Horton, Berkshire

Horton is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is between Windsor and Staines-upon-Thames.

Horton

St Michael and All Angels parish church
Horton
Location within Berkshire
Population983 
United Kingdom Census 2001[1]
1,033 (2011 Census)[2]
OS grid referenceTQ0175
Civil parish
  • Horton
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSlough
Postcode districtSL3
Dialling code01753
PoliceThames Valley
FireRoyal Berkshire
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament

History and etymology

The village name is a common one in England. It is Old English in origin and derives from the two words horu 'dirt' and tūn 'settlement, farm, estate', presumably meaning 'farm on muddy soil'.[3] In the Domesday Book of 1086 it was recorded as Hortune.[3][4] The Horton Manor was assessed at 10 hides and held by Walter son of Other.

Geography

Horton was transferred from Buckinghamshire to Berkshire in 1974. Through the Horton parish flows the Colne Brook which runs to the River Thames from the River Colne.[5] Wraysbury railway station is nearest its southern end, and Sunnymeads railway station is nearest its western end. Heathrow airport is to its east.[6]

Horton has a local nature reserve called Arthur Jacob Nature Reserve.[7]

Parish church
Norman north door of St Michael's parish church

The Church of England parish church of St Michael has a 12th-century nave,[8] with an ornate Norman arch over the north door in the porch.[9] The north transept is 15th century[8] and the square bell-tower is late 16th century.[9] The aisle, chancel and vestry were rebuilt in 1875–76.[5][8] The exterior of the church is chequered with brickwork, limestone and flint.

The tower is square and between 70 feet (21 m) and 80 feet (24 m) high.[3][4] It has a clock, and the ring of bells was augmented from five to six in 1987.

Politics

At parish level the village is represented by nine councillors of the Horton Parish Council.[10]

At borough level the town is part of the Datchet Horton and Wraysbury electoral ward and is currently represented by three councillors, David Cannon (Conservative), Ewan Larcombe (independent) and Gary Muir Conservative), in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.[11]

Nationally, since 1997 the ward has formed part of the UK Parliamentary constituency of Windsor and is currently represented by Adam Afriyie of the Conservative Party.

Before 1997 the town was part of the UK Parliamentary constituency of Windsor and Maidenhead which was consistently held by the Conservative Party.

Notable residents
John Milton (1608–74) wrote many of his poems, including Il Penseroso and L'Allegro, while living at Horton.

John Milton the English poet is one of the more famous former residents of Horton.[3][4][12] 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 window on the church commemorates Milton's poem Paradise Lost. The current Berkyn Manor was rebuilt in 1848 by Edward Tyrrell (Remembrancer of the City of London) reputedly on the site of Milton's house.

References
  1. "Parish Headcounts : Windsor and Maidenhead". Census 2001. Office for National Statistics.
  2. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  3. Watts, Victor, ed. (2004). The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, Based on the Collections of the English Place-Name Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  4. Gyll, G.W.J. (1862). History of the Parish of Wraysbury, Ankerwycke Priory, and Magna Charta Island; with the History of Horton, and the town of Colnbrook, Bucks. London: H. G. Bohn. online version at Google Books: OCLC: 5001532
  5. Page, William H, ed. (1925). "Horton". A History of the County of Buckingham, Volume 3. pp. 281–286.
  6. http://www.hortonparishcouncil.gov.uk/amenities.html
  7. "Magic Map Application". Magic.defra.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  8. Historic England. "Church of St Michael, Stanwell Road (1117644)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  9. Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966). Berkshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 171.
  10. "homepage". Horton Parish Council. 8 April 2012. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012.
  11. "Horton and Wraysbury Ward". Councillors. Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. 1 February 2013. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011.
  12. Masson, David (1859). The life of John Milton: narrated in connexion with the political, ecclesiastical, and literary history of his time. 1. Boston: Gould and Lincoln.
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