Petrological analysis in 1940 identified the stone as epidotised tuff from Stake Pass in the Lake District, 250 miles (400 km) to the north.

[11] The Domesday Book of 1086 shows that the manor of Sudtone ("south" of Abingdon) was owned half by William I and farmed mainly by tenants who owed him tribute.

Most historians believe that Matilda, the elder of the two legitimate children of Henry I of England, was born in Winchester; however John M. Fletcher argues for the possibility of the royal palace at Sutton (now Sutton Courtenay) in Berkshire; the queen had been delivered of a child that died, and it seems likely that she stayed for the birth of Matilda the following year.

Reginald Courtenay became the first Lord of Sutton after he had helped negotiate the path of the future king, Henry II, to the throne.

The arrangements received papal dispensation from Pope Urban V and the approval of the English king, the Black Prince's father, Edward III.

Also in the parish are several large quarries that have been used for gravel extraction and then used for landfill taking domestic refuse from London via a rail terminal.

[15] In August 1998 the Tudor Revival mansion Lady Place, former home of nutritionist Hugh Macdonald Sinclair, was destroyed by fire.

[16] On 30 January 2008 there was an explosion and fire at Sutton Courtenay Tyres and petrol station, which led to about 100 nearby houses being evacuated for fears that acetylene cylinders might explode.

[17] On 23 February 2016 a large section of the former boiler house at Didcot A power station collapsed while the building was being prepared for demolition.

It is a five-gabled, two-winged house which has had many additions over the centuries but originated as the great medieval royal hall, frequented by King Henry I and then taken over by the Courtenay family, who gave their name to the village.

Several construction phases took place during the Middle Ages, carried out by prominent figures like Solomon of Rochester, Thomas Beckington and William Say, but it wasn't until the 17th century that the current plan was completed.

[22] After being inhabited by Evelyn St. Croix Fleming, the estate was bought by David Astor in 1958, who leased it to the Ockenden Venture which offered sanctuary to refugees and displaced children.

Asquith and his large family spent weekends at The Wharf where his wife Margot held court over bridge and tennis.

A painting of the period by Sir John Lavery (now in the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin) shows Elizabeth Asquith and her young friends lounging in boats by the riverside.

The earliest parts of All Saints' parish church include the 12th-century Norman west tower and responds of the chancel arch.