Somerton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, in the Cherwell valley about 6 miles (10 km) northwest of Bicester.

[1] Fourteen Saxon or early medieval graves have been discovered at Somerton's former Free School.

[3] The Domesday Book of 1086 records that William the Conqueror's step-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, held most of the manor of Somerton.

Francis is believed to have been killed in 1487 in the Battle of Stoke Field at the end of the Wars of the Roses.

[4] In the 18th century most of Somerton manor house was demolished, but part of the hall wall still remains.

[5] In the 16th century the south aisle of St. James' church was converted into the Fermor family chapel.

[5] However, after the English Reformation the Fermors were Recusants and had a private Roman Catholic chapel at the manor house.

When Thomas Fermor died in 1580, his will provided for the founding of a "free school" for Somerton boys to be instructed in "virtue and learning".

A century later George's son Victor Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey died and the Somerton estate was sold.

[12] Even after the Fermors moved to Tusmore, the Roman Catholic Mass continued to be celebrated at the Somerton manor house chapel.

In 1738 St. James' Church of England rector reported that 47 Roman Catholics attended Mass at the manor house chapel once a month.

In Somerton the railway threads along the valley between the Oxford Canal and the foot of the hill on which the village stands, and a bridge carries it over the road to North Aston.

After the First World War the Rev Dr Barnes, who had been Rector of Somerton since 1875, organised the building of the first village hall.

In December 2008 the Big Lottery Fund granted its trustees £311,000 to rebuild the hall for the village.