Highclere (pronounced ) 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 authorit ...

situated in the North Wessex Downs (an

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty 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 ...

) in the

Basingstoke and Deane Basingstoke and Deane is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. Its primary settlement is Basingstoke. Other settlements include Bramley, Tadley, Kingsclere, Overton, Oakley, Whitchurch and the village of Deane, som ...

district of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, England. It lies in the northern part of the county, near the Berkshire border. It is most famous for being the location of

Highclere Castle Highclere Castle is a Grade I listed country house built in 1679 and largely renovated in the 1840s, with a park designed by Capability Brown in the 18th century. The estate is in Highclere in Hampshire, England, about south of Newbury, B ...

, a noted Victorian house of the

Earl of Carnarvon Earl of Carnarvon is a title that has been created three times in British history. The current holder is George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon. The town and county in Wales to which the title refers are historically spelled ''Caernarfon,'' hav ...

. It is the setting for numerous films and TV series, including ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...

''.

History and buildings

The parish church of St Michael and All Angels sits between Highclere Castle and the main part of the village. This 'new' church (1870s) replaced a much older church sited adjacent to Highclere Castle, and parish records go back to pre-Norman times. There is a pub, the ''Red House'', a flourishing village hall and a private junior ('Prep') school, ''Thorngrove''. The church parish is part of the North West Hampshire Benefice (with

Ashmansworth Ashmansworth is a village and civil parish in the Basingstoke and Deane district of the English county of Hampshire. Geography The village is about south west of Newbury in Berkshire, and north east from Andover in Hampshire, just south west ...

Crux Easton Crux Easton is a hamlet in the Ashmansworth civil parish of Hampshire, England, about south of Newbury, Berkshire. History The Church of England parish church of St Michael and All Angels was built in 1775, restored in 1894 and is a Grade II* ...

East Woodhay East Woodhay is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. The village is approximately south-west of Newbury in Berkshire. At the 2011 census the parish had a population of 2,914. The parish contains a number of villages and hamlets, ...

and Woolton Hill). The civil parish of Highclere has two wards, Highclere and Penwood. "Highclere Holly" ('' Ilex altaclerensis'') was first identified here and still flourishes in local woodlands. According to local legend there used to be a

grampus Grampus may refer to: Animals *''Grampus'', the genus and another name for Risso's dolphin, ''Grampus griseus'' *A synonym of the genus ''Orcinus'' *Another name for ''Orcinus orca'', the killer whale or orca *Another name for the hellbender, a sp ...

living in a

yew tree Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus b ...

in the churchyard of the Highclere Estate Chapel. On 22 August 1213, King John stayed at

Peter des Roches Peter des Roches (died 9 June 1238) ( Latinised as ''Peter de Rupibus'' ("Peter from the rocks")) was bishop of Winchester in the reigns of King John of England and his son Henry III. He was not an Englishman, but rather a native of the Tourain ...

the Bishop of Winchester's manor at Highclere, then called Bishop's Clere. An itinerary of

King Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to the ...

lists him as spending 2 September 1320 there.Walter Money, Newbury, page 160

Economy

Highclere is home to a number of prominent local businesses that use locally and sustainably sourced products, such as Berkshire Fencing Supplies (formerly the Natural Garden site overlooking Highclere Castle) supplying a great range of natural home grow
hazel hurdles and willow fencing
which is very environmentally friendly compared to cutting more trees down. The local

pub 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 ''Red House'' serves a great range of organic local meats and poultry and a

cafe A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

, the ''Galloping Bistro'' serving fair trade coffee and an array of other local goodies.

References

External links

Villages in Hampshire Civil parishes in Basingstoke and Deane {{Hampshire-geo-stub

History and buildings

Economy

See also

References

External links