Westcott Barton | |
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St Edward the Confessor parish church |
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Westcott Barton shown within Oxfordshire | |
Population | 244 (2011 Census) |
OS grid reference | SP42215 |
Civil parish |
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District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Chipping Norton |
Postcode district | OX7 |
Dialling code | 01869 |
Police | Thames Valley |
Fire | Oxfordshire |
Ambulance | South Central |
EU Parliament | South East England |
UK Parliament | |
Westcott Barton, also spelt Wescot Barton or Wescote Barton, is a village and civil parish on the River Dorn in West Oxfordshire about 7 miles (11 km) east of Chipping Norton and about 9 1⁄2 miles (15 km) south of Banbury. The parish is bounded to the north by Cockley Brook, a tributary of the River Dorn. A minor road to Kiddington forms part of the eastern boundary, another minor road forms part of the western boundary and the remainder of the parish boundaries are field boundaries.
Westcott Barton's main area of housing is on the eastern boundary of the parish and contiguous with the village of Middle Barton in the neighbouring parish of Steeple Barton. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 244.
As its toponym implies, Westcott Barton developed as a secondary settlement of the original village of Barton, which is now called Steeple Barton. By the time of the Norman Conquest of England it had its own manor and parish church, but it remained the smaller and less populous parish and as a result in the Middle Ages it was occasionally called Little Barton.
Before the Norman conquest of England, Leofwine of Barton held the manor of Westcott Barton along with those of Dunthrop, Duns Tew and Little Tew. The Domesday Book records that by 1086 Gilbert de Magminot, Bishop of Lisieux held Westcott Manor. It remained in his family until early in the 12th century when Gilbert's grand-niece Alice Maminot was married to Ralph de Keynes. The manor remained with the same family until at least 1279, when Robert de Keynes held Westcott Barton along with the manor of Tarrant Keyneston in Dorset.