Horton 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, England. It is between Windsor and

Staines-upon-Thames Staines-upon-Thames, also known simply as Staines, is a market town in northwest Surrey, England, around west of central London. It is in the Borough of Spelthorne, at the confluence of the River Thames and River Colne, Hertfordshire, Colne. ...

History and etymology

The village name is a common one in England. It is

Old English Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

in origin and derives from the two words ''horu'' 'dirt' and ''tūn'' 'settlement, farm, estate', presumably meaning 'farm on muddy soil'. 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 it was recorded as ''Hortune''. online version at Google Books
OCLC: 5001532
/ref> The Horton Manor was assessed at 10 hides and held by Walter son of Other.

Geography

Through the Horton parish flows the Colne Brook which runs to the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

from the River Colne. railway station is nearest to its southern end, and railway station is nearest to its western end.

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...

is to its east, separated from Horton by the

M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major ring road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 th ...

. Horton has a local nature reserve, the Arthur Jacob Nature Reserve.

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 ...

of St Michael has a 12th-century nave, with an ornate Norman arch over the north door in the porch. The north

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

is 15th century and the square bell-tower is late 16th century. The aisle,

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

and

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

were rebuilt in 1875–76. The exterior of the church is chequered with brickwork, limestone and flint. The tower is square and between high. It has a clock, and the

ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

of bells was augmented from five to six in 1987.

Governance

Horton was transferred from

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

to Berkshire in 1974. At parish level the village is represented by nine councillors of the Horton Parish Council. At borough level the town is part of the

Datchet Datchet is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England, on the north bank of the River Thames. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Buckinghamshire, and the Stoke Hundred, the vi ...

Horton and

Wraysbury Wraysbury is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in England. It is under the western approach path of London Heathrow Airport. It is located on the east bank of the River Thames, roughly midway between Wind ...

electoral ward and is currently represented by three independent councillors, David Buckley, Ewan Larcombe and Jodie Grove, in the

Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a unitary authority area with royal borough status in Berkshire, England. The borough is named after its two largest towns of Maidenhead (where the council is based) and Windsor. The borough also i ...

. Nationally, since 1997, the ward has formed part of the UK Parliamentary constituency of Windsor, which has been represented since 2024 by Jack Rankin of the Conservative Party. Before 1997 the town was part of the UK Parliamentary constituency of

Windsor and Maidenhead The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a unitary authority area with royal borough status in Berkshire, England. The borough is named after its two largest towns of Maidenhead (where the council is based) and Windsor. The borough also ...

which was consistently held by the Conservative Party.

Notable residents

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

the English poet is one of the more famous former residents of Horton. His family rented ''Berkyn Manor'', a house that belonged to Sir John Egerton, in the parish between 1632 and 1640. The chancel of St Michael's parish church contains the grave of Milton's mother Sara; and a 19th-century

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

window on the church commemorates Milton's poem

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...

. The current ''Berkyn Manor'' was rebuilt in 1848 by Edward Tyrrell ( Remembrancer of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

) reputedly on the site of Milton's house.

Gallery

File:North Door.JPG, Norman north door of St Michael's parish church File:John Milton - Project Gutenberg eText 13619.jpg,

(1608–74) wrote many of his poems, including '' Il Penseroso'' and ''

L'Allegro ''L'Allegro'' is a pastoral poem by John Milton published in his 1645 ''Poems''. ''L'Allegro'' (which means "the happy man" in Italian) has from its first appearance been paired with the contrasting pastoral poem, '' Il Penseroso'' ("the mela ...

'', while living at Horton

External links

St Michael's HortonHorton Parish Council
*

References

{{authority control Civil parishes in Berkshire Villages in Berkshire Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead