Woodcote

Coordinates: 51°32′02″N 1°04′19″W / 51.534°N 1.072°W / 51.534; -1.072

Woodcote
Woodcote  Woodcote shown within Oxfordshire
Population	2,700 (2001 census)
OS grid reference	SU643819
Parish	Woodcote
District	South Oxfordshire
Shire county	Oxfordshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Reading
Postcode district	RG8
Dialling code	01491
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Oxfordshire
Ambulance	South Central
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Henley
Website	Welcome to Woodcote
List of places: UK • England • Oxfordshire

Woodcote is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, about 5 miles (8.0 km) southeast of Wallingford and about 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Reading, Berkshire. It is in the Chiltern Hills, and the highest part of the village is 600 feet (180 m) above sea level.

Woodcote lies between the Goring Road and the A4074. It is centred around the village green and Church Farm, with the village hall centred on the crossroads.

History

Prehistoric artefacts have been found in the area, including a polished hand-axe from about 3000 BC^{[citation needed]} and a larger than life Celtic carved stone head from about 1500 BC.^{[citation needed]}

The toponym Woodcote means "cottage in the wood".^{[citation needed]} It was first documented in 1109, in association with South Stoke.^{[citation needed]}

Woodcote has had a parish church since the 12th century. In 1846 it was rebuilt to the designs of the Gothic Revival architect H.J. Underwood.^[1] Of the original building little survives except some flintwork in the chancel walls.^[1]

There is a Jacobean barn in the grounds of Woodcote House. Woodcote House itself is a Georgian country house built in 1733. It was remodelled by the architect Detmar Blow in 1910. Since 1942 it has been the premises of The Oratory School, a Roman Catholic public school.^[1]

Woodcote was a gypsy settlement for many years.^[when?] There is a gypsy burial ground in the vicinity of the village which follows gypsy tradition whereby members of the community where buried on high ground.^{[citation needed]}

Woodcote won the Oxfordshire Village of the Year title for 2008.^[2]

Churches

Woodcote has three churches:

• The Church of England parish church of Saint Leonard
• The Roman Catholic church of Christ the King
• Woodcote Methodist Church

St. Leonard's parish is now a member of The Langtree Team Ministry: a Church of England benefice that includes also the parishes of Checkendon, Ipsden, North Stoke, Stoke Row and Whitchurch-on-Thames.^[3]

Schools

Langtree School,^[4] The Oratory School and Woodcote Primary School^[5] are all in the village. Langtree School is a comprehensive school and recently became a DfES Specialist Performing Arts College.

There are two pre-schools. The Cabin, one of the pre-schools was founded by Mrs Rose Hunt in 1961. It had two previous homes until in 1986 when Mrs Bella Saunders, the Chairperson at the time, along with the Management Committee began raising funds for a new building. £10,000 was raised in just twelve months. The current building was installed in 1987 during the Christmas holidays within the grounds of Langtree School. In September 1996 the name was changed from The Cabin Playschool to The Cabin Pre-School.^[6]

Amenities

Woodcote has a Post Office and two shops, Londis and Somerfield.

There is a newly-built^[when?] children's playground beside the main village green. A basketball net also available.

Woodcote has a Women's Institute.^[7] and a Goring and Woodcote Lions Club.^[8]

Woodcote is surrounded in many parts by woodland, suitable for walks. There are many country footpaths in the area and a bridlepath runs past the village.

Sport

Woodcote / Stoke Row Football Club^[9] currently has three teams. The First team plays in the Reading Football League Senior Division; the Reserve team plays in the Reading Football League Division Two, and the Youth team plays in the South Chiltern Minor League Division One.

Woodcote Cricket Club^[10] currently plays in the Berkshire Cricket League Premier Division.

Woodcote Rally

Every year Woodcote hosts a steam, vintage and veteran transport^[11] and real ale festival,^[12] the proceeds of which are donated to local charities and organisations, and over the years has raised more than £300,000. The rally includes a funfair.

Sources

• Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 852–853. ISBN 0 14 071045 0. 

References

v • d • e The District of South Oxfordshire Oxfordshire • County Council elections • District Council elections • Henley County Constituency • Wantage County Constituency Towns Didcot • Henley-on-Thames • Thame (Moreton) • Wallingford • Watlington (Christmas Common, Northend) Large Villages Benson (Preston Crowmarsh) • Berinsfield • Brightwell-cum-Sotwell • Chalgrove • Chinnor (Emmington, Henton, Oakley) • Cholsey (Winterbrook) • Crowmarsh (Crowmarsh Gifford, North Stoke, Mongewell, Newnham Murren) • Ewelme • Garsington • Goring-on-Thames • Great Milton • Horspath (Bullingdon Green) • Sandford-on-Thames • Shiplake (Lower Shiplake) • Sonning Common • Wheatley • Woodcote Other Civil Parishes (Component Villages and Hamlets) Adwell • Aston Rowant • Aston Tirrold • Aston Upthorpe • Beckley and Stowood (Beckley, Stowood) • Berrick Salome (Berrick Prior, Roke, Rokemarsh) • Binfield Heath • Bix and Assendon (Bix, Bix Bottom, Lower Assendon, Middle Assendon) • Brightwell Baldwin • Britwell Salome • Checkendon • Clifton Hampden (Burcot) • Crowell • Cuddesdon and Denton (Cuddesdon, Denton) • Culham • Cuxham with Easington (Cuxham, Easington) • Dorchester • Drayton St. Leonard • East Hagbourne (Coscote) • Elsfield • Eye and Dunsden (Sonning Eye, Dunsden Green, Playhatch) • Forest Hill with Shotover (Forest Hill, Shotover) • Goring Heath (Whitchurch Hill, Cray's Pond) • Great Haseley (Latchford, Little Haseley, North Weston, Rycote) • Harpsden • Highmoor (Satwell) • Holton • Ipsden • Kidmore End (Gallowstree Common) • Lewknor (Postcombe, South Weston) • Little Milton • Little Wittenham • Long Wittenham • Mapledurham (Trench Green, Chazey Heath) • Marsh Baldon (Baldon Row) • Moulsford • Nettlebed • Newington (Great Holcombe) • North Moreton • Nuffield • Nuneham Courtenay • Pishill with Stonor (Pishill, Stonor, Russell's Water) • Pyrton • Rotherfield Greys • Rotherfield Peppard • Shirburn • South Moreton (Fulscot) • South Stoke (Littlestoke) • Stadhampton (Chiselhampton, Brookhampton, Ascott) • Stanton St. John (Woodperry) • Stoke Row • Stoke Talmage • Swyncombe • Sydenham (Kingston Stert) • Tetsworth • Tiddington-with-Albury (Tiddington, Albury) • Toot Baldon • Towersey • Warborough (Shillingford) • Waterstock • West Hagbourne • Wheatfield • Whitchurch-on-Thames • Woodeaton • Waterperry with Thomley (Waterperry, Thomley) Former Districts and Boroughs Bullingdon Rural District • Municipal Borough of Henley-on-Thames • Henley Rural District • Thame Urban District • Municipal Borough of Wallingford • Wallingford Rural District Crowmarsh Rural District • Culham Rural District • Goring Rural District • Headington Rural District • Thame Rural District Former Constituencies Oxfordshire County Constituency • Wallingford Borough Constituency • Abingdon Borough Constituency • Berkshire North or Abingdon County Constituency • Abingdon County Constituency List of Parliamentary constituencies in Oxfordshire • List of places in Oxfordshire • List of civil parishes in Oxfordshire