Oare, Berkshire
| Oare | |
| Berkshire | |
|---|---|
 St Bartholomew, Oare | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SU505740 |
| Location: | 51°27’48"N, 1°16’23"W |
| Data | |
| Postcode: | RG18 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | West Berkshire |
Oare is a small village in Berkshire, close by Hermitage and Little Hungerford.
Small as it is, Oare has the earliest documented history within the parish. In the tenth century, King Edgar gave Oare Chapel to the Abbot of Abingdon, a gift witnessed by Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury. Ten hides of land (around 1200 acres) accompanied it.
A monastic grange was built by the abbot at which he could rest on the arduous journey between Abingdon and Winchester. The grange was where Oare Farm House now stands. All that remains of the original is a very fine garden wall. The pond beside the church was formerly used by the monks and prior to breed carp for their Friday meals. The grange was pulled down during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII, leaving the little church for the people. Oare became a chapel of Chieveley at that time.
The village today is tucked up close in a curve of the M4 motorway, a little west of the A34 junction and Chieveley Services. The village is within the parish of Chieveley.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Oare, Berkshire) |