Odiham myths and legends

"King John signed Magna Carta at Odiham"

Not quite. Magna Carta was agreed and sealed at Runnymede in June 1215, and John didn't sign it (kings sealed documents). What's true is that John was at Odiham Castle on 4 and 9 June 1215, and the Victoria County History says he was "summoned thence by the barons to Windsor" before granting the charter. The Odiham Society says it is believed he rode out from Odiham on the morning of 10 June to meet the barons. That's plausible, but we haven't seen a document that proves the ride itself. Verdict: a real connection, slightly stretched.

"The French besieged King John in Odiham Castle"

No. In July 1216 Prince Louis's army did besiege the castle, but John wasn't inside. The garrison was just three knights and ten serjeants under Engelard de Cigogné's command, and they held out for about two weeks before surrendering on good terms. Verdict: great story, wrong king.

"David II of Scotland was a prisoner at Odiham for eleven years"

This one is everywhere, including an 1868 gazetteer and Wikipedia. David II was a prisoner in England for about eleven years after he was captured in 1346, but the castle excavation report, based on the royal records, says he was held at Odiham from March 1355 to September 1357, at the end of his captivity. Verdict: true that he was here, false that it was eleven years.

"Odiham Castle has the only octagonal keep in Britain"

Hart District Council's conservation area appraisal says so, but the archaeologists who dug the castle compare it with Chilham Castle in Kent, which has an octagonal keep of exactly the same internal size, plus polygonal towers at Orford and Tickhill. Verdict: rare, not unique.

Walk there (Google Maps)Odiham Castle (King John's Castle)

"Odiham had a Bishop's Palace"

Victorian gazetteers say the bishops of Winchester owned Odiham and had a palace here, with the ruins at Palace Gate Farm. The Victoria County History, working from the manor records, shows Odiham was a royal manor from before 1066 until 1603. The mansion behind the High Street was Odiham Place, built about 1530 by the Crown's tenant, and it was where Elizabeth I stayed. Verdict: it was a royal house, not a bishop's.

"The Pest House was built for plague victims"

It was built in or just before 1622 as a cottage for poor parishioners, according to the original deed. It was used to isolate people with infectious diseases, mainly smallpox, at times in the 1700s, and went back to housing the poor until 1930. Verdict: half true. It was a poor house that sometimes served as a pest house.

Walk there (Google Maps)The Pest House

"The Royal Veterinary College was founded in Odiham"

Close. The Odiham Agricultural Society, founded at the George in 1783, pushed for a veterinary school and its members set up the London committee that founded the Veterinary College, London, in 1791. The "Royal" came with a charter in 1875. Verdict: Odiham can fairly claim to be where the idea took shape; the college itself was always in London.

"Frenchman's Oak marked the limit of the French prisoners' parole"

French officers on parole really were restricted to about a mile from the town, so the story fits. But the parish council and the Odiham Society both say the oak is "reputed" to be the boundary marker. The tree itself had fallen by January 2025. Verdict: likely, unproven.

"The George has been an inn since 1585" (or 1547, or 1540)

All three dates are in print. Historic England and one Odiham Society page say licensed in 1547, another Society page says 1585, and the Victoria County History says 1540. Verdict: an inn since the mid-1500s, with the building itself older.

"Odiham means wooded enclosure"

Possibly. "Wudiham" in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle supports it, but there's a rival theory involving a personal name, Hod. Verdict: unknown.

Ghost stories

We've deliberately left ghost stories off this page, because we haven't found one that rests on anything we could cite. If you know one with a documented origin, we'd love to hear it.

Back to the Odiham history hub, explore the walks around Odiham, or check dates at Laurel Cottage.