Aldermaston Soke is a
hamlet that lies on the county boundary between
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
and
Hampshire, and is administratively part of the
civil parish of
Mortimer West End, which was transferred from Berkshire to Hampshire in 1879.
Archaeological interest
The settlement lies on marshy ground at the bottom of a valley, very near
Silchester
Silchester is a village and civil parish about north of Basingstoke in Hampshire. It is adjacent to the county boundary with Berkshire and about south-west of Reading.
Silchester is most notable for the archaeological site and Roman town of ...
(Roman
Calleva Atrebatum
Calleva Atrebatum ("Calleva of the Atrebates") was an Iron Age oppidum, the capital of the Atrebates tribe. It then became a walled town in the Roman province of Britannia, at a major crossroads of the roads of southern Britain.
The modern villa ...
). The modern road follows the course of a Roman road through the hamlet, diverging either side of it. It has been suggested that the dampness of the ground led to a short section of Roman road remaining in use in Aldermaston Soke as a causeway through the valley bottom.
Botanical interest
The damp ground also makes the location of interest to botanists, as a number of plant species that are rare in Britain have been attested here:
* ''Hypericum maculatum'' (a species of
St John's wort)
* ''Viola palustris'' (
Marsh violet
''Viola palustris'' (marsh violet, or alpine marsh violet) is a perennial forb of the genus '' Viola''. It inhabits moist meadows, marshes, and stream banks in northern parts of North America and Eurasia. The species epithet ''palustris'' is L ...
)
* ''Lythrum portula'' (a species of
Loosestrife)
* ''Hieracium umbellatum'' and
* ''Hieracium acuminatum'' (two species of
Hawkweed)
* ''Dactylorhiza praetermissa'' (
Southern Marsh-orchid)
Aldermaston Soke has a
site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) just to the west. It is called
Decoy Pit, Pools and Woods
Decoy Pit, Pools and Woods is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Aldermaston in Berkshire. An area of is a nature reserve called Decoy Heath, which is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Tru ...
.
See also
*
Aldermaston
References
External links
*
Ordnance survey map showing Aldermaston Soke and course of the Roman road, a
www.streetmap.co.uk Accessed 10 February 2008.
External links
Villages in Hampshire
{{Hampshire-geo-stub