The ‘History’ section of Bodicote St John the Baptist Parish Church website which serves the communities of Bodicote, Cherwell Heights, Cotefield and Longford Park near Banbury, Oxfordshire says:
It’s impossible to say how long there has been a church in Bodicote. The name of the village itself, probably derives from ‘the settlement of Boda’ – a family name and has a Saxon ring, although being on the edge of Salt Way, a very ancient road older even than the Roman occupation of Britain, the settlement could be older still. If there ever was a Saxon Church on this site, there is no sign of it, but we can be sure that people have worshipped here on the same spot for at least eight centuries.
After a recommendation from an audience member at a fund-raising event we played at prior to the pandemic, event organiser Helen Hall invited us to play a fund-raising concert at St John’s on Friday evening 6 May 2022. Helen and her team were hoping to raise a few hundred pounds for the work of the church but the evening exceeded all expectations, raising around £600! Our thanks to Helen and her team for meticulous planning, organising and leaflet campaigning in the streets close to the church, to the Vicar Revd. Sarah Sharp for her warm welcome (and for personally delivering the fastest ever interval drinks order!) and to the Curate Revd. Nick Fielden for his encouragement. Above all, we’d like to thank everyone that came along, sang with us and generously supported the event – they thought they were coming to a concert but our audiences have to sing with us and they did! Afterwards an audience member asked us if we would play a Ceilidh for Ukraine and so we hope to be back in Bodicote again soon. Thank you Bodicote for a really enjoyable evening.