Tysoe is split into three parts, upper, lower and middle and has a population of around 2,000.

The link with a red horse started when residents cut a galloping horse shape out of turf to reveal the ruddy coloured soil on a hill above the village.

The horse is no longer visible today as it has been allowed to grass over by successive generations of villagers.

The site, which is on a 30 degrees slope, has been planted with trees which obscure any trace that the horse was ever there.

However, the picturesque village has plenty more to be proud of. At the heart of the village is the local pub, The Peacock Inn which serves hot food every day except Monday.

Main Road carries a host of other facilities including a post office and convenience store, butcher’s shop and Tysoe Primary School.

The village has two churches, a Methodist church and St Mary’s Church. St Mary’s dates back to the 11th century.

Among the many features of the beautiful and historic church is the reclining effigy of a former patron, William Clark, in Shakespearean dress. There is also a special stain glass window commemorating the fire service that served the village from 1897 until 1998.

THE RED HORSE OF TYSOE
The Red Horse of Tysoe is the name given to the figure of a horse that used to be cut onto the hillside above the village. The turf had been cut away to expose the ruddy coloured soil beneath, in the shape of a galloping or leaping horse. The figure is no longer visible today as it has been allowed to grass over by successive generations of local villagers and landowners and the actual site, a slope of some 30 degrees has been planted with softwood trees, completely obscuring any visible trace of the figure. However, the Horse was at one time famous enough to cause the area to be known as 'The Vale of the Red Horse.'
The history of the Red Horse has been researched in some detail by Mr Kenneth Carrdus and Mr Graham Miller during the 1960's and 70's and it was these gentlemen who, using ariel photographs, rediscovered the site of the original Horse before it was planted with trees.
The name of Tysoe has been suggested as meaning 'Tiw's hoh' which means a spur of land dedicated to the God Tiw, an Anglo-Saxon God of war. Legend connects Tiw with the binding of an evil beast, ie. a story of the triumph of good over evil and it may be that the original Horse dates from the Saxon period, cut by them perhaps to commemorate a victory.

Travelling by Road
M40 motorway from Junction 11 take the A422 to Wroxton, continue toward Stratford-upon-Avon, the Tysoes are signposted for you. From Junction 12 you take the B4100 toward Radway and onto the Tysoes

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