Burcot is a hamlet in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Clifton Hampden Clifton Hampden is a village and civil parish on the north bank of the River Thames, just over east of Abingdon in Oxfordshire. Since 1932 the civil parish has included the village of Burcot, east of Clifton Hampden. The 2011 Census record ...

, in the

South Oxfordshire South Oxfordshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England. Its council is temporarily based outside the district at Abingdon-on-Thames pending a p ...

district, in the county of

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, England. It is on the left bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

. In 1931 the parish had a population of 187.

Heritage

Burcot in the 17th century was an important trans-shipment point on the Thames. The river at that time had become almost unnavigable between

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and Burcot, so that goods for Oxford had to be unloaded at Burcot and taken on by road. This led in 1605 to the formation of the

Oxford-Burcot Commission The Oxford-Burcot Commission was the first commission concerned with the management of the River Thames, appointed by an act of Parliament, the (3 Jas. 1. c. 14) to make the stretch of river from Burcot to Oxford navigability, navigable. The c ...

, with the task of improving navigation. The village, lying mainly between the main road and the Thames, became a desirable Thames-side residential area in the late 19th century. Almost all the earlier housing was pulled down. The only survivors from before the Victorian era are the

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

Old Cottage, thought to be Tudor, The Tudor Cottage and the 16th-century pub premises. No other building dates from before 1888. The poet laureate

John Masefield John Edward Masefield (; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet and writer. He was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate from 1930 until his death in 1967, during which time he lived at Burcot, Oxfordshire, near Abingdon ...

lived at Burcote Brook from 1932 until his death in 1967. Shortly afterwards, the house burnt down and was replaced by a

Cheshire Home Leonard Cheshire is a major health and welfare charity working in the United Kingdom and running development projects around the world. It was founded in 1948 by Royal Air Force officer Group Captain Leonard Cheshire VC. Leonard Cheshire's aim ...

, which is named after him.

Governance

The village belongs to Clifton Hampden parish. It has been part of the

local-government district since Henley Rural District was incorporated into it in 1974. Burcott was formerly in the parish of Dorchester, in 1866 Burcott became a separate civil parish, on 1 April 1932 the parish was abolished and merged with Clifton Hampden.

Facilities

Burcot lies on the main road from Dorchester to Abingdon, now the A415. Bus services are confined to schooldays. The village has a

thatch Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, Phragmites, water reed, Cyperaceae, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), Juncus, rushes, Calluna, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away fr ...

-roofed pub, ''The Chequers'', which has developed into a restaurant.Pub websit
Retrieved 12 May 2018.
The nearest retail facilities are at the shopping centre in Dorchester, less than two miles away. The former school is now a private house. The nearest primary school and church are at Clifton Hampden.

References

{{South Oxfordshire Hamlets in Oxfordshire Populated places on the River Thames Former civil parishes in Oxfordshire Inland navigations South Oxfordshire District