Until 20thC reorganisation, Checkendon Parish stretched c.6¼-miles from Littlestoke by the River Thames through to Wyfold on the Chiltern Dip Slope. The Church, unusually for the area, stands on the Chiltern Ridge towards the Centre of the Parish, close to Checkendon Court; the surrounding Checkendon ‘Village’ was a mere Hamlet until the 20thC, however & Settlement across the Parish remains scattered.
Littlestoke
At Littlestoke a Medieval Riverside Hamlet shrank to little more than a single Manor House & Farmstead by probably the 16thC, while the nearby Country House at Braziers Park (remodelled in the 18thC) originated as an isolated Farmhouse. The Settlement at Wyfold, a former Grange of Thame Abbey reflects 12th & 13thC Woodland Assarting, the present-day Wyfold Court (built in a flamboyant French Gothic Style) occupying a new Site adopted in the 1870s & serving as a Psychiatric Hospital from the 1930’s until 1993.
Parish Boundaries: In 1878 the Parish covered 3,077-acres, its unusual shape resulting from the incorporation of a large block of Chiltern Woodland around Wyfold. Unlike the rest of the Parish, that area (sometimes called Wyfold ‘Liberty’) belonged to the Royal Manor of Benson until the 1150’s & remained a detached part of Ewelme or Benson Hundred; it nevertheless belonged to Checkendon Parish by 1452, having perhaps been taken in following the area’s Grant to Thame Abbey c.1153. The rest formed a typical Chiltern ‘Strip’ Parish running up from the Thames, along whose mid-stream the Boundary was confirmed in 1219. The long Northern & Southern Boundaries followed Open-field Furlongs, Wood Banks, Hedgerows & Lanes, diverting around the Upland Woods to take in Neal’s Farm & Hook End. The Eastern Boundary with Rotherfield Peppard brought in the Site of the former Abbey Grange and was probably also fixed after the 1150s. A 15-acre Meadow at Littlestoke (formerly attached to Ipsden Parish) was transferred to Checkendon in 1883, and more substantial changes in 1952 created a reduced Civil Parish of 2,574-acres, with 497-acres (including Littlestoke) lost to South Stoke, 379-acres (including Braziers Park) to Ipsden, and 51-acres (including Wyfold Grange) to Rotherfield Peppard. Gains included Nuthatch & Scot’s Common (both from Ipsden). Alterations in 1992 & 2003, the former taking in Exlade Street from Woodcote and the latter ceding Wyfold Court to Rotherfield Peppard, left Checkendon with c.2,434-acres (985 ha) in 2011.
Checkendon Parish Plan
Checkendon’s Economic History
Checkendon Landscape, Settlement & Buildings
Landscape – The Parish lies on Chalk, overlain by Alluvium beside the Thames & on the Chiltern Hills by patches of Clay, Silt, Sand & Flinty Gravel, which were sometimes Quarried for Brick Earth, Chalk Marl & Road Stone. The Land rises from 45M at Littlestoke to 90M on a Hillock called Leasendon or Watch Folly, climbing more steeply up the Chiltern Scarp to 170M at Hammond’s & Wheeler’s Farms. Checkendon itself, on the Chiltern Ridge at 170−180M, stands at the head of a Dry Valley which presumably gave it its Valley-related place name. The well-wooded Wyfold & Hook End are divided by a shallower Dry Valley known as Splashall or Rumerhedge Bottom, the Land beyond falling gently Eastwards to 120M at Wyfold Grange. Water Supply until the 20thC was chiefly from Wells, Clay-lined Ponds & Underground Cisterns filled with Rainwater collected from Roofs, although in times of Drought River Water was Carted uphill from the Thames at Littlestoke. Ponds documented from the Middle-Ages included several with names incorporating Old English mere, while Checkendon ‘Village’ had Ponds near the Church, one of them known later as Black Ditch. In 1868 Villagers reportedly preferred the Water from a ‘dirty-looking’ Pond by the Churchyard to the ‘clear, tasteless, & cold’ Water obtained from a 300-ft Rectory Well Sunk after 1790, which they shunned as ‘unwholesome’. Mains Water was provided from c.1904 by the Goring & Streatley District Gas & Water Co and its successor the South Oxfordshire Water & Gas Co.
Checkendon: Baptisms 1639 to 1955, Marriages 1639 to 1979, Burials 1639 to 1971
Communications – Early long-distance Routes crossing Checkendon Parish North–South included the pre-Roman Icknield Way, following the foot of the Scarp to a River crossing at Goring. On Lower Ground, Tudding Way (the modern B4009) & ‘Small Port Way’ (the A4074) both ran from Wallingford to Reading. The Chiltern Ridge is traced by a probable Prehistoric Ridgeway along which Checkendon ‘Village’ Developed & which was formerly connected to the Valley Routes & Littlestoke (with its Ferry) by a Lane along the Dry Valley past Bottom Farm. Now partly surviving as a Bridleway called Swan’s Way, in the Middle-Ages it was ‘Mill Path’ (referring to Littlestoke Mill) & ‘Church Way’, while its uppermost part (East of Wheeler’s Farm) became Bradley Street & an Eastward continuation from the ‘Village’ towards Wyfold was Emmens or Whitehall Lane. Wyfold itself was crossed by an early West–East Route (now mainly footpaths) from Goring to Henley, which passed Sheepwash Pond & began probably as part of a long-distance Anglo-Saxon Droveway. Still Mapped in 1840, by 1878 part had apparently been Lost in Woodland. Wider Links are reflected in Littlestoke being ‘an easy day’s Journey from London’ c.1720. Enclosure in 1864 had little impact on the Parish’s Roads, although Icknield Way ceased to be a Public Highway. Minor metalled Roads now run through Checkendon Village, Hook End & past Wyfold Grange to Sonning Common, while Whitehall Lane’s Eastern end was metalled in the late-1960s. Weekly Carrier Services to Reading operated by 1854, run Initially by the Village Publican & expanded later to 2 or 3-days a week. Samuel Hall & Sons of Woodcote introduced Motorised Lorries & Buses (the latter soon running Daily) in 1919 and in the late-1920’s 3-rival Companies Operated between Checkendon ‘Village’, Reading, Woodcote, & Stoke Row. Of those the Woodcote-based Kemp’s Motor Services Ltd & its successor, Chiltern Queens maintained a Daily Reading Service until 1986, adding a weekly one to Henley from c.1947 to 2002. In 2019 a weekly Bus linked Checkendon ‘Village’ with Goring & Henley.
(Littlestoke Ferry was in neighbouring Ipsden Parish. Source: Jefferys, Oxon. Map 1767).
A Ridgeway following the Chiltern Hills by which the ‘Village’ developed – Source: Jefferys, Oxon. Map (1767)
Post – was delivered through Henley by 1847, when the Grocer & Ironfounder Fletcher Hope (and later his son-in-law) ran a Post Office with the Grocery Shop. During Maud Pullen’s long Tenure as Postmistress (1903-51), the Post Office occupied various Sites in Checkendon ‘Village’, becoming an Express Delivery Office with a Telephone & Telegraph by 1915, although the Parish Council’s request in 1928 for Provision of Money Orders & a Savings Bank was rejected by the Postmaster General. From 1972 the Post Office occupied a Shop in Whitehall Lane, but closed in 2016, replaced by a Mobile Service in Checkendon ‘Village’ open 2-hrs a week.
Old Cottage. 17thC with 19thC windows. Timber-frame with Brick infill; plain old Tile Roof; Brick Ridge Stack. 1-Storey & Attic. Plank Door to right. 2 irregular windows to left. Gabled Dormer to right.
Population – In 1086 Checkendon Manor had 18 recorded Tenants & Littlestoke 10, probably each representing a Household, while others may have lived at Wyfold. By 1279 there were 52-Tenant Households in all (29 at Checkendon, 14 at Wyfold & 9 at Littlestoke), though only 17 paid Tax in 1306, the rest being presumably too Poor. The long-term impact of the Black Death may have been relatively limited since 111-people aged over 14 (the 3rd highest number in Langtree Hundred) paid Poll Tax in Checkendon & Littlestoke in 1377. Nonetheless, 16thC Tax Lists suggest (as later) a slightly lower Population than in some neighbouring Parishes, while 40% of Taxpayers in 1581 lived at Wyfold. By 1662 there were 35-Households including 12 at Wyfold, with an estimated Adult Population of 147 in 1676. 18thC Clergy reported 30−40 Houses, in 1745 and in 1811 there were 46 accommodating 278-people. Following a small decrease, the Population peaked at 410 (in 76-Houses) in 1851, falling to 339 in 1871, but recovering to 430 (in 116-Houses) in 1931. A rise to 981 in 1951 reflected the Development of Borocourt Hospital in Wyfold, whose Patients & Staff presumably comprised the 555-Residents in 1971 (out of 1,188 in all) who were not in Private Households. The Hospital’s closure in 1993 left a 2001 population of 453, rising to 493 (in 190-households) in 2011.
Borocourt Hospital – Country House, now Hospital, formerly known as Wyfold Court. Built 1872–78 by George Somers Clarke the Elder for Edward Hermon. Some 20thC Alterations. Red Brick with Grey Brick Diaper pattern; plain Tile Roof; Brick Stacks. Complex Plan, French Gothic Style. 2-Storeys & Attic with 4-Storey & Attic Wing to right; higher Towers. 14-window Range. Stone Porte-cochere to left with 2-Centre Arches to 3-sides. Studded Door with Gothic moulded Stone surround. Irregular Fenestration, mostly of Stone Mullion & Transom windows with elaborate carved Hoods. Complex Gabled Roof with Cross-Gables, Towers & Turrets. Ornamental Ridge Tiles & Ornamental Metal Ridges to Towers & Turrets. Decorative Carved Brick Stacks. Elaborately Carved Stone details. Other Elevations of same quality & complexity.
Interior: Vaulted Stone Main Corridor to Ground-Floor with original light fittings. Open-well Staircase with elaborate Carved Balustrade, Armorial Glass to windows & fixed Paintings. Many of the Interiors survive with some 20thC Alterations. Bought in 1932 and became Borocourt Hospital. Subsequently closed down & converted into upmarket Apartments in the 1990’s
Prehistoric to Anglo-Saxon: A Flint Core found at Rumerhedge points to Palaeolithic Activity in the Hills, & Mesolithic worked Flints have been recovered in the River Valley near Littlestoke, along with dense scatters of Neolithic & Bronze-Age Flintwork & Pottery. Neolithic Flint Hand-axes have also been found in Checkendon ‘Village’ & at Wyfold. An irregular enclosure North-East of Bottom Farm (the so-called Devil’s Churchyard) has yielded Middle Iron-Age Pottery & a small Iron-Age Hillfort survives at Castle Grove South-west of Wyfold Grange, while a Ditched Enclosure encompassing Wyfold Grange itself may be Iron-Age or Later. Nearby Metal-detector finds include a Hoard of 7 late-Iron-Age Gold & Silver Coins with contemporary Horse Fittings. Romano-British Activity is represented by chance finds of Coins, Metalwork & Pottery across the Parish, including a 2ndC Hoard of 24-Brass Coins from Wyfold. A probable Roman Villa just over the Parish Boundary in Ipsden may be reflected in the Littlestoke Field-name ‘Blackland’, frequently associated with Roman remains. Anglo-Saxon Pottery & Metalwork has been found at Littlestoke, whose name (Old English stoc) implies a secondary Settlement perhaps originally dependent on Benson or Goring. Wyfold certainly belonged to the Benson Royal Estate, its place-name (incorporating Old English fald or ‘fold’) referring perhaps to the Wyfold Grange Earthwork enclosure, which lies on a former Droving Route & was possibly used to hold Livestock & as later; nonetheless, the cluster which became Checkendon ‘Village’, located on a Ridgeway near reliable Ponds, was Settled probably before the Conquest, and had a Church by c.1100 if not before.
Jon Long was in a field at Bix in October 2016 when he unearthed a collection of more than 50 items, including a decorative Razor, a Decorated Bracelet & a Dagger from the Bronze Age, meaning they date back to 1400 to 1200BC. They were buried in a Bucket Urn in a Small Pit but the base of this had been destroyed by a Plough. Most of the items were found within 10M of the Bucket. “It is the 1st find of the Ornamental period in Oxon, so this is quite significant. They are usually found in Wiltshire or Hampshire.” The Bracelet, which weighs almost 160g, is decorated with 4-Rows of Chevrons & 2-Panels of Parallel lines. The Copper Razor was decorated on both faces with uneven & unequal Panels of Chevrons, cross-hatching & diagonal lines. The Dagger was found in 7-Pieces while a Torc was found in 11-Fragments, including two hooked ends. The Pot containing the items was made from Flint & Clay. It was plain with a rounded Rim.
Paul Lycoll, also from Reading, discovered an Iron Age hoard during a Series of metal detecting trips to Checkendon in late-2014 & early-2015. His find included 2-Gold & 5-Silver Coins, a Copper alloy Toggle, Copper alloy Bridle-bit side link & a Garness Brooch dating from between 200BC & 100BC. Both Gold Coins are Staters, a type of Ancient Greek Coin, with one thought to be from the Gallic War Period. Four of the Silver Coins are Drachmas, another type of Greek Coin. Two are attributed to the Narbonne area of France & another 2 from central-west Gaul, a Region in Central Europe. The other Silver Coin is attributed to the then Northern Gaul/Armorican Border in Western France. One side of the Coin shows the head of Pallas Athena, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom, Fertility, the Useful Arts & Prudent Warfare. The Alloy Toggle is thought to be from late in the Iron Age & was a type of moulded decoration widely distributed across Southern Britain from 100BC to 100AD. A similar example to the Bridle-bit Side Link was found in Essex in 2015. It is considered unusual as the central bead appears on the central Link rather than the side Link. The Brooch is in a U-shape with flaring ends. It is decorated with motifs, including crescent shapes, triangles & waves.
Two Gold Iron Age British Staters, 5-Silver Iron Age Continental Units & a Roman Silver Denarius. Gold: British A (6.23g); uninscribed Stater, type uncertain (5.52 g). Silver: drachm ‘au style Languedocien’ (3.10g); probable ‘au style Languedocien’ (3.29 g); 2-drachmae, probably Central West Gaul (3.08 g, 2.78 g); Silver Unit, attributed to the Aulerci Cenomani, Northern Gaul/Armorican (0.82 g, fragment). Denarius: Domitian Caesar under Vespasian (ad 69−79; struck ad 76).
Note: PAS ID: SUR-CDC775. The Field yielded a number of other Iron Age finds focused around a Water Feature (a Pond) & also in one corner a small 2ndC Roman Bronze Coin hoard (also 2015 T256; same PAS ID).
Finder: Pawel Nykiel, (?Paul Lycoll) with a metal detector
Medieval & Later Settlement – Though Settlement remained dispersed, small Hamlets grew up at Checkendon & Littlestoke from the Middle-Ages, the former clustered around the Church, the adjacent Manor House (preceding Checkendon Court) & a nearby Rectory House Established by 1272. A Tenant surnamed ‘de Ecclesia’ lived presumably by the Churchyard & in 1314 the ‘Vill’ contained a Row of Cottages with Crofts.
Earthworks South of Checkendon Court – perhaps indicating some Settlement shrinkage following the Black Death. Four surviving Houses are of 15th or 16thC date & a predecessor of Old Cottage (in 1711 the only Dwelling in Whitehall Lane) may have existed by 1564. Littlestoke Mill existed by 1086, the nearby Manor House (Documented from 1331) standing probably on or near the Site of the present Littlestoke Manor, perhaps at the Medieval Hamlet’s Southern end. Degraded Earthworks between there and Littlestoke House in Ipsden have produced 12th & 13thC Pottery & Roofing Tile & Cottages stood close together in Stoke ‘Vill’ in 1314, the byname ‘Above-Town’ referring presumably to a House at its top end or on the Hillside above. The Settlement was by then known as Stoke Marmion or Stoke Parva (Littlestoke), distinguishing it from neighbouring North & South Stoke. By 1614 (& probably by the 16thC) it had shrunk to a single Demesne Farmstead attached to the Manor House & the Mill was last mentioned in 1539.
Wyfold was Granted to Thame Abbey in the 1150s as ‘Wyfold & Rumerhedge’ (the latter name meaning ‘Rough Pond Hedge’), though whether Settlement already existed is unclear. The Monks presumably built a Grange or Manor House on the Site of the present Wyfold Grange & began Assarting Woodland for Tenants, who by 1279 numbered 14; amongst them were Members of the Hook Family, from whom Hook End is probably named. Hook End Farm itself existed by 1584 & Rumerhedge Farm by 1675, while Beechwood Farm had a ‘New’ House in 1707. In addition, at least 10-Cottages were scattered across the area in 1789, including 2 or 3 near Hook End Farm & one at Kempwood used later as a Beerhouse. Dispersed Settlement elsewhere in the Parish is indicated by the high proportion of Tenants in 1279 named from outlying Woods, Valleys, Fields & Ponds. Neal’s, Hammond’s & Wheeler’s Farms are all named from Medieval Freeholders, while Ouseley & Braziers Farms were mentioned in 1635 & Bottom Farm in 1673, Braziers being remodelled later as a Country House. Hammond’s End (formerly Bradley Street Farm) & Lovegrove’s Farm were Copyholds in 1651, while Hammond’s Cottage was Crosshouse Farm in 1739.
Checkendon ‘Village’ as shown on the 1840 Tithe Map. Note the various Ponds vital to its Water Supply. Checkendon Court is on the left & the former Rectory House towards the bottom. The Church is coloured black near the Centre. The Schoolroom (Built in 1840) is not shown.
Checkendon Court itself was remodelled as a Gabled Brick-&-Tile House probably in the 1620s & by the 18thC Brick & Tile were ubiquitous certainly in larger Dwellings.
Country House. 17thC, extended by Guy Dawber in 1920. Red Brick; plain Tile Roof; Brick Stacks. Complex Plan. 2-Storeys & Attic; 5-window Range. Central 20thC Oak ribbed Door to projecting Single-Storey Porch with single 20thC windows to left & right. 3-light Wooden Mullion & Transom window to right. 5 Wooden Mullion & Transom windows to 1st-Floor. 3 Cross-Gables to Attic with single 3-light Wooden Mullioned window to each.
Interior not inspected but likely to be of interest.
Checkendon – Checkendon Court, Haunting Manifestation, Date / Time: Mid-20thC. Comments: This small Procession of Nuns silently drifts along the Footpaths surrounding the Court.
In 1840 Checkendon ‘Village’ contained 9-Houses along with a Smithy, Pub & newly built Schoolroom adjoining the Churchyard. The Smithy moved to near Foundry House c.1880, its earlier Site replaced in 1906 by Langtree Cottages, while a Village Hall was Built beside the School in 1914. Most other 20thC Development was further North along Whitehall Lane, where a few Houses built between 1898 & 1913 were followed by 6 semi-detached Council Houses called Parkside in 1928, and by 18 more (in a cul-de-sac called Emmens Close) c.1951/2, Mains Electricity having arrived in 1936. In 1962 the Parish Council condemned the spread of Private Housing (mainly Bungalows) along Whitehall Lane’s Northern side as ‘undesirable Ribbon Development’, but growth quickened after 1972 when the ‘Village’ acquired Mains Drainage, & in 1991 5-Bungalows were erected as sheltered Accommodation for the Elderly. Infilling & rebuilding continued, a New House replacing the former Post Office Shop in 2017. At Wyfold, the isolated Heath End was Built for the Lord of Checkendon c.1851, while in the 1870s Edward Hermon erected a School at Hook End, a new Wyfold Court on a different Site & a nearby Bailiff’s House. An Anglican Mission Room Built on the Lane between Hook End & Checkendon in 1888 was replaced with a House before 1913. After Wyfold Court’s Conversion to a Psychiatric Hospital in the 1930’s numerous Ancillary Buildings were Constructed in its Grounds but were removed following the Hospital’s Closure in 1993. The Mansion itself was converted into Residential Apartments in 1999 & in the late-1990’s & early-2000’s over 75-Dwellings were created in its Grounds from converted Victorian Outbuildings or as new-built Houses, creating cul-de-sacs called Ashdown Way, Baron Way, Hawthorn Drive & Hazel Grove. All were transferred to Rotherfield Peppard Parish with Wyfold Court in 2003.
The Built Character
Checkendon’s oldest Domestic Buildings date from the 15th or 16thC & typically for the area are Timber-framed with Brick or Flint infill & Tiled Roofs, probably often replacing wattle-&-daub & Thatch. In Checkendon ‘Village’, Foundry House, The Lodge & the former Four Horseshoes Pub began as Open Hall-houses with a Central Hearth & are all Cruck-framed, while the Old Rectory incorporates a 4-Bay Box-framed House of c.1530−50, extended before 1599. Later (probably 17thC) Timber Framing survives at Foundry Cottage opposite the Church (a Cottage pair renovated in the 1980s) & at Old Cottage in Whitehall Lane, which has 1-Storey plus Attic. Similar-sized Dwellings must have been common in the 1660s when around half the Parish’s Houses had only 1–2 Hearths, alongside some larger Farmhouses with 5 or 6 & exceptionally, Checkendon Court & Littlestoke Manor House with 8 & 10.
Old Rectory, now 2-Houses. 17thC with early & mid-19thC recasing & extension, 20thC Alterations. Grey Brick with Red Brick Dressings; Slate Roof; Brick Stack. Complex Plan. 2-Storey, 6-window Range. Glazed 4-panel, 2-centre Arched Door with Gabled Slate Roof. Porch to right; lean-to Roof to left. 19thC Sashes to most openings. Bullion & Transom window to 1st-Floor left. Complex Roof Hipped to centre, flanked by Cross-Gables with Hipped Roof to left & right. Timber-frame to left return with Queen-post Roof Truss.
Interior: not inspected.
Bottom Farm (which incorporates a Brick dated 1710) was remodelled before c.1785 as a large Georgian Farmhouse with a Central Doorway, Hipped Roof, & Dormers, and has a Timber-framed Granary on Staddle Stones. Hammond’s Farm is of similar date, also with an 18thC Granary & a Threshing Barn built possibly in 1774. Higher status remodellings included the Conversion c.1750 of Braziers Farm into a medium-sized Gentry House which was later Gothicised, while the Rectory acquired a Regency Extension with ‘distinctly Soanian Interiors’ in 1823/4 & Neal’s Farm was rebuilt in Georgian Style c.1844. A plainer Red-brick style with segmental-arched windows was adopted in the Schoolroom of 1840, adjoining the Churchyard. Victorian Gothic appeared in E G Bruton’s ‘severe & austere’ alterations at the Rectory House in 1865/66, followed by Edward Hermon’s extensive Building campaign on the Wyfold Court Estate in the 1870s, to Designs by George Somers Clarke the Elder. Wyfold Court, in particular, comprises ‘a stupendous Essay in French Flamboyant Gothic’, while a more modest Tudor-Gothic was used for Wyfold School, Chartersfield Hall (originally the Bailiff’s House) & Wyfold Grange, all featuring Red Brickwork with Blue Brick diapering & large Brick Chimney Stacks.
Chartersfield Hall – Estate Bailiffs House. Probably 1872/8 by George Somers Clarke, the elder, for Edward Hermon, a Cotton Manufacturer. English-bond Red Brick with Blue Brick diapering, Stone Dressings & some Timber-framing. Plain Tile Roof with Stone coping to Gable ends & crested Ridge-tiles. Brick lateral & axial Stacks with tall Shafts with corbelled Brick Caps & Strings. An asymmetrical composition in a robust Tudor-Gothic style.
Exterior: 2-Storeys. Asymmetrical elevations. Entrance Front has large projecting lateral Stack on right with Brick diaperwork, small Fire-windows, set-offs, the Upper one with Stone weathering incorporating a Gablet containing an Armorial device; lean-to Porch in angle on left with wooden Arcaded Front on low wall. The left return has 2 staggered Gables, the left projects, the right with open Bracing, Timber-framed & Jettied & with what looks like an Oven projection below. The right-hand return also has Braced & Timber-framed Gable Jettied out over Stone Bay window on Ground-Floor; on right the Ground-Floor projects with Lean-to Roof. Small single-Storey Service Wing at rear.
Interior: not recorded but room to right of Main Entrance has wide Fireplace with low moulded segmental Arch & 2-Fire-windows.
In the early-20thC several Checkendon Landowners Commissioned London based Architects working in Arts-&-Crafts & Jacobethan styles. Ormrod Maxwell Ayrton oversaw Alterations to Heath End (incorporating Murals by the Artist Arthur Hacker) & Designed Langtree Cottages in Checkendon ‘Village’, a picturesque Row of 3-Oak-Framed Dwellings built for Sir Edward Busk in 1906 & incorporating a Jettied cross-Wing, lath-&-plaster infill, a plain Tile Roof & Brick Chimney Stacks. Around the same time Maxwell Maberly Smith made alterations to Checkendon Court & The Lodge (then the Post Office), while c.1907 Herbert Mansford remodelled Yewtree Cottage as Crosshouse (also known as Hammond’s) & in 1920 E Guy Dawber Designed the Churchyard’s Timber-framed Lych Gate, followed by Colcutt & Hamp’s Jacobethan remodellings of Hook End Farm (Later Manor). Extensions to Checkendon Court in the 1980s maintained the existing Red Brick vernacular, while by contrast Oakwood Farm near Hook End, by Aldington, Craig & Collinge, is a modernist Farmhouse of 2007/8, built around 3-sides of a Courtyard and featuring monopitch Roofs & large expanses of Glass.
Many times these Saddle Stones were made of a Single Stone, but most often the merging of the 2-shapes. They date from the 17th & 18thCs and were developed through “need”. They were practical Foundation Stones which kept Wooden Structures from rotting, with the Cap also acting as a Barrier to Vermin trying to gain access to Stores of Hay, Grain or Game.
Aston Rowant & Chilterns Spring Line Villages 