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'Woodstock' is a small town in Oxfordshire, England. It is located about 12 kilometres north of Oxford, 72.75 miles W.N.W. of London.
The Princess Elizabeth was famously kept a prisoner here, in the gatehouse of Woodstock Manor (the manor itself being too dilapidated to house her).
The town is well known as the site of Blenheim Palace, where Winston Churchill was born in 1874, and the grave of Churchill in nearby Bladon.
The name Woodstock is Anglo Saxon in origin. At that time, English kings would log in the area of Woodstock whose name stands for a ''clearing in the woods''.
The little river Glyme, in a steep and picturesque valley, divides the town into New and Old Woodstock.
The Domesday Book describes Woodstock (''Wodestock, Wodestok, Wodestole'') as a royal forest; it is said that King Alfred stayed at Woodstock in the year 890. Another famous resident was Ethelred the Unready, who is said to have held a council there. Henry I may have kept a menagerie in the park. Woodstock was the scene of King Henry II's courtship of Rosamund Clifford (Fair Rosamund). The market of the town was established when King Henry II gave Woodstock a Royal charter in 1179.
The town was altered greatly during the 17th century, when the Duke of Marlborough became a permanent resident. The local inn, the Bear, was capable of accommodating vast numbers of visitors and horses.
The parish church (dedicated to St Mary Magdalene) has a doorway of Norman origin. It features a musical clock which chimes every hour. The town hall of Woodstock was built in 1766 after the designs of Sir William Chambers, and there are a number of 17th century buildings in the centre. The almshouses were erected in 1798 by Caroline, duchess of Marlborough. ''Chaucer's House'' was once home to the poet Geoffrey Chaucer.
In the past (from the 16th century), the town prospered on manufacturing gloves. Today, it is largely dependent on tourists, many of whom visit Bleinheim Palace. The Palace was designed by John Vanbrugh, in a heavy Italo-Corinthian style. It was designated to John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough. Most of the palace was paid for by the nation. Churchill was given this palace in honour for his victories over the French and the Bavarians at Blenheim in 1704.
The greater part of the art treasures and curios were sold off in 1886, and the great library collected by Charles Spencer, Earl of Sunderland, the son-in-law of the first Duke of Marlborough, in 1881. The magnificent park contains Fair Rosamund's Well, near which stood her bower. On the summit of a hill stands a column commemorating the duke. Blenheim Park forms a separate parish.
The Oxfordshire Museum, the county museum of Oxfordshire, is housed in a large historic house, Fletcher’s House, in the centre of Woodstock.

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Further reading

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External links

Further reading

★ Ballard, Adolphus (1896) ''Chronicles of the royal borough of Woodstock. Compiled from the borough records and other original documents'', Oxford : Alden & co.

★ Jenkins, S.C. (1987) ''The Woodstock Branch'', Wild Swan Publ., ISBN 0-906867-51-7

★ Marshall, Edward (1873) ''The early history of Woodstock manor and its environs, in Bladon, Hensington, New Woodstock, Blenheim : with later notices'', Oxford & Co.

References

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External links

★ Woodstock Guide - Complete guide to Woodstock, Oxfordshire, U.K., for visitors and business.

★ Woodstock - Guide to the Oxfordshire town of Woodstock, home of Blenheim Palace

★ Wake Up To Woodstock - Wake Up To Woodstock Guide to the Oxfordshire town of Woodstock