Beech Hill, Berkshire

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Beech Hill
St.Mary the Virgin church Beech Hill Berkshire.jpg
St Mary the Virgin Church
Berkshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Beech Hill
Location within Berkshire
Area4.70 km2 (1.81 sq mi)
Population294 (2011 census) [1]
•  Density 63/km2 (160/sq mi)
OS grid reference SU696644
Civil parish
  • Beech Hill
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Reading
Postcode district RG7
Dialling code 0118
Police Thames Valley
Fire Royal Berkshire
Ambulance South Central
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Berkshire
51°22′27″N0°59′57″W / 51.3743°N 0.9992°W / 51.3743; -0.9992

Beech Hill is a small village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is in the south east of the West Berkshire unitary authority area and bounds Hampshire and Wokingham district.

Contents

Etymology

Beech Hill is a Norman name derived from the family of De La Bec, usually resident at Aldworth, but who also had a home at Beaumys Castle, just over the parish boundary in Swallowfield.[ citation needed ]

Geography

Beech Hill stretches from the River Loddon, just west of the A33 in the east, to Trunkwell in the west and to Clappers Farm in the north, and to the Hampshire border, above Fair Cross, in the south. The village sits on a small hill above the Loddon Valley at the junction of Beech Hill Road and Wood Lane. The Foudry Brook, a tributary of the River Kennet, and the Reading–Basingstoke railway line, run through the north of the parish.

Natural conservation areas

The Stanford End Mill and River Loddon site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is partially within the parish, just to the south east of the village. [2]

History

A gold quarter noble of Edward III, found in Beech Hill and dated to 1361-1369 Medieval coin, Quarter noble of Edward III (FindID 801625).jpg
A gold quarter noble of Edward III, found in Beech Hill and dated to 1361–1369

The Camlet Way - the Roman Road which runs south-west from Verulamium, modern St. Albans - joins the Devil's Highway at Fair Cross on Beech Hill's southern border and continues on westward to Calleva Atrebatum, modern Silchester.[ citation needed ] On the Beech Hill side is The Priory, a 17th-century house on the site of Stratfield Saye Priory which was founded on the site of an old hermitage in 1170 and dissolved in 1399.[ citation needed ] Beech Hill House, of 1720, stands on the eastern side of the village. It is a Grade II listed building. [4] Trunkwell House, on the west side, was originally the Tudor home of the Noyes family, the current English country house at Trunkwell was built in 1878[ citation needed ] for a successful local business family and is now a hotel and restaurant. It is associated with the local pub, The Elm Tree Inn. The Church of England parish church of St Mary the Virgin was built in 1867 by William Butterfield and is Grade II* listed. [5]

Transport

The nearest railway station is Mortimer, 1.7 mi (2.7 km) east of the village, with services to Reading and Basingstoke.

Governance

Beech Hill was originally part of the parish of Stratfield Saye, a cross-county-border parish, most of which was in Hampshire. The part in Berkshire became a civil parish in its own right in 1894.[ citation needed ] In the 16th century, it was part of the hundred of Theale, but was later transferred to the hundred of Reading which effectively ceased to function after 1886. By 1875, Beech Hill had become part of the Bradfield rural sanitary district which, in 1894, became the Bradfield Rural District. From 1974 to 1998, it was part of the district of Newbury which is now the West Berkshire unitary authority. It is represented at Westminster by the MP for Wokingham.

Demography

2011 Published Statistics: Population, home ownership and extracts from Physical Environment, surveyed in 2005 [1]
Output areaHomes owned outrightOwned with a loanSocially rentedPrivately rentedOtherkm2 roadskm2 waterkm2 domestic gardensUsual residentskm2
Civil parish4841152210.10.020.12944.70

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farley Hill, Berkshire</span> Human settlement in England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riseley, Berkshire</span> Human settlement in England

Riseley is a village in the English county of Berkshire, adjacent to the border with Hampshire. It is located around 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Reading and 8 miles (13 km) north-east of Basingstoke, and is bypassed to the west by the A33 road. For local government purposes, the village is today within the civil parish of Swallowfield, which in turn is within the unitary authority of Wokingham. Before 1844, Riseley was part of a detached portion, or exclave, of the county of Wiltshire, some 30 miles to the west. The Counties Act of that year resulted in its transfer to Berkshire. Riseley lies on the line of the Roman Road, Devil's Highway

Stratfield Saye Priory was an alien priory belonging to the Abbey of Vallemont, located at Beech Hill in the Berkshire part of the parish of Stratfield Saye.

References

  1. 1 2 Key Statistics: Dwellings; Quick Statistics: Population Density; Physical Environment: Land Use Survey 2005
  2. ↑ Magic Map Application
  3. ↑ Broomfield, M. (4 October 2016) [31 August 2016]. "Finds record for: SUR-67ED35". The Portable Antiquities Scheme. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  4. ↑ Historic England (25 October 1951). "Beech Hill House (Grade II) (1135763)". National Heritage List for England .
  5. ↑ Historic England (14 April 1967). "Church of St Mary the Virgin (Grade II*) (1117135)". National Heritage List for England .
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