Aldermaston Wharf
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Aldermaston Wharf is a small multi-parish settlement centred north-northwest of
Aldermaston Aldermaston is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. In the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 1015. The village is in the Kennet Valley and bounds Hampshire to the south. It is approximately from Newbury, Basingsto ...
(where according to the Post Office the majority of the population taken at the 2011 Census was included) in
West Berkshire West Berkshire is a local government district in Berkshire, England, administered from Newbury by West Berkshire Council. History The district of Newbury was formed on 1 April 1974, as a merger of the borough of Newbury, Bradfield Rural Distric ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the settlement with Aldermaston Lock near the centre while the
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
passes at the northern side where
Aldermaston railway station Aldermaston railway station serves the village of Aldermaston in Berkshire, England. The station is at nearby Aldermaston Wharf and about north of Aldermaston village. It is measured from . It was opened on 21 December 1847. Description ...
is also located. The A340 from
Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...
passes through the village crossing the canal over a single file lift bridge and joins the A4 which runs just north of the village.


Kennet and Avon Canal and River Kennet

The
River Kennet The Kennet is a tributary of the River Thames in Southern England. Most of the river is straddled by the North Wessex Downs AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The lower reaches have been made navigable as the Kennet Navigation, which â ...
was made navigable between Reading and Newbury and opened as the Kennet Navigation in 1723. The section running through Aldermaston Wharf is a canal navigation (from Frouds Lane Marina to Ufton Bridge) with the original River Kennet continuing approx 1/2 mile south of the canal. A wharf was constructed here (to the immediate east of the current lift bridge) and a trading community developed around it. In addition carpenters were required to service the locks and bridges. On completion of the Kennet and Avon Canal in 1810, local trade flourished even more with exports of timber products, malt and flour and imports of coal, groceries and manufactured goods. Canal trade continues at Aldermaston, primarily in leisure and tourism. A visitor and tea room is operated adjacent to a marina and boat hire business. When the Great Western Railway bought the canal in the 1850s a canal spur was constructed to the railway sidings to allow transfer of goods between canal and rail. Some of this has now been infilled.Aldermaston Lock information board Strange's Brewery was sited just south of the lock. In the late 18th century the brewery was owned by Francis Strange. The brewery was sold in 1952 and demolished.


Housing developments

The village has grown significantly through new housing developments over the last 25 years. The main developments in chronological order are: * 1995 "The Wharf" Sign at entrance to development (Swan Drive and Kingfisher Close), south of the canal and west of the A340, on the site of the former Strange's Brewery * 1998 Mallard Way, Heron Way and Lockside Court, between the canal and railway line west of the A340 on a
brownfield site In urban planning, brownfield land is any previously developed land that is not currently in use. It may be potentially contaminated, but this is not required for the area to be considered brownfield. The term is also used to describe land prev ...
vacated by the Sterling Greengate cable factory Beenham Parish plan
page 9
(1940s to 1990) * 2005 Watson Close, between A340 and railway line, named after the last station master * 2007 "The Fallows" (Fallows Road), south of the canal and east of the A340 * 2015 Stowe Close, between railway line and Station Road


Local Amenities

* A visitor centre with a tea room is located at the canal east of the lift bridge * A marina and boat hire business operates at the canal east of the lift bridge * A pub, The Butt Inn, is located on the A340 at the southern end of the village * A mobile Fish & Chips van visits the village every Thursday evening, parking in Station Road near the south entrance to Aldermaston Station * A Steiner Waldorf school is located south east of the canal, close to the lift bridge


Nearby places

Nearby are the towns of Newbury,
Thatcham Thatcham is an historic market town and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, centred 3 miles (5 km) east of Newbury, 14 miles (24 km) west of Reading and 54 miles (87 km) west of London. Geography Thatcham straddles t ...
and
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
. Neighbouring villages are Aldermaston, Midgham,
Beenham Beenham is a village and civil parish centred east of Newbury in the West Berkshire district of Berkshire, England. Geography Beenham is north of Aldermaston. The Old Copse is a woodland within the village that is a Site of Special Scientifi ...
,
Woolhampton Woolhampton is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. The village straddles the Bath road between the towns of Reading, to the east, and Newbury, to the west. Geography The village homes are clustered on the northern side o ...
and
Padworth Padworth is a dispersed settlement and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the England, English county of Berkshire, with the nearest town being Tadley. Padworth is in the unitary authority of West Berkshire, and its main settlement is at ...
. Aldermaston Wharf falls within three
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
es—Padworth, Aldermaston and Beenham. A small private airfield can be found at the nearby Brimpton Airfield.


References


External links


Canal & River's Trust page for Aldermaston Wharf
{{authority control Villages in Berkshire West Berkshire District Aldermaston