Bockhampton () is an

abandoned village An abandoned village is a village that has, for some reason, been deserted. In many countries, and throughout history, thousands of villages have been deserted for a variety of causes. Abandonment of villages is often related to epidemic, ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

that was enclosed in the late 18th century. Situated on the

River Lambourn The River Lambourn is a chalk stream in the English county of Berkshire. It rises in the Berkshire Downs near its namesake village of Lambourn and is a tributary of the River Kennet, which is itself a tributary of the River Thames. The riv ...

southeast and downstream of

Lambourn Lambourn is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It lies just north of the M4 Motorway between Swindon and Newbury, and borders Wiltshire to the west and Oxfordshire to the north. After Newmarket it is the largest centre of r ...

it was also known as Lower Lambourn, as opposed to Upper Lambourn which is upstream. Bockhampton was mentioned in

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as "Bochentone: Ralph the earl's son; Odo and Edward, king's

thane Thane (; previously known as Thana, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city located on the northwestern side of the list of Indian states, state of Maharashtra in India and on ...

s. Mill." who held the land in return for keeping the King's harriers. Bockhampton

Manor House A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

was built in the 16th century by

Thomas Blagrave Thomas Blagrave (died 18 June 1590) was Acting Master of the Revels (1573–1579) and Surveyor of the Queen's Works (1578–1590) under Queen Elizabeth I of England. Thomas came from Uttoxeter in Staffordshire and had at least three siblings, W ...

(and subsequently rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries) and absorbed the three old manors of East Bockhampton, West Bockhampton and Hoppeshortland. The village was uprooted and the land

enclosed Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...

in 1776 thanks to the Inclosure Act 1773, as

sheep farming Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. It is a branch of animal husbandry. Sheep are raised principally for their meat (lamb and mutton), milk (sheep's milk), and fiber (wool). They also yield sheepskin ...

proved to be more profitable than

tillage Tillage is the agriculture, agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical wikt:agitation#Noun, agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of manual labour, human-powered tilling methods using hand tools inc ...

. There is a road sign for Bockhampton on the Newbury Road pointing down Bockhampton Road towards the old site of the village in the

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

pasture next to the electricity substation. There was once a

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...

on the Lambourn Valley Railway, apparently named Bockhampton Crossing. This was about a mile from Lambourn station, and across the Lambourn-Newbury road, formerly the B4000 but now declassified. The crossing and its gates would have disappeared after the branch line closed down.

References

{{Reflist Deserted medieval villages in England West Berkshire District