The Bourtons - Our Villages
Bourtons Parish comprises of the villages of Great Bourton and Little Bourton. The parish lies across a ridge which runs south from the Burton Dassett Hills to just north of Banbury. (See Location.) Ironstone rock caps the ridge with Middle Lias clays and sands the dominating the geology of the area. The landscape is largely classified as Upstanding Village Farmland, with Clay Vale on the lower slopes. (See map for further details.)
In 1086 Bourton was part of the Bishop of Lincoln's Cropredy Manor, although there is no separate survey of Bourton in the Domesday Book. Links with Cropredy (and other villages around the Bourtons) have featured strongly in the social, economic and religious history of the Bourtons, and today Cropredy continues to have important links with the Bourtons - The Primary School, nearest shop and nearest doctors' surgery are all in Cropredy village. (See Useful Information)
Whilst the two villages are part of the same parish, Great and Little Bourton have their own identities, their own pubs, play areas, and sense of community. They come together in the Church, and Village Hall and in the fetes and fund raising activities that all enjoy. Hence living in the Bourtons means being part of both a local village community and a wider Bourtons community.