to the south of Blewbury are still in use. Secular buildings Blewbury has a number of historic timber-framed buildings. There is a cruck cottage in South Street. Hall Barn may date from about 1660. William Malthus was a London merchant who left land at Noke, Oxfordshire to fund a school at Blewbury. Its five-bay Queen Anne style school building close to St Michael's church was built in 1709. Also near St Michael's church are two almshouses. Nikolaus Pevsner states that the first was built in 1738 for the oldest man in the village and the second was added on its centenary in 1838. However, Page and Ditchfield state that there are two cottages that one James Bacon founded in 1747. Blewbury Mill (near to East Hagbourne) on Mill Brook is said to be where blotting paper was accidentally invented. Turnpike House in the village was a toll house on the Wantage to Streatley turnpike. Transport Thames Travel route 94 serves Blewbury from Mondays to Fridays, linking the village with Didcot town and with Didcot Parkway railway station. Buses run mostly once an hour, with a half-hourly service in the evening peak. There is no Saturday or Sunday service. Notable people In the 20th century the village attracted a number of notable artists and writers. Writers have included Elizabeth Ferrars, Dick Francis (from 1954 to 1980), Kenneth Grahame, Marguerite Steen, GB Stern, Barbara Euphan Todd and Ben Fergusson. Artists have included William Nicholson, father of abstract painter Ben Nicholson, Susan Beatrice "Twissie" Pearse, illustrator of children's books, including Amelia Anne series, H Davis Richter known for much-reproduced interiors and Eli Marsden Wilson. The tradition continues, and keen amateur artists receive direction from the professional artists Roy East and Ron Freeborn. The village used to have an art gallery devoted to the work of local artists. Performing arts Every two years or so, the village puts on a festival with various shows, dances, and exhibitions in many of the old houses as well as a walk along the path of the Millbrook as it threads its way through many private gardens. The village has a theatrical tradition. There is an open-air theatre in the grounds of Orchard Dene house with capacity for an audience of 250, where productions are performed each summer. These involve amateur actors and back stage workers under professional direction. There are also theatrical events put on in the