Longcott, Berkshire
Historical Description
Longcott, a township and an ecclesiastical parish in Shrivenham civil parish, Berks. The township lies on the White Horse Vale, and on the Wilts and Berks Canal, 3 miles NE by E of Shrivenham station on the G.W.R., and has a post office under Faringdon; money order and telegraph office, Shrivenham. The manor and most of the land belong to Viscount Barrington. The ecclesiastical parish includes also the township of Fernham, which is noticed separately. Area of township, 1894 acres; population, 310; of the ecclesiastical parish, with Femham, 456. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Oxford; gross value, £210. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church is an ancient building of stone in the Early English style, includes a modern aisle, and has an embattled tower of 1722. There is also a Wesleyan chapel.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Berkshire | |
| Civil parish | Shrivenham | |
| Hundred | Shrivenham | |
| Poor Law union | Farringdon |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1667.
Churches
Church of England
St. Mary
The church of St. Mary, an edifice of stone, is a good example of the Early English style, and consists of chancel, nave, north porch, and a massive western tower, in the Renaissance style, erected in 1722 and containing 6 bells: in the chancel is a memorial window and inscribed brass to Caroline Louisa Harenc, sister of the Rev. Edward Harenc, incumbent of this church, who died in 1853: there is also a brass recording the refitting of the chancel as a memorial to the Rev. John Hughes M.A. vicar 1853-95: the churchyard affords a magnificent view of White Horse hill, and contains memorials to the families of Bowles, 1669-1858; Williams, 1766-1800, and Fereman; to Anne Combe, 1680; Anne Archand, 1693; and Richard Heavens, 40 years clerk and 36 years schoolmaster of the parish, 1855; the church was partly restored in 1897 and again in 1910, and affords 220 sittings.
Civil Registration
Longcot was in Faringdon Registration District from 1837 to 1937 and Wantage Registration District from 1937 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Longcott from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Longcot)
- Kelly's Directory of Berkshire, 1915
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Berkshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Longcott are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Berkshire papers online:
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitations of Berkshire 1532, 1566, and 1665-6 is available online.