Middleton Cheney is a large village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The village is about east of Banbury in Oxfordshire and about west-northwest of Brackley. The A422 road between Banbury and Brackley used to pass through Middleton Cheney, but now bypasses it to the south. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population (including Thenford) as 3,597. Archaeology and history The village's name means 'Middle farm/settlement'. The village was held by John de Chendut in the 12th century. Traces of Neolithic, Bronze Age and Roman settlements have been found in the parish. An open field system of farming prevailed in the parish until the 18th century. Parliament passed an Inclosure Act for the parish in 1769 and the parish was surveyed for its inclosure awards in 1770. There is a row of 19th-century almshouses on the former main road through the village. In 1847 Parliament passed a bill for the Buckinghamshire Railway to build an extension to Banbury. It was built through the south of Middleton Cheney parish, and Farthinghoe railway station was opened in the parish in 1851. It was in the southeast corner of the parish, from the village, on the main road to Brackley. British Railways closed the station in 1952 and the railway in 1963. The Holt was a house in the parish designed by William Wilkinson. It built in 1864 and demolished in 1973. The parish used to include the village of Overthorpe, which is now a separate parish. Churches Church of England The Church of England parish church of All Saints is early 14th-century Decorated Gothic. The windows have been renewed but the south doorway is original. The nave has a clerestory, north and south aisles and four-bay arcades. William Edington was Rector 1322–35. He was consecrated Bishop of Winchester in 1345. The west tower and spire are later Medieval Perpendicular Gothic additions. The top of the spire is about above ground. In the 18th century the spire survived three lightning strikes: in 1720, 1794 and 1797. All Saints was restored under the direction of George Gilbert Scott in 1865. During the restoration notable stained-glass windows were added that were designed by the Pre-Raphaelite artists William Morris, Philip Webb, Edward Burne-Jones, Ford Madox Brown and Simeon Solomon and made by Morris & Co. There are also mosaics made by James Powell and Sons, one of which was designed by Henry Holiday. All Saints