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Woodcote is situated on the edge of the south Chiltern hills, more than 500 ft
above sea level. The air is fresh, even bracing, with no industry nearer than
Didcot or Reading.
On the perimeter of the village there are still several farms, mostly arable,
with some dairy herds and pigs.
Though not an olde worlde place, proof of the existence of Woodcote for many
generations comes from a map drawn by John Speede and dated 1605. Many trees and
hills are drawn done before the days of contour lines of a modern Ordnance
Survey map.
There are still many trees, beech being the most prevalent. The beech woods are
quite beautiful all the year round, but particularly so in the late spring when
the bluebells are out and the canopy of leaves above is a soft pale green.
Small housing estates have been built in Woodcote since 1970, since which time
the village has become a fast-growing community in danger of losing some of its
rural identity.
Flint stones seem to grow particularly well from the thin layer of soil above
the chalky hills. In fact the local church of St Leonard, built in the Victorian
era, is mostly of flint. It is now the centre of a parish in its own right, but
originally was part of the ecclesiastical parish of South Stoke cum Woodcote
South Stoke being a village about three miles distant bordering on to the river
Thames with its rich wet pasturelands. St Leonards now incorporates the
Methodists, whose own place of worship (the Church in the Woods) had to close
after more than 100 years of existence. Much newer is the building of the
Catholic church of Christ the King, situated in a delightful spot.
Every year a traction engine rally held at Woodcote attracts steam rollers and
veteran cars from many parts of Britain. The recreation ground is adjacent to
the village club and the village hall and is home base for the local football
and cricket teams. It is much changed since it was surrounded in pre-war days
with gorse bushes. Lost ball was often the cry.
There is not much open water in Woodcote but three ponds exist; one of which was
the main source of drinking water, even within living memory.
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