High-class US publisher Princeton University Press, founded in 1907, has chosen Woodstock as the site for its first European office .

Publishing director Richard Baggaley, who has moved from John Wiley and Sons in Chichester, said they chose Oxford as the second publishing centre in Britain, next to London.

"In academic terms it is as big if not bigger than London, but it is easier for staff to live here. The right site cAme up in Woodstock, but our office is very small so we may have to move if we expand."

As the moment just four people staff the office, but numbers are expected to grow to ten within five years.

He added: "It is already proving to be a good site, handy for London and the other universities, and there is a good pool of staff to recruit from. We were also really impressed by the publishing course at Oxford Brookes."

The parent company, which publishes more than 200 books a year, took the decision to move into Europe in order to internationalise its operations and the new office is now seeking out European academic authors to add to its list.

The Woodstock location has already sparked interest from US visitors to Blenheim Palace, he said. "One day the doorbell rang and a Princeton alumnus was standing there saying 'hey, what are you doing here?'."