Woolhampton 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
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 village straddles the
Bath road
The A4 is a major road in England from Central London to Avonmouth via Heathrow Airport, Reading, Bath and Bristol. It is historically known as the Bath Road with newer sections including the Great West Road and Portway. The road was once the ...
between the towns of
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 ...
, to the east, and
Newbury, to the west.
Geography
The village homes are
clustered on the northern side of the
plain
In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...
of 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 ...
, with 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 ...
rising through the fields and woods of the village northwards.
[Ordnance Survey (2006). ''OS Explorer Map 158 - Newbury & Hungerford''. .] On the higher land some half mile to the north of the village is the adjacent settlement of
Upper Woolhampton
Upper Woolhampton is a village in the English county of Berkshire. It is situated on higher ground, to the north of the parent village of Woolhampton. Both the Grade II listed parish church of St Peter and the village school are located in Uppe ...
, which contains both the parish church and the village school. The A4 forms the main street of the village. An unclassified road runs to the south, towards the village of
Brimpton
Brimpton is a mostly rural village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Berkshire, England. Brimpton is centred boxing the compass, ESE of the town of Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury.
Toponymy
One suggested origin of the name of ...
. This crosses the railway line by the station on a level crossing, followed shortly afterwards by a
swing bridge
A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...
across the river and canal which share a common channel at this point.
Woolhampton Lock
Woolhampton Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, in the village of Woolhampton in the English county of Berkshire. The lock has a rise/fall of and is administered by the Canal and River Trust.
Woolhampton Lock lies on the stretch of t ...
lies just to the west. Two other unclassified roads leave the village to the north, climbing into the Berkshire Downs.
Transport
Besides the
A4 road This is a list of roads designated A4.
A4 is the name of several roads:
* A004 road (Argentina), a road connecting Buenos Aires-La Plata highway with the Juan MarÃa Gutiérrez circle
* A4 motorway (Austria), a road connecting Vienna and Nickels ...
, the
Reading to Taunton line
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling) ...
and the
Kennet and Avon Canal
The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the cent ...
also pass through the village. Woolhampton is served by
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
in the village. The railway station was originally known as Woolhampton but, according to local legend, was renamed Midgham railway station, after the village of
Midgham, west-north-west, in order to avoid possible confusion with the similarly named (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 ...
had stations in both places).
Amenities
Because of its location on the Bath Road, Woolhampton was well known for its
coaching inn
The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of tra ...
s. Only one of these, the Angel, survives on the main road, after the Falmouth Arms closed in 2014 and was converted to residential property. A second pub, the Rowbarge, is, as its name suggests, situated alongside the Kennet and Avon Canal next to the swing bridge. The
war memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war.
Symbolism
Historical usage
It has ...
in Woolhampton was designed by Sir
Robert Lorimer
Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Gothi ...
in 1920. The
Woolhampton Reed Bed
Woolhampton Reed Bed is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Woolhampton in Berkshire.
This site on London Clay mainly consists of dense reed beds, but there are also areas of carr woodland and tall fen. More than 300 moth sp ...
, a
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
, lies alongside 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 ...
within the
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 ...
and to the south east of the village. The dense
reed bed
A reedbed or reed bed is a natural habitat found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions and
estuaries. Reedbeds are part of a succession from young reeds colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As ...
, with smaller areas of tall
fen
A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. T ...
and
carr wetlands, is notable for its nesting
passerine
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...
bird populations and for the diversity of insects it supports.
Governance
The civil parish of Woolhampton also includes the adjacent settlement of Upper Woolhampton and the rural areas to the north, east and south of the village. It has a parish council, and also lies in the West Berkshire unitary authority district and the
Newbury parliamentary constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...
.
Demography
Nearest places
See also
*
List of civil parishes in Berkshire
A civil parish is a country subdivision, forming the lowest unit of local government in England. There are 104 civil parishes in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, most of the county being parished; Borough of Reading, Reading is completely unpar ...
References
External links
{{authority control
Villages in Berkshire
Civil parishes in Berkshire
West Berkshire District
Kennet and Avon Canal