The ancient ceremony of beating the bounds was revived at Steventon, near Abingdon, for the first time in living memory.

Seventeen members of Steventon Amenity Group set off on a 10-mile walk around the village boundary in 1974 in search of boundary stones.

They found two, on the boundaries with East Hendred and Drayton, and as tradition demanded, they beat them with sticks.

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Jim Williamson, one of the organisers, said he had talked to old people in the village and none could remember when the ceremony was last performed. He guessed it must have been some time in the 19th century.

He told the Oxford Mail: “We didn’t know how to perform the ceremony and so we read about what other parishes did when beating their bounds.”

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

You can also read his weekly Traffic and Transport newsletter.