Economic and Social History
In the English Civil War in 1644, the Parliamentarian army billetted 6,000 horsemen in East Hagbourne. During this time it is believed the parish church and Upper Cross were damaged. A tiny window, only three inches square, in a house on Main Road, is said to have been used to spy on the Parliamentarian troops.
On 10 March 1659 fire spread through the village, burning down a considerable number of thatched houses. In 1661 Charles II issued a proclamation requesting for aid to be sent to the village. A sum was received from Londoners and, in return, East Hagbourne sent money to London after the Great Fire of London in 1666. The Hagbourne fire could explain the number of well preserved houses from after this era. The village has numerous old timber-framed houses, both around the village cross and along the main street. Coscote Manor, about 0.5 miles (800 m) west of the village, is a timber-framed 17th-century house with fretwork bargeboards and an Ipswich window.
Hagbourne Church of England Primary School is in East Hagbourne and was built in 1874.
The Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway was built through the parish, passing west of the village and east of Coscote on the still extant Hagbourne Embankment - one of the lines most notable civil engineering features, built upon chalk excavated from the passage of the line over the Berkshire downs. It was opened in 1881. During 1942/3, extensive engineering works saw the line doubled to cope with an increase in wartime traffic, and the bridges over the West Hagbourne Road and Lake Road were completely rebuilt. There was no station in the parish; the nearest were at Upton and Didcot. British Railways closed the line to passenger traffic in 1962 and freight in 1967.
Since December 2006 a South Didcot bypass road has been proposed. This would have required the demolition of part of East Hagbourne, particularly houses in the New Road area and is no longer in the offing.
Read more about this topic: East Hagbourne
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