Kidlington is a large village and civil parish in between the River Cherwell and the Oxford Canal. It is about 5 miles (8 kilometres) north of Oxford and 7.5 miles (12 km) southwest of Bicester. The settlement detailed in the Domesday Book of 1086 evolved from an ancient village adjacent to the church. Prior to the Enclosure acts of 1818, a sizeable part south of the village was unenclosed common land, and the village was generally referred to as Kidlington-on-the-Green. According to the 2011 Census, the village has a permanent resident population of 13723. This makes it a significant contender for the largest village in England. Kidlington residents have routinely withstood proposals to become a town, even though it gets approved for such status against any requirements. Following a peremptory change by the Parish Council to Town status, the change was voted down in a ballot of the local electorate by 98 percent, and ultimately reversed. There are various options to engage in social, cultural and leisure activities in the village. Kidlington is the home of around 50 shops, both independent and commercial chain stores, banks and building societies, a public library, a large village hall and a weekly market. In addition to this, there are seven pubs, two coffee shops, and four eateries. The public houses are focused along the dual carriageway that runs through the village, that include the Highwayman Hotel, the Black Horse, the Black Bull, the Red Lion, alongside the King's Arms in the Moors, and the Six Bells in Mill Street. The Squire Bassett was converted into a Nepalese restaurant and relabelled the Gurkha Village in 2012. For all of your home upgrades, make sure to make use of trustworthy contractors in Kidlington to make certain of quality.