Balscote is a village in the civil parish of Wroxton

Wroxton

Wroxton is a village and civil parish in the north of Oxfordshire about west of Banbury.-History:Wroxton is recorded as having a church in 1217, but the present Church of England parish church of All Saints is early 14th century. A Perpendicular Gothic clerestory and porch were added early in the...

, Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

, about 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Banbury

Banbury

Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...

. Its toponym

Toponymy

Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...

 is sometimes spelt Balscott.

The earliest features of the Church of England parish church

Church of England parish church

A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...

 of St. Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...

 include a Norman

Norman architecture

About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...

 font and an Early English style window. Most of the present church building is 14th century, in the Decorated Gothic style. St. Mary Magdalene's is now one of eight ecclesiastical parishes in the Ironstone Benefice.

Many of Balscote's buildings are of local Hornton Stone

Cotswold stone

Cotswold stone is a yellow oolitic limestone quarried in many places in the Cotswold Hills in the south midlands of England. When weathered, the colour of buildings made or faced with this stone is often described as 'honey' or 'golden'....

. Priory Farm is a 14th century hall, extended in the 15th century and modernised in the 17th and 18th centuries. Grange Farm is a 15th or early 16th century house, extended and modernised in the 17th and 18th centuries. Both houses may have been built by the owners of nearby Wroxton Abbey

Wroxton Abbey

Wroxton Abbey is a Jacobean house in Oxfordshire, with a 1727 garden partly converted to the serpentine style between 1731 and 1751. It is west of Banbury, off the A422, in Wroxton St. Mary. It is now the English campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University....

.

Balscote has one public house

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

, The Butchers Arms, which belongs to the Hook Norton Brewery

Hook Norton Brewery

Hook Norton Brewery is a regional brewery in Hook Norton, Oxfordshire, England, founded in 1849. The brewing plant is a traditional Victorian "tower" brewery in which all the stages of the brewing process flow logically from floor to floor; mashing at the top, boiling in the middle, fermentation...

.

Since 1997 Balscote Village Hall Trust, a registered charity, has been planning and fund-raising to build a community hall. Work started in October and the Timber Structure was delivered on site, this is expected to be ready by early November 2010 after more than 13 years of Fund Raising and Planning. The Structure is being supplied and built by Timberworks Europe, who specialise in Sustainable, Eco-Friendly Timber Buildings for both Domestic and Commercial use.

Famous residents

Alexander Petit ( died 1400 ) , one of the dominant figures in late fourteenth century Ireland, was a native of Balscote. He held many important offices including Bishop of Ossory

Bishop of Ossory

The Bishop of Ossory is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bishoprics.-History:The diocese of Ossory...

, Bishop of Meath

Bishop of Meath

The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric.-History:...

 and Lord Chancellor of Ireland

Lord Chancellor of Ireland

The office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801 it was also the highest political office of the Irish Parliament.-13th century:...

. As was usual at the time he was more commonly referred to not by his family name but his birthplace, as Alexander de Balscot

Alexander de Balscot

Alexander de Balscot , also known as Alexander Petit was one of the leading Irish clerics of the late fourteenth century, holding the offices of Bishop of Ossory, Bishop of Meath, Treasurer of Ireland and Lord Chancellor of Ireland....