West Ilsley | |
---|---|
Village and civil parish | |
The road into West Ilsley | |
Location within Berkshire | |
Population | 332 (2011 census) [1] |
Civil parish | |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Newbury |
Postcode district | RG20 |
Dialling code | 01635 |
Police | Thames Valley |
Fire | Royal Berkshire |
Ambulance | South Central |
UK Parliament | |
Website | Official website |
West Ilsley is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The population of the village at the 2011 Census was 332. [1]
It is situated in West Berkshire, north of Newbury on the Berkshire Downs. The companion village of East Ilsley is approximately a mile to the southeast. West Ilsley has a public house, The Harrow, and a well supported cricket club. The Ridgeway passes within a mile of the village.
The etymology of the word Ilsley is that it is derived from Hilde-Laege which means "Place of conflict", and either West or East Ilsley may be the site of the Battle of Ashdown, Alfred the Great's victory against the Danes. The original Morland Brewery was first set up in West Ilsley in 1711.
The parish church of All Saints dates back to the 12th century. It is now one of nine village churches in the East Downland benefice, which is part of the Newbury Deanery in the Diocese of Oxford. [2] In 1616, the Italian Archbishop, Marco Antonio de Dominis was appointed Dean of Windsor and Rector of West Ilsley by King James I. His successor, Dr Godfrey Goodman, sheltered King Charles I at West Ilsley Rectory during the English Civil War. [3] In the churchyard are two trees planted by Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Helena and her husband Prince Christian, to commemorate the rebuilding of the church's chancel in 1878. [4]
West Ilsley is served by Newbury and District bus services 6 and 6A from Newbury. [5]
Compton is a village and civil parish in the River Pang valley in the Berkshire Downs about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Didcot.
Winterbourne is a village and civil parish in the Berkshire Downs about 3 miles (5 km) north of Newbury in West Berkshire.
Blewbury is a village and civil parish at the foot of the Berkshire Downs section of the North Wessex Downs about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Didcot, 14 miles (23 km) south of Oxford and 50 miles (80 km) west of London. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,581. A number of springs rise at the foot of the escarpment of the downs. Some springs feed a small lake called the Watercress Beds, where watercress used to be grown. From here and elsewhere tributaries feed the Mill Brook which carries the water to the river Thames at Wallingford. The A417 road runs along below the escarpment above the springs and through the south of the village. The Blewbury citizens are often called Blewbarians.
East Woodhay is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. The village is approximately 5.5 miles (9 km) south-west of Newbury in Berkshire. At the 2011 census the parish had a population of 2,914.
Midgham is a village and civil parish occupying slopes and the flood plain on the north side of the River Kennet, which in summer months draws much of the water from the valley. It has smaller watercourses alongside. It is centred 6 miles (10 km) east of Newbury and 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Thatcham. The north of the parish is 4.5 miles (7 km) south of the M4 motorway.
Beedon is a village and civil parish about 6+1⁄2 miles (10.5 km) north of Newbury in West Berkshire, England.
East Ilsley is a village and civil parish in the Berkshire Downs in West Berkshire, north of Newbury. The village is centred immediately east of the A34 dual carriageway which passes the length of the village from north to south. It has the vast majority of its buildings in a traditional clustered centre.
Farnborough is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Wantage. The village is 720 feet (220 m) above sea level on a ridge aligned east – west in the Berkshire Downs. It is the highest village in Berkshire.
Great Shefford is an English village and civil parish on the River Lambourn in the West Berkshire district of Berkshire. The present civil parish includes the historical parish of Little or East Shefford, a small, reduced community downstream. It also covers the village of Shefford Woodlands, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south-west of Great Shefford, near Junction 14 on the M4 motorway.
Fawley is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. The hub of the village is centred 3.5 miles (5.6 km) east of Lambourn and has a sub-community within its bounds, Little or South Fawley. It includes the depopulated small hill settlement of Whatcombe. Fawley is the inspiration for "Marygreen" in Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure.
Peasemore is a village and civil parish in the English ceremonial and historic county of Berkshire in the West Berkshire unitary authority area, west of the A34 road and north of the town of Newbury.
Aston Upthorpe is a village and civil parish about 3 miles (5 km) southeast of Didcot in South Oxfordshire. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The motion picture National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985) - Stonehenge Scene was filmed a mile to the south of the village on the ancient downland. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 179.
Longcot is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse District. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The village is about 3 miles (5 km) south of Faringdon and about 2.5 miles (4 km) northeast of Shrivenham. The A420 road between Swindon and Oxford passes through the parish 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of the village. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 617.
Charney Bassett is a village and civil parish about 4+1⁄2 miles (7 km) north of Wantage and 6 miles (10 km) east of Faringdon in the Vale of White Horse. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 314. The River Ock flows through it, and divides here for a mile or so. The alternative name of the river, Charn or Cearn, may have originally applied to the northern arm only.
Highclere is a village and civil parish situated in the North Wessex Downs in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. It lies in the northern part of the county, near the Berkshire border. It is most famous for being the location of Highclere Castle, a noted Victorian house of the Earl of Carnarvon. It is the setting for numerous films and TV series, including Downton Abbey.
Upton is a spring line village and civil parish at the foot of the Berkshire Downs, about 2 miles (3 km) south of Didcot in the Vale of the White Horse district. Historically in Berkshire, it has been administered as part of Oxfordshire, England, since the 1974 boundary changes. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 421.
West Hendred is a village and civil parish about 3 miles (5 km) east of Wantage. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. West Hendred is downland village, its parish stretching from the Ridgeway in the south through the spring line and meadows to the former marshland of the Oxfordshire plain in the north. The parish is about 2,000 acres (810 ha) in area and 6 miles (10 km) long, but only being about 1⁄2 mile (800 m) wide at the widest point. This is an example of a downland linear parish encompassing a wide variety of land types – chalk downland, greensand on the spring line and clay to the north. The Great Western Main Line crosses the northern part of the parish. The Icknield Way and The Ridgeway cross the parish in the south.
Letcombe Regis is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire. The village is on Letcombe Brook at the foot of the Berkshire Downs escarpment about 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of the market town of Wantage. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 578.
Letcombe Bassett is a village and civil parish about 2 miles (3 km) southwest of the market town of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 148. The village is a spring line settlement, being the source of Letcombe Brook at the foot of the Berkshire Downs escarpment. Hackpen, Warren & Gramp's Hill Downs Site of Special Scientific Interest is in the parish.
West Challow is a village and civil parish about 2 miles (3 km) west of the market town of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. The village is on Childrey Brook, which is a tributary of the River Ock. West Challow was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 184.