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Rycote is a hamlet southwest of Thame in Oxfordshire. The Oxfordshire Way long-distance path passes through.
In 1539 Rycote was bought by Sir John Williams, who later was created Baron Williams of Thame. Baron Williams died without a male heir, so Rycote became part of the Norreys family estates via his daughter Margery Norris.Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 749 Elizabeth I visited Rycote while she was still a princess.Charles I visited Rycote in 1625. In 1682 James Bertie, 5th Baron Norreys of Rycote was created 1st Earl of Abingdon. He died in 1699 and a memorial to him in the chapel was erected in 1767.
It was long believed that Rycote House burned down in 1745 and that its remains were demolished in 1800, apart from one corner turret and some outbuildings. However, in 2001 Channel 4's Time Team investigated Rycote Park looking for the remains of the Tudor Rycote House and established that Rycote had been rebuilt after the fire over a period of about 20 years. The Bodleian Library in Oxford holds records of sales of contents and fabric from Rycote, indicating that the Tudor house was sold by lot for removal between 1779 and 1807, the year in which the 5th Earl of Abingdon ordered its demolition. In about 1920 the extensive stables were converted into the present Rycote House. Later Rycote belonged to the Member of Parliament and prominent Rugby union player Alfred St. George Hamersley (1848–1929). In the chapel there is a memorial to Hamersley made by the sculptor Eric Gill. The house is Grade II* listed.
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