A plinth has recently appeared on the Marcham Road roundabout. A new statue is expected to be put up soon on this plinth to replace the monk removed last year. That one had been carved from a single tree trunk but had rotted from within. It has since become a bug hotel in Boxhill Wood. The new one has also been carved from a single tree trunk.

A short-lived discussion on NeighbourNet suggested that the new statue is being funded and arranged by the Ock Lodge of Freemasons. It mentioned some historical links between monastic traditions and freemasonry.

The discussion went on to suggest that the roundabout site may have had earlier significance. Someone claimed that monks from Abingdon Abbey buried something important there, and that this has been known in certain circles for some time.

Another point concerned the alignment of the statue. Unlike the previous monk, which faced the A34, the new one is said to be set on a precise bearing towards the Millennium Needle, a sculpture put up in 2006 near the Abbey site, also apparently linked to Freemasons.

Finally, and most intriguing, the number of steering wheel turns needed to drive from the Millennium Needle to the centre of the roundabout is thirty-three, which is the highest degree in freemasonry.

The original discussion has been removed from NeighbourNet, today, 1 April 2026, so this is based on what I remember. There were other, more outrageous claims, I have not included. Readers may draw their own conclusions.