Ashampstead

Ashampstead
Ashampstead
Village and Civil parish
	St. Clement's parish church
	Ashampstead Location within Berkshire
Population	398 (2001 census); 392 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference	SU5676
Unitary authority	West Berkshire;
Ceremonial county	Berkshire;
Region	South East;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Reading
Postcode district	RG8
Dialling code	01635
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Royal Berkshire
Ambulance	South Central
	List of places UK England Berkshire 51°29′N 1°11′W / 51.49°N 1.19°W

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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]}

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]

References

^ "Area selected: West Berkshire (Unitary Authority)". Neighbourhood Statistics: Full Dataset View. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
^ Lloyd, Stephen. H Balfour Gardiner (2005), p. 71
^ British Tone Poems, Volume One, Chandos CD 10939 (2017), notes by Lewis Foreman

Sources

Page, William; Ditchfield, P.H., eds. (1923). Victoria County History: A History of the County of Berkshire, Volume 3. pp. 449–452.
Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966). The Buildings of England: Berkshire. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 70.