Churchill is a village and civil parish about southwest of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Since 2012 it has been part of the Churchill and Sarsden joint parish council area, sharing a parish council with the adjacent civil parish of Sarsden. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 665. Toponym The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded the toponym as Cercelle. A pipe roll from 1168 records it as Cerzhulla. A charter of the Priory of St Frideswide, Oxford from about 1175 records it as Chirchehull. Other late 11th-century, 12th century and early 13th-century variants include Cercell, Cercell, Cercella, Cerchil, Cerchull and Cerchulla. A Close Roll from 1220 records it as Cerceill. An entry in the Book of Fees for about 1235–36 records it as Cershull. An assize roll from 1246–47 Latinises the name as Sercellis. A feudal aid document from 1346 records it as Cerccell. The name is derived from Old English. The parish's old church (see below) was not on top of the hill, so the name may not necessarily refer to a hill with or belonging to a church. There is a barrow almost at the top of the hill, so the first part of the name could be derived from the Brythonic word cruoco or crūc, meaning a hill, burial ground, or barrow. But if this is the case, crūc must have become confused with the Old English cirice ("church") at an early date. History Churchill was originally at the foot of a hill now called Hastings Hill, but on 31 July 1684 a fire destroyed 20 houses and many other buildings, and killed four people. The village was rebuilt higher up the hill, with stone houses instead of the old timber-framed and thatched cottages. The fire was apparently caused by a baker who, to avoid chimney tax, had knocked through the wall from her oven to her neighbour's chimney. The old village can still be seen as grassy mounds in the pastures around the Heritage Centre. The former Chipping Norton Railway, part of the Great Western Railway, passed near Churchill. The line had a small railway station, Sarsden Halt, northwest of Churchill. British Railways closed the halt to passengers in 1962 and closed the railway in 1964. Churches Old parish church The Heritage Centre is on what is thought to be the site of a Saxon church. In 1348