At the time of the Domesday Book the manor was held by Abingdon Abbey and Draycot Moor was listed as being in Berkshire.

Southmoor's retailers are Gilt and Grain (furniture store: converted from the previous Methodist Church), One Stop, the Co-op, Aquarius hairdressers and Crossroads garage.

[citation needed] The village is served by Stagecoach and other smaller bus company services.

Frequent public transport facilities make Southmoor a convenient dormitory for working and shopping in Oxford.

Dr. David Kelly, microbiologist and distinguished UN-sponsored weapons inspector, was a Southmoor resident; Dr. Kelly disappeared in July 2003, and the finding of his body soon afterwards on nearby Harrowdown Hill led to a public enquiry concluded by the Hutton Report.