| Benschop | |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Native Name Lang: | nl |
| Image Map1: | Map NL - Lopik - Benschop.svg |
| Map Caption1: | The town centre (darkgreen) and the statistical district (lightgreen) of Benschop in the municipality of Lopik.--> |
| Pushpin Map: | Netherlands Utrecht#Netherlands |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Utrecht |
| Subdivision Type2: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name2: | Lopik |
| Coordinates: | 52.0072°N 4.9794°W |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [1] |
| Elevation M: | -0.4 |
| Area Total Km2: | 22.97 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 3,575 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 3405 |
| Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
| Area Code: | 0348 |
Benschop is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Lopik, and lies about 4 km west of IJsselstein. Benschop is an extremely long village: apart from a relatively compact town centre, it consists of a long ribbon (over 8 km long) of houses (mainly farms) on both sides of the Benschopsche Wetering. Until 1989, Benschop was a separate municipality.
The village was first mentioned between 1280 and 1287 as benscop, and means "(peat) concession of Ben (person)".[3] Excavation of the peat started in the 11th and 12th century. Benschop used to be part of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht. In 1285, the village became part of Holland.[4]
The Dutch Reformed Church dates from around 1500, but has 13th century elements. Huis Snellenburg was a manor house built around 1700. It was redeveloped into a farm, however the interior and the carriage house remain.[5] In 1805, Benschop was returned to Utrecht. In 1840, it was home to 1,415 people. Benschop used to be an independent municipality. In 1989, it was merged into Lopik.[4]