East Hagbourne is an extremely attractive village, one mile south of Didcot and eleven miles south of Oxford, close to the Berkshire Downs. It contains a variety of lovely old cottages, red-bricked Georgian and black and white thatched cottages. At least forty-five of them are Listed Buildings. On the 10th March 1659, a major fire spread throughout the village, destroying a number of thatched houses. In 1661, King Charles II ordered that aid be sent to East Hagbourne to help repair the damage. After the Great Fire of London in 1666, East Hagbourne sent money to London to help with reconstruction. The fire explains the number of well preserved 17th century houses in the village.
East Hagbourne once had three medieval preaching crosses. Close to St. Andrew’s Church is the restored 15th century stone cross known as Upper Cross, which has five steps and two sundials on top. A couple of broken steps are all that remain of the Lower Cross and there is a third cross at the hamlet of Cosgrove.
St. Andrew’s Church was built on the site of an 11th century Saxon church. The Nave was built in the 12th century and the South Aisle added in the 13th century. A footpath leads from the churchyard to the village of West Hagbourne, which is on the other side of a disused railway embankment. The Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway was built through the parish on the Hagbourne Embankment. This was a notable civil engineering feature, built on chalk dug from the Berkshire Downs. The line opened in 1881, but the nearest stations were Didcot or Upton. Great Western Railway took over the line, but British Railways closed the line to passenger traffic in 1962 and freight transport in 1967.
The only pub in the village is the Fleur de Lys on Main Road. This is a popular traditional pub, originating from the 17th century. It was made Pub of the Year in 2017, by the South East Oxford Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale. It offers an extensive menu of home cooked food. It often hosts music evenings and has an annual music festival in July each year.
In July 1975, East Hagbourne was used as the location for the BBC television series, Doctor Who. In the episode, The Android Invasion, the village was renamed Devesham and amongst other places in the village, filming was carried out near the Fleur de Lys pub and the Upper Cross.
