East Hendred is a pretty Oxfordshire village, four miles east of Wantage, below the Downs, in the Vale of the White Horse. It does not have a through road, as it is south of the A417 and consequently, has winding streets and lanes which lead to field paths. Although a small village now, it was a medieval market town important as a centre for wool and cloth. An annual fair was held here. The village is scattered with thatched and timber-built houses, particular black and white cottages in Horn Lane. In Cat Street, Orchard Lane and Newbury Road, there are thatched top cob walls.
Carthusian monks built Champs Chapel in 1453. It is no longer used as a chapel and the monks’ houses have been converted to cottages. The Chapel is now a village museum, the Museum of East Hendred.
Hendred House, is a medieval manor house, lived in by the Eyston family since 1443. They are descendants of Saint Thomas More and farm the Hendred estate. The Parish Church contains monuments to members of the Eyston family, dating back to the 16th century. The War Memorial refers to Thomas More Eyston, who was killed in 1940.
There are two churches in the village, St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church and the 12th century St. Augustine’s. St. Augustine’s has an interesting feature – one of the oldest clocks in England, built in 1525, but without a face. It is famous as the invisible clock which chimes hours and quarters. It plays a hymn every three hours. David Cameron, the Prime Minister and Samantha, married in St. Augustine’s Church in 1996.
There are three traditional cosy pubs, the Eyston Arms, Plough Inn and the Wheatsheaf.
