Beech Hill, Berkshire

Beech Hill is a small village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is in the south east of the West Berkshire district (a unitary authority) and bounds Hampshire and Wokingham district. The Foudry Brook, a tributary of the Kennet, and the Reading–Basingstoke railway line, run through the north of the parish.

Beech Hill

St.Mary the Virgin Church
Beech Hill
Location within Berkshire
Area4.70 km2 (1.81 sq mi)
Population294 (2011 census)[1]
• Density63/km2 (160/sq mi)
OS grid referenceSU696644
Civil parish
  • Beech Hill
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townREADING
Postcode districtRG7
Dialling code0118
PoliceThames Valley
FireRoyal Berkshire
AmbulanceSouth Central

Local government

Beech Hill was originally part of the parish of Stratfield Saye, a cross-county-border parish, most of which was in Hampshire. The Berkshire part became a civil parish in its own right in 1894. In the 16th century, it was part of the hundred of Theale, but was later transferred to the hundred of Reading which effectively ceased to function after 1886. By 1875, Beech Hill had become part of the Bradfield rural sanitary district which, in 1894, became the Bradfield Rural District. Since 1974, it has been part of the district of Newbury, now called West Berkshire.

Geography

Beech Hill has a site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) just to the south east of the village, called Stanford End Mill and River Loddon[2]

History

The Camlet Way - the Roman Road which runs south-west from Verulamium (St. Albans) - joins the Devil's Highway at Fair Cross on Beech Hill's southern border and continues on westward to Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester). Beech Hill is a Norman name derived from the family of De La Beche, usually resident at Aldworth, but who also had a home at Beaumys Castle, just over the parish boundary in Swallowfield. On the Beech Hill side is 'The Priory', a 17th-century house on the site of Stratfield Saye Priory founded on the site of an old hermitage in 1170. It only lasted 200 years. Beech Hill House, of 1720, stands on the eastern side of the village and Trunkwell House on the west. Originally the Tudor home of the Noyes family, the current country house at Trunkwell was built in 1878 for a successful local business family and is now a well-known restaurant and conference venue. It is associated with the local pub, The Elm Tree Inn. The parish church (CofE) was built in 1867.

Demography
2011 Published Statistics: Population, home ownership and extracts from Physical Environment, surveyed in 2005[1]
Output areaHomes owned outrightOwned with a loanSocially rentedPrivately rentedOtherkm² roadskm² waterkm² domestic gardensUsual residentskm²
Civil parish4841152210.10.020.12944.70

See also

References
  1. Key Statistics: Dwellings; Quick Statistics: Population Density; Physical Environment: Land Use Survey 2005
  2. Magic Map Application
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.