Tales from Eynsham village

I spent most of my first year here thinking sleepy wee Eynsham only had 3 pubs. Actually, there are nine.

From the White Hart - built in 1366 or maybe earlier, and formerly a courthouse - to the Red Lion (previously aka The Angel and a good place for cockfights, it's the oldest continuously operating pub in the village), you can read all about them on the web.

There used to be more - thirty, in fact. - which surprised me. From the Black Horse (last heard of in 1674) to the Green Dragon (which probably stood where the local store now stands - right between the Jolly Sportsman and the Red Lion, just up from The Swan).

Eynsham's humble origins, I've learned (courtesy of http://www.eynsham.org/) date back to the founding of a massive Abbey in 1005, by the esteemed local scholar, Aelfric. However, apparently the monks all ran away when the Normans fronted up in 1066 and 67, not returning to finish the job til 1109. In its day though, Eynsham was bigger than Oxford.

If one goes back further in time, local archaeology digs have unearthed mammoth bones, and even a stone causeway (a very early road), that is at least 4000 years old. In sleepy old Eynsham.

Who'd a guessed?