Hook Norton Local History Group
The Hook Norton Local History Group exists to research and preserve the history of this village and parish, and to spread knowledge and appreciation of it among the public at large. Its monthly lectures by local and visiting speakers from September to May are popular and well-attended. It is also responsible for creating and maintaining the Village’s History website and for publishing and circulating history pamphlets. The Village Museum and Archive, which is housed at the Hook Norton Brewery, works closely with the Group.
Speakers’ Programme 2026/27
Monthly meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month from September until May at the Baptist Church Hall, Netting Street at 7.30pm. Membership costs £12 per person. Non- members are more than welcome at just £4 per meeting. This is the first increase in well over 20 years!
1st September – Melanie King – Coffee Houses in 17th Century Oxfordshire
6th October – Paul Cann – The Madhouses of Hook Norton
3rd November – John McCormick – Hooky on Film – Highlights from the Museum Archive
1st December – Amy Moore – Witches, Scolds and Mouldy Jades
5th January – Liz Woolley – Child Labour in 19th Century Oxfordshire
2nd February – Dale Johnston – The Canary Girls – WW1 Munitions
2nd March – Duncan Murdock – Oxfordshire’s Dinosaur Highways
6th April – Sean Callery – Grave Matters
4th May – AGM – followed by Victoria Bentata – Einstein and the Refugee Scholars
Village History Website
This site offers the most up-to-date and comprehensive survey of Hook Norton’s history that is currently available: go to www.hook-norton.org.uk/history
Village Museum and Archive
The Village Museum and Archive is housed at the Brewery, upstairs in the Visitor Centre. The Village Museum is accessed through the Brewery Museum, and is open free of charge whenever the Visitor Centre is open. For enquiries about the Village Archive please contact us.
Publications
In addition the group has several publications which are available for sale. These are:
Hook Norton at War 1939-1945 – Life in the village and its environs during WW2 – by James Tobin, Donald Ratcliffe & Alasdair Brown – £10
The Story of Hook Norton – A highly illustrated book, for readers of all ages, about the village from earliest times to the present day – by Sean Callery – £9
Hook Norton Village Trail – A walk round the village (2017 Revised Edition) – £3
Hook Norton Footpaths – Originally published in the 1980s and revised in 2003 this booklet was, in 2020, brought up to date. The four walks in the original booklet have been expanded and there are now eight walks to be discovered. Complete with colour OS maps as a centre spread – £4.
Hook Norton, In Memoriam, 1914-1918 – The War Memorial in St Peter’s Church commemorates those from the village who gave their lives in both World Wars. David McGill has researched and published this booklet, which gives details of all those who died in the First World War and had connections to Hook Norton – £3 – LAST FEW COPIES!
Tales of Hook Norton – From Civil War to Poor Law – a collection of articles written by the late Revd. Ralph Mann under the pen name “Canities”. These articles originally appeared in the village newsletter between 1987 and 1990. – £3
The Rural Landscape of Hook Norton: An Open Village – An essay by Kate Tiller which was first published in 2000 in The English Rural Landscape ed. Joan Thirsk – £4
Hooky’s Madhouses – How Hook Norton looked out for outcasts – by Paul Cann – £4
All of these publications can all be obtained from the Secretary of HNLHG, David McGill, at:
Sunnybank Farmhouse, Scotland End, Hook Norton, Banbury, Oxon OX15 5NR
Postage and packing is £2.50 per book, with the exception of The Story of Hook Norton which costs £3 per book.
Our preferred method of payment is by bank transfer, please contact David for bank details. Cheques can also be accepted, however, please advise David if you wish to pay by this method.
If ordering from outside the UK please contact David to ascertain postage and packing costs. His email address is scotlandend@btinternet.com and telephone number is (+44) 1608 737103.
The secretary, David McGill, is a keen local and family historian and has his own website which contain numerous articles he has written on these subjects both fact and fiction. Some have been published in the Village Newsletter and further afield. David’s website can be found here:- www.davidmcgill.co.uk – please see the Menu items Genealogy and/or Articles.
