Hermitage is a village and

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, near Newbury, in the English county of

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 ...

. The civil parish is made up of a number of settlements: Hermitage village, Little Hungerford and Wellhouse.

Location

The village is focused residentially on the B4009, north east of Newbury in the heart of the North Wessex Downs, an

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

. It is thus surrounded by protected woodlands and undulating fields providing a few elevated viewpoints.

History

On Oare Common are two curvilinear ditched enclosures which are probably of

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

date, although it has also been suggested that they may represent a motte and bailey

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

. The

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

of Grimsbury Castle is in Grimsbury Wood. A folly stands at its centre. A 2nd and 3rd century Roman villa of some pretensions was discovered at Wellhouse in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

. Between 1917 and 1918 D. H. Lawrence lived in Hermitage, at Chapel Farm Cottage in Chapel Lane. His

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

''The Fox'' is set in the area, with Bailey Farm based on Grimsby Farm. Three early 21st century housing areas were completed in the north and south. These include Forest Edge and Hermitage Green.

Amenities

It has a general store and post office, a church ( Holy Trinity) and two public houses, The Fox and The White Horse of Hermitage, and a garden centre. The village

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

feeds into the Downs School. The area is predominantly agricultural and the main local employers are the village school, village pre-school, the garden centre and a small light industrial unit housing several small businesses. Holy Trinity church dates from 1839, and was funded by local donations, under the patronage of the Marquess of Downshire who had a residence at Easthampstead Park near Bracknell, from Hermitage. The Dowager Queen Adelaide, widow of the late King William IV, gave the communion plate.

Transport

Access to the M4, which links London to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and South Wales, is within and it passes through the edge of the parish. The A34, a major north–south road, also passes through the edge of the parish. From 1882 until the 1960s the village was served by Hermitage railway station, on the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway. As of July 2022, Hermitage is served by buses 6 and 6A from Newbury.

Demography

References

External links

Hermitage and Hermitage Parish Council Website
{{authority control Villages in Berkshire West Berkshire District Civil parishes in Berkshire