Winterbourne, Berkshire

Winterbourne
Berkshire
St James' parish church
Location
Grid reference:	SU4572
Location:	51°26’42"N, 1°20’46"W
Data
Post town:	Newbury
Postcode:	RG20
Dialling code:	01635
Local Government
Council:	West Berkshire
Parliamentary constituency:	Newbury

Winterbourne is a village in Berkshire, in the west of the county lying amongst the Berkshire Downs. It is about 3 miles north of Newbury.

Parish church

The parish church is St James. The church was thoroughly restored in the 18th and 19th centuries. The north chapel was added in 1712 and the bell tower in 1759. The architect J W Hugall rebuilt the nave in 1854 and a Mr Hudson restored the chancel in 1895. Hudson retained the chancel's 14th-century east window, and an earlier lancet window in the south wall.

The building is Grade II* listed.

Civil War

Winterbourne and the surrounding area had an eventful time during the Civil War. Nearby Donnington Castle was damaged by cannon. The First and Second Battles of Newbury were fought nearby. On 26 October 1644, Cromwell stayed the night in the Blue Boar public house in the north of the parish and his forces camped at North Heath. In July that year, his forces had taken on Prince Rupert and company at Ripley in Yorkshire, during which skirmish, the victorious Parliamentarians stole a statue of a wild boar that Lord Ingleby had brought back from Italy as one of a pair. The other remains in Ripley Castle. The blue boar was left at the pub. The pub is now The Crab hotel.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Winterbourne, Berkshire)

References

• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966). Berkshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 307.