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The village lies at the foot of the Downs, about five and a half miles from the
famous White Horse Hill. It has expanded over the last few years, growing from a
village, which consisted of houses dotted either side of the main Faringdon
Road, west of the nearest town of Wantage, to a fairly large area populated by
about 1,500 people.
Not many of the buildings are of a great age, except a farm called Woodhill,
whose deeds date back to the 1400s, and one or two old cottages situated
alongside the village green, where the now defunct water pump still stands.
Opposite the green stands 1he church, which has had restoration work done to the
exterior over the years and has some interesting features inside, such as a
Norman font, 13th century arches and a window which dates from 1100. The chancel
screen was erected in memory of four villagers who drowned in the North Sea in
1905.
Originally the main industries were farming and foundry work, which took place
in what was an old coaching inn before being altered by Nalder and Nalder to
house the equipment for making coffee grinding machines. These were exported all
over the world.
This building was on the banks of the old Berks and Wilts canal which thrived by
means of shipping coal, hay, coffee machines and other goods throughout its
length. A former village resident, a Mr Hiskins, used to ply his coal barges
from Wantage Wharf past Challow and on to Swindon and beyond.
Now with the closure of the foundry, smaller industrial units are housed on the
site, making various components for use in other products.
The old school, which was designed by C. E. Street, has been converted into a
residential home without losing its original charm of grey stone. Villagers have
a choice of social activities. There is a thriving cricket club and British
Legion, both of which are situated up the hill, the village hail, and at the
lower end of the village is a newly built country club with a sports complex.
There are two public houses which offer food and drink to locals and travellers.
One of these, the Goodlake, so named after a benefactor who lived in nearby
Letcombe, was run by members of the Lovegrove family for 130 years until the
death of the last member of the family in the 1970s.
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