Until the 18th century, there were only a few scattered farms in the area. Small hamlets did not begin to appear until inns were built to serve travellers. Hook was on the main London to Exeter stagecoach route. Late in the eighteenth century, a turnpike was built to ease the ascent of the steep Scures Hill, west of the village. In 1883, Hook railway station was built, and the village began to grow with railway workers and commuters settling in Hook.3
Edward Maufe designed the Church of England parish church of St John the Evangelist, which was completed in 1938, replacing a tin tabernacle used by worshippers since 1886. It shows, in small scale, features that Maufe later included in Guildford Cathedral. The Cathedral's fund raising scheme of "buying a brick" was first used at Hook, where the church retains an impressive list of donors and benefactors. Hook also has a Roman Catholic church, and an Evangelical church. The latter, now called Life Church, was originally paid for by the family who founded Burberry; founder Thomas Burberry being a Baptist who died in Hook. The present Life Church Centre was opened in 2011.4
Hook was a hamlet in the village of Odiham until 1955. The separate Church of England parish of Hook was not created before then.5 It was only in 1943 that permission was given for burials in Hook.
Hook was considered as part of a scheme to settle Londoners in the country after the Second World War, but nearby Basingstoke was selected for development instead. Recently, the village has grown in size considerably, with new housing developments being built.6
Although within 6 miles (10 km) of the far larger town of Basingstoke to the west, Hook's development since the 1980s has been rapid. Calls have been made to redevelop the 'village' centre as Hook has few amenities for its size, as it is now generally considered as a town in terms of its population and urban expanse.
Affluence is high due to surrounding rural areas, estates, such as7 Tylney Hall Park and Garden, which is Grade II* listed, and Hook Common, a large mixture of forest and heathland, coupled with excellent transport links.
Hook has one of the few national TaxiBus services.
There is the main line rail station mentioned above and direct access to the M3 motorway, as well as the A30 connecting local towns such as Basingstoke and Yateley. Southampton Airport is 35 mi (56 km) to the south and London Heathrow Airport is 33 mi (53 km) away to the northeast. The far smaller Blackbushe Airport municipal air facility is 6.5 mi (10.5 km) to the east, near Yateley. Many residents commute to the larger local towns of Basingstoke, Winchester, Reading, Camberley, Fleet and Farnborough, with some travelling further afield to Southampton, Bracknell and London.
Hook has a number of local schools. They are:
The Hook Schools are supported by the Hook Schools Community Association (HSCA) and local donors15
Several annual and monthly community events are held in the village:
Hook Focus is Hook's authoritative magazine and, since 1973, it has carried news of future Community Events and reports on all that has been happening in Hook. Focus is managed by Hook volunteers and is independent of all other bodies.19
"Welcome to Hook Parish Council". https://hook.gov.uk/ ↩
"Custom Area Profile". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 11 September 2024. https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/customprofiles/build/#E04004546 ↩
""History of Hook" Hook Parish Council Website". Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090207125056/http://www.hook.gov.uk/history.php ↩
"Home". Life Church Hook. Retrieved 13 May 2016. http://lifechurchhook.org ↩
The National Gazetteer, 1868 ↩
Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1000176)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 June 2012. Tylney Hall Park and Garden /wiki/Historic_England ↩
"Hook school". www.hookinfants.co.uk. http://www.hookinfants.co.uk/ ↩
"Hook Junior School". www.hook-jun.hants.sch.uk. http://www.hook-jun.hants.sch.uk/ ↩
"Robert Mays -". www.rmays.hants.sch.uk. http://www.rmays.hants.sch.uk/ ↩
BCoT. "Basingstoke College of Technology". www.bcot.ac.uk. http://www.bcot.ac.uk/ ↩
"Queen Mary's College, Basingstoke". www.qmc.ac.uk. http://www.qmc.ac.uk/ ↩
"The Sixth Form College Farnborough". www.farnborough.ac.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2016. http://www.farnborough.ac.uk ↩
"Farnborough College of Technology – Outstanding College". www.farn-ct.ac.uk. http://www.farn-ct.ac.uk/ ↩
Association, Hook Schools Parents. "HSPA Hook Schools Parents Association". www.hs-ca.org.uk. http://www.hs-ca.org.uk/ ↩
"About – Hook Fun Run & Road Races". http://hookfunrun.com/about ↩
"Hook Focus Village Magazine". http://www.hookfocus.co.uk/ ↩