Marlston

Marlston is a hamlet in the English ceremonial and historic county of Berkshire. For administrative purposes, it lies within the civil parish of Bucklebury and the unitary authority of West Berkshire.

Marlston

Parish church of St Mary, Marlston
Marlston
Location within Berkshire
OS grid referenceSU532718
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townTHATCHAM
Postcode districtRG18
Dialling code01635
PoliceThames Valley
FireRoyal Berkshire
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament

The settlement lies south of the M4 motorway, and is located approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north-east of Thatcham.

The place-name Marlston is first attested as Marteleston in 1242, and means "Martel's town or manor". Galfridus Martel held the manor in 1242; Martel is a French nickname meaning "hammer", from the Old French martel (modern French marteau).[1]

Marlston House was built between 1895 and 1899 in the Elizabethan style, replacing an Elizabethan era house on the same site. It was built for George Palmer, who was one of the founders of the Huntley & Palmers biscuit factory, mayor of the nearby town of Reading, and Member of Parliament for Reading. After George Palmer died in 1897, the house was occupied by his son, George William Palmer, who was also mayor of, and Member of Parliament for, Reading. It is now the home of Brockhurst and Marlston House School, a large preparatory school.[2][3][4]

World War II Royal Air Force flying ace (immortalised in the book and film Reach for the Sky) Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader and his wife settled in the village after the war.

The Marlston estate is owned by the Astor family.[5]

References
  1. Eilert Ekwall, Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, pp. 315 and 241.
  2. "Marlston House and surrounding terrace". Heritage Gateway. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  3. "Marlston History & genealogy resource". Forebears. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  4. "Marlston House and surrounding terrace". Historic England. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  5. "The thirty landowners who own half a county". Who owns England?.

Media related to Marlston at Wikimedia Commons


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.