English Blecces dūn meaning "Blecca's hill". In recent centuries "Bletchington" has been an alternative spelling. In the 19th and 20th centuries Bletchington railway station at Enslow was spelt with a "t". A local business based on the site of the former station trades as "Smiths of Bletchington". Etymologically this is misleading, but its use is well-established and accepted. Natives of the parish colloquially abbreviate it to "Bletch".

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