Leckhampstead, Berkshire
Leckhampstead is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England in the North Wessex Downs.
The village is north of the M4 motorway just off the road between Newbury about 6 miles (10 km) to the south-southeast and Wantage about 12.5 miles (20 km) to the north-northwest. The town of Hungerford is about 12.5 miles (20 km) to the southwest.
Nearby villages include Chieveley, Boxford, Chaddleworth, Brightwalton and Peasemore.
Transport
Bus travel from Newbury is provided by Newbury and District service 107.[1]
History
A number of Bronze Age features have been recorded near Leckhampstead and a flint arrowhead of this period has been found.[2]
Roman finds include a 2nd-century earring[3] and Samian ware.[4]
An 11th-century church has been recorded about 0.6 miles (1 km) east of the present church near present day Chapel Farm.[5]
The Domesday Book of 1086 records that Lecanestede was held by Abingdon Abbey.[6]
"Of the land in this manor, Reinbold holds Leckhampstead 10 hides and William 4 hides at Weston and Berner 2 hides at Boxford.... There is land for 11 ploughs. There are three ploughs and 12 villans and 24 bordars with six ploughs and six four slaves and two acres of meadow and a church. It is and was worth 10 pounds.[7]
A medieval deer park existed about 1228.[8]
Points of interest
The Church of England parish church of St James, built in 1859 of brick and flint, is towards the southern end of the village. It was designed by the notable church architect, Samuel Sanders Teulon.[9] The interior is brick with patterns formed by the use of differently coloured bricks.
The public house in the village is called The Stag.
There is an unusual war memorial on the triangular village green. It comprises an obelisk on a plinth with two clock faces, one facing north and one facing south, which incorporate various types of ammunition in them. The chains surrounding the monument are from a battleship that took part in the Battle of Jutland and they are supported on spent shell cases.[10]
The Hangman’s Stone is a boundary stone lying about a mile south of the village at grid reference SU431748. It gets its name from a local tale which tells of a sheep rustler who was carrying a stolen sheep over his shoulder with a rope held around his neck. Feeling tired the thief sat on a stone beside the road and fell asleep. The sheep, in struggling to get free, hanged the man by the rope that had remained around his neck.[10] The stone has given its name to the road which passes it, Hangman’s Stone Lane, which leads to the village of Boxford.
Leckhampstead Thicket
Leckhampstead Thicket is a hamlet between Leckhampstead and Chaddleworth (grid reference SU429769). There is a number of thatched cottages and a chapel, dated 1874, that is one of the very few Primitive Methodist chapels still in use.[citation needed]
References
- ↑ Newbury and District bus timetable 107
- ↑ "National Monuments Record".
- ↑ "National Monuments Record (Monument No. 233492)".
- ↑ "National Monuments Record (Monument No. 233509)".
- ↑ "National Monuments Record (Leckhampstead Old Church)".
- ↑ "The Domesday Book Online: Berkshire D-M". Retrieved 18 January 2008.
- ↑ Domesday Book: A Complete Translation. London: Penguin Books. 2003. p. 142. ISBN 0-14-143994-7.
- ↑ "National Monuments Record (Leckhampstead Park)".
- ↑ Archbishops' Council. "St James, Leckhampstead". Church of England. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Billing, Joanna, ed. (1999). The Hidden Places of The Thames Valley. Travel Publishing Ltd. pp. 6–7. ISBN 1-902007-34-4.
External links
Media related to Leckhampstead, Berkshire at Wikimedia Commons
Coordinates: 51°29′N 1°22′W / 51.483°N 1.367°W