Points of interest on Katie B Morgan’s map of Hook Norton
Hocneratue AD922: Known as Hogesnorton in 1381 calendar of close rolls. The village was formed of four areas: East End, Scotland End, Down End and Southrop.
Stag: In 1540 there was a deer park owned by Henry VIII, previously owned by Chaucer.
Viaduct: There used to be a railway station at East End. Pillars that once supported the viaduct were nicknamed ‘the pyramids of Oxfordshire’. The viaduct and tunnel were built by 400 men, six being killed.
Grey compass: Ironstone quarries, known as the Brymbo Ironstone.
Brewery: Founded in 1849. One of the last remaining tower breweries with a working Victorian steam engine. A sixth-generation family brewery, they craft the finest ales, lagers and stouts.
Border pattern: From the Norman font in the Church of St Peter, showing pagan signs of the zodiac: a two-headed snake, Sagittarius, Aquarius, Adam and Eve, and possibly Leo. You can also see medieval wall paintings.
Baptist church: One of oldest in Britain, founded in 1640.
Bunting/festivals: Music at the Crossroads was developed from an older festival, called Folk in the Fields.
Horses and dray: The local pubs still have beer delivered by the brewery’s own horse-drawn dray.
Sports Social Club: Football, cricket, tennis and running.
Cyclist: Hook Norton Brewery Sportive Cycling event.
Caracoles: Not shown on the map, but which are peculiar to Hook Norton, are these curved walls that jut out onto the street, with a curved staircase hidden behind it.
Green Flag: Hook Norton Low Carbon. The village won a European award in 2016 for renewable energy, solar power, community car hire and an oil-buying consortium. There are also free herbs and veg from community gardens, and pigs on a community smallholding. hn-lc.org.uk
HNCLT: Hook Norton Community Land Trust is building almost twice the standard requirement of affordable homes.
Butterfly: Hook Norton Cutting is part of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Swan: In 2010 a mute swan mistook the road for water, near the East End Post box, and crash-landed. It was rescued by the RSPCA.
Heart: Kissing trees, a name for a dip in road between Hooky and Wigginton crossroads.
Cricket ball: Cricket square used to be in the centre of the old park adjacent to the railway embankment, with an old cream-and-brown Pullman railway carriage as pavilion.
Rope: Rope making.
Horseshoe: Middle Hill was once known as Blacksmiths Hill.
Holly: Holly Bush Road used to have a holly tree at the bottom, where village processions were assembled.
Pig: The Sandy & Black is believed to have been developed from a cross between the old breeds of Berkshire and Tamworth in Hook Norton over 200 years ago.
Bone: The bones of the dinosaur lexovisaurus were found near Traitor’s Ford in the late 19th century.
hook-norton.org.uk
For more of Katie B Morgan’s stunning maps and illustrations, follow @katies_maps on Instagram, or alternatively email her at www.thedecorativepainter@gmail.com
