Burcot, Oxfordshire

Burcot
File:River Thames - geograph.org.uk - 1281184.jpg River Thames at Burcot
Burcot  Burcot shown within Oxfordshire
OS grid reference	SU564960
Civil parish	Clifton Hampden
District	South Oxfordshire
Shire county	Oxfordshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ABINGDON-ON-THAMES
Postcode district	OX14
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Oxfordshire
Ambulance	South Central
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Henley
List of places UK England Oxfordshire

Burcot is a hamlet in Oxfordshire, England on the left bank of the River Thames, in the civil parish of Clifton Hampden. Until 1932, it lay in the civil parish of Dorchester.

Facilities

Burcot lies on the main road from Dorchester to Abingdon, now the A415. It has a pub, The Chequers, but no shops. The former school is now a private house. Burcot is home to the business that developed the search engine "Ask Jeeves".

Past

In the 17th century Burcot was an important transhipment point on the Thames. The river at that time had become almost unnavigable between Oxford 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 to improve navigation.

The poet laureate John Masefield lived at Burcote Brook from 1932 until his death in 1967. Shortly afterwards, the house burnt down and was replaced by a Cheshire Home.