Stanton Harcourt

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stanton Harcourt is a village in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom (919 in parish, United Kingdom Census 2001). The nearest major town is Witney, approximately 5 miles to the north-west. The outskirts of the city of Oxford lie just over 5 miles to the east of the village.

[edit] History

During World War Two, there was a Royal Air Force airfield at Stanton Harcourt. Amongst other things, it is notable for having been a transit point for Winston Churchill and for being a starting point for a bomber raid on the German battlecruiser (or light battleship) Scharnhorst.

[edit] Archaeology

The interesting gravel pit rich area south and west of Stanton Harcourt attracted the interest of the Channel 4 television program Time Team, who spent some days assisting a local team to excavate. During their dig, they found various animal remains such as the tooth of a Straight-tusked Elephant and the leg bone of a mammoth.