Hanborough : Snapshots from the History of the Parish of Hanborough, Oxfordshire, England

Starting with the Geology and Topography, it quickly moves on to the early residents and then to the huge effect that the Norman invasion of 1066 had on the people of Hanborough. It includes a detailed description of the Domesday Book entry for Hanborough and gives a full description of the flour mill. The chapters then talk about the arable land in and around Hanborough during Medieval times, about the Manor and the Peasants lifestyle. We also learn about a bit of naughtiness in the Abbey! We follow Hanborough through the ages, learning about the dreadful Black Death, and the devastation it caused to thousands of people. We find that Hanborough has connections with America through the Culpepper family who were Patrons of the Living in this parish before they left for the USA. As we draw closer to the 20th century real changes start to happen; the first schools came to Hanborough, the railways were built giving people a real chance of travel. The chapters show how this small rural village evolved and how important each tradesman is in their own area. We walk through the village as it was in the 1940s and imagine ourselves knocking on doors and buying sweets at the old sweet shop. Then war arrives and many young men leave to fight and never return; Hanborough lost many of its young men in both wars. We are given an insight into the first Churchill who later became the Duke of Marlborough and the building of Blenheim Palace in 1704. The book ends with short history of the life and death of Sir Winston Churchill whose funeral cortege came to Hanborough railway station, from which he was taken through lines of Hanborough folk to his last resting place in the adjacent village of Bladon