Letcombe Regis is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse. It was part of

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 ...

until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. The village is on Letcombe Brook at the foot of the Berkshire Downs escarpment about southwest of the market town of Wantage. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 578.

History

The parish includes

Segsbury Camp Segsbury Camp or Segsbury Castle is an Iron Age hillfort on the crest of the Berkshire Downs, near the Ridgeway above Wantage, in the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire, England. It is in Letcombe Regis civil parish and is also called ...

, an Iron Age hill fort on the crest of the Downs just over a mile south of the village. The Domesday Book of 1086 records Letcombe Regis. The name may come from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''Ledecumbe'' meaning the "lede in the combe" – ''i.e.'' "the brook in the valley." "Regis" may derive from the Latin 'rex' meaning 'Royal' with 'Regis' meaning The King's, giving, perhaps, "The Kings brook in the valley."

Parish church

The

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

is a Grade II* listed building. St Andrew's parish is part of the Ridgeway

Benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

, along with the parishes of Childrey, Kingston Lisle, Letcombe Bassett, Sparsholt and

West Challow West Challow is a village and civil parish about 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 boundar ...

Amenities

Letcombe Regis has a public house, the Greyhound Inn and a village hall. Letcombe has a

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

club,

Letcombe F.C. Letcombe Football Club is a football club based in Letcombe Regis, Oxfordshire, England. They are currently member of the and play at Bassett Road. History It is unclear when the club was established, but the earliest record of football in the ...

, which plays at Bassett Road and is a member of .

References

Bibliography

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External links