Ashampstead Explained

Official Name:	Ashampstead
Type:	Village and Civil parish
Static Image Name:	Ashampstead church.jpg
Static Image Caption:	St. Clement's parish church
Coordinates:	51.49°N -1.19°W
Label Position:	left
Os Grid Reference:	SU5676
Population:	398
Population Ref:	(2001 census)^[1] 392 (2011 Census)^[2]
Unitary England:	West Berkshire
Lieutenancy England:	Berkshire
Region:	South East England
Country:	England
Post Town:	Reading
Postcode District:	RG8
Postcode Area:	RG
Dial Code:	01635

Ashampstead is a small village and civil parish in the rural area between Reading, 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. 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.^[3] Many musicians, including Bax, Delius, Percy Grainger, Holst and Peter Warlock visited him there. The orchestral piece A Berkshire Idyll was completed there on 28 July, 1913.^[4]

See also

• List of places in Berkshire
• List of civil parishes in England

Sources

• Book: Page . William . Ditchfield . P.H. . Peter Ditchfield . Victoria County History

  A History of the County of Berkshire, Volume 3

  . 1923 . 449–452.
• Book: Pevsner, Nikolaus . Nikolaus Pevsner . The Buildings of England

  Berkshire

  . 1966 . . Harmondsworth . 70.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Area selected: West Berkshire (Unitary Authority) . Neighbourhood Statistics: Full Dataset View . Office for National Statistics . 25 July 2010 . 22 June 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110622121342/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do;jsessionid=ac1f930d30d6e0b88fa37adc477e82e8cf28f9d4e468?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=4&containerAreaId=790310&nsjs=true&nsck=true&nssvg=false&nswid=1440 . dead .
2. Web site: Civil Parish population 2011. 30 November 2016. Office for National Statistics . Neighbourhood Statistics.
3. https://books.google.com/books?id=NHdVK2-3ITkC&q=Ashampstead Lloyd, Stephen. H Balfour Gardiner (2005), p. 71
4. British Tone Poems, Volume One, Chandos CD 10939 (2017), notes by Lewis Foreman