Ashampstead is a small 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 authorit ...
in the rural area between
Reading
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 ...
,
Newbury and
Streatley in
Berkshire, England. The parish population is about 400, occupying some 150 dwellings.
History
The village was called ''Esshamstede'' in the 13th and 14th centuries. The
Church of England parish church of Saint Clement dates from the 12th century. It has 13th century
frescoes and a 15th-century wooden bell turret. It is believed the frescoes may have been painted by monks from the nearby
Reading Abbey
Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Henry I in 1121 "for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, m ...
. The only remaining bell dates from 1662.
Notable People
* The composer
Henry Balfour Gardiner bought Field House, Ashampstead Green in 1909, moved in after alterations in 1911, and stayed until 1930. Many musicians, including
Bax,
Delius,
Percy Grainger
Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 188220 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who lived in the United States from 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long an ...
,
Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...
and
Peter Warlock
Philip Arnold Heseltine (30 October 189417 December 1930), known by the pseudonym Peter Warlock, was a British composer and music critic. The Warlock name, which reflects Heseltine's interest in occult practices, was used for all his published ...
visited him there. The orchestral piece ''A Berkshire Idyll'' was completed there on 28 July, 1913.
British Tone Poems, Volume One
', Chandos CD 10939 (2017), notes by Lewis Foreman
See also
*
List of places in Berkshire
This is a list of places in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England. It does not include places which were formerly in Berkshire. For places which were formerly in Berkshire, see list of places transferred from Berkshire to Oxfordshire in 1 ...
*
List of civil parishes in England
This is a list of civil parishes in England split by ceremonial county (see map below). The civil parish is the lowest level of local government in England.
Unparished areas
In addition to the London Boroughs (except Westminster) and the City o ...
References
Sources
*
*
External links
Villages in Berkshire
West Berkshire District
Civil parishes in Berkshire
{{Berkshire-geo-stub
