Peasemore 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
ceremonial and historic county 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 ...
in the
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 ...
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
area, west of the
A34 road
The A34 is a major road in England. It runs from the A33 and M3 at Winchester in Hampshire, to the A6 and A6042 in Salford, close to Manchester City Centre. It forms a large part of the major trunk route from Southampton, via Oxford, to B ...
and north of the town of
Newbury.
Geography
![Poppies on the field edge - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Poppies_on_the_field_edge_-_geograph.org.uk_-_850219.jpg)
Peasemore is a small community with a typical
clustered centre. A selection of footpaths lead across surrounding fields and across lanes into the
Berkshire Downs
The Berkshire Downs are a range of chalk downland hills in South east England split between the counties of Berkshire and Oxfordshire. They are part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The western parts of the downs ...
which surround the village on all sides. All of the land of the village falls within this
AONB
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of thei ...
. It is west of the A34, a dual carriageway trunk route between the
M40 motorway
The M40 motorway links London, Oxford and Birmingham in England, a distance of approximately .
The motorway is dual three lanes except for junction 1A to junction 3 (which is dual four lanes) a short section in-between the exit and entry slip-r ...
and
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
) and
NNW of Newbury.
History
Peasemore is mentioned in the
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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
. There is a plaque on the
village hall
A village hall is a public building in a village used for various things such as:
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building which contains at least one large room (plus kitchen and toilets), is owned by a local ...
relating to the entry. In 1978, Peasemore won Berkshire's best-kept village competition. The plaque for the award is placed in the entrance to St Barnabas' church, which is a Grade II
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. The mainly mid-18th century church is one of many designed by
G E Street.
Amenities and sport
![Peasemore Church - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Peasemore_Church_-_geograph.org.uk_-_39282.jpg)
Peasemore has a
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
: ''The Fox at Peasemore''. Its civil
parish council hires out its village hall and hosts community and self-organised events. It has dance classes, children's parties, fitness training, exhibitions and social gatherings.
Its
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 ...
joins in the East Downland
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 ...
organising weekday events for nine
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
es north of
Newbury.
Peasemore Cricket Club is the main organised sporting activity. At the sports field is a children's adventure
play area
A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people w ...
run using the parish council precept.
[
]
Former amenities
Peasemore had a village school
One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and s ...
, built in 1850, closed in the 1950s. Its own post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
in Hailey Lane closed around 1980 and was converted to a private residence. Now, the nearest grocery shop and primary school are in Chieveley
Chieveley is a village and large civil parish centred north of Newbury in Berkshire, close to the M4 motorway and A34 road. Chieveley services are within the parish.
Geography
A map of 1877 gave the area as . The landscape is of gently roll ...
which hosts the majority of weekday church events.[
]
Transport
Buses connect the village with Newbury, service 107.Bus 107 timetable
Reading Buses#Newbury Buses Retrieved 2014-12-11.
Notable residents
* William Lyford, Anglican then non-Anglican clergyman and author, elected to the Westminster Assembly
The Westminster Assembly of Divines was a council of Divinity (academic discipline), divines (theologians) and members of the English Parliament appointed from 1643 to 1653 to restructure the Church of England. Several Scots also attended, and ...
, rector (parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
priest).
*Miss Read
Dora Jessie Saint Order of the British Empire, MBE (17 April 1913 – 7 April 2012),
née Shafe, best known by the pen name Miss Read, was an English novelist and, by profession, a Schoolmaster, schoolmistress. Her pseudonym was derived from her ...
, author, temporary headmistress at Peasemore.
*David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
, Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
, raised in Peasemore.
Demography
References
External links
Peasemore Parish Plan
Domesday Book online
Peasemore Village website
{{authority control
Civil parishes in Berkshire
Villages in Berkshire
West Berkshire District