Gower's Iron Foundry, Hook

The former iron foundry in Hook run by the Gower family on the London Road, opposite the Old White Hart Inn started production in 1826. It has intermittently come within Odiham and Newnham parishes, but being located in the centre of the village it employed men and boys from Hook as well as Nately Scures and Newnham. 

From their origins in Suffolk, the Gower family created a thriving business with award winning, innovative designs of seed drills, turnip and mangold cutters and other agricultural equipment having many distinguished customers across England. The foundry survived an arson attack in 1851 and was taken over in 1912 by the Hazell family who retained the Gower name.

The final closure date is unknown but in 2004 the site was sold and 74 houses built on the site named Foundry Close.

For a detailed history and images of some of the equipment click on the link below.