In 2011 the population of the civil parish was 1,151, but was much greater during the early years of the industrial revolution, when the village was renowned for producing blue cloth.

These writing tablets appear often to relate to theft, and here the mention of animals and farm implements is a regular theme.

The area surrounding Whitecourt appears to have some considerable historical significance, with long associations to the Osborne family and a possible Roman road transecting from Kingscote to the East via Bencombe, crossing the Ewelme brook close to the previous mill buildings opposite Stouts hill and then transiting what is now Lampern View before exiting west towards Cam/Coaley;[6] elements clearly visible just uphill of Bencombe (as the road veers 90 degrees to the north) and to the West opposite the entrance to Angeston Grainge/Nursery (where it enters the wood as a paved and walled causeway.

The increased mechanisation of agriculture in the area (arable on top of the escarpment, sheep on it and cattle in the valleys) led to a gradual decline during the inter-war periods and this led to the construction of three local authority housing estates - South Street, Lampern View and Raglan Way.

However, increased mobility following the construction of the M4 and the Severn Bridge in the mid-1960s, together with an influx of skilled/managerial/professional workers following the establishment of such facilities as the Berkeley power station, led to a steady gentrification of the village, witnessed by the construction of substantial detached homes, for example at Court Gardens, South Street and Green Close.

However, when John Daniel grew too large, Cunningham sold him to an American who told her he was to be homed in a special reserve in Florida.