an amateur dramatic group that regularly performed plays in the village hall. Steeple Aston Village Archive (SAVA) holds annual talks and exhibitions and has produced CDs and books, all on the subject of the village's history. In September 2013, SAVA moved into its new Village History Centre adjacent to the Village Hall, which is open every Saturday morning or by appointment. Steeple Aston Cricket Club is an inclusive village side with players aged between 10 and 59, playing against surrounding villages. In the last ten years, the club has won two thirds of its matches. In 1988 parts of the village were designated a conservation area. On the edge of the village is the narrow-gauge Beeches Light Railway owned by Adrian Shooter. Education Steeple Aston has one school, Dr. Radcliffe's Church of England Primary School, in Fir Lane. Dr. Samuel Radcliffe, principal of Brasenose College, Oxford, founded it in 1640 along with a pair of almshouses. Most secondary school pupils from the village attend The Warriner School, Bloxham near Banbury. Parish magazine and website Steeple Aston Life, which was first printed in August 1973, is a monthly magazine delivered freely to all residents and sold at the village shop. There is also a parish website. In popular culture Early in John le Carré's novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, George Smiley, after a disagreeable dinner, contemplates selling up and leaving London to live in the country and thinks to himself: "Steeple Aston sounds about right." References Sources and further reading External links Steeple Aston, Oxfordshire Steeple Aston Village Archive (SAVA) Villages in Oxfordshire Civil parishes in Oxfordshire