Kidlington is a village in Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom. It is located just north of Oxford, between the Cherwell and the Oxford Canal.
Kidlington is the largest village in England (and, indeed, in Europe), with a population, including neighboring Gosford of over 17,000, an expansion from a 1901 population of 1300. It has so far resisted all proposals to become a town; whether or not the community would be better served by town status, the change was voted down in a ballot by 98% of the ageing electorate. Nevertheless, the village is expanding in all directions.
At the centre of the village lies a church dating from the 13th century, with a Tudor rectory. The settlement, mentioned in Domesday (1086) grew steadily from an ancient village round the church. There are as many 18th century (Georgian) buildings, as are modern houses. Until Enclosure acts in 1818, a large section south of the village was unenclosed common land, and the village was widely known as Kidlington-on-the-Green. Just prior to World War II, this land was built up in a Garden City estate.
A major event in the Kidlington Calendar is the annual barge race held thrice yearly. This tradition dates back to the late 1800's where the barges were pulled by a large group of pack donkeys.
The village headquarters the fire services of the county, as well as the Thames Valley Police. Kidlington is also home to Oxford Airport , which has had a pilot training school since 1962. It has trained thousands of pilots for many airlines in over 40 different countries.
One secondary school exists (Gosford Hill) and a handful of primary schools to deal with the expanding population.
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