For most of its 1000 years it has been an agricultural
community, a village of small family farms. The extension of Wilts and Berks
Canal into the village in the 18th Century brought prosperity and an increase
in the population. At its height, the tonnage of coal, wool, beer and grain
passing through the Longcot Wharf to Faringdon and the Cotswolds was in excess
of Swindon and Wantage. With the coming of the railway, the canal trade
declined but local dairy farmers were quick to recognise the growing demand for
milk in London by shipping daily supplies via the newly opened Faringdon
station. In the 1830s with the Canal trade at its height, Longcot had numerous pubs and shops. Nowadays all the shops have closed, but fortunately one pub, the King and Queen, remains. Today with good road and rail communications in the area Longcot is a commuter village and people work in diverse employment, many travelling long distances.
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