Basildon is a civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It comprises the small villages of Upper Basildon and Lower Basildon, named for their respective heights above the River Thames.

Geography

Basildon is from Reading, from London and from Oxford. The parish is bordered to the north by the River Thames and the Oxfordshire parishes of Goring and Whitchurch-on-Thames on the other side of the river. To the south of the river it is bordered by the parishes of Pangbourne, Bradfield, Ashampstead and Streatley. The parish forms part of the unitary authority of West Berkshire. It is within the Newbury parliamentary constituency. The main Basildon manor was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Bastedene.

History

thumb|right|A gold [[British Iron Age|Iron Age quarter stater coin from the reign of Commius, found in Basildon in 2013 and dated to BCE]]

Ancient flint axes have been found in Basildon but the earliest physical remains to be seen today are two Bronze Age ditch sections called Grim's Ditch (circa 2,400 BC). The Romans built a road through the parish between Silchester to Dorchester-on-Thames and a wealthy Romano-Briton erected a farm and villa alongside this. It was discovered and destroyed when Brunel's Great Western Railway was built through it in 1838. Before the Norman Conquest the manor of Basildon was held by a free woman named Aileva. It is now a ruin, but was regarded at one stage as being cursed, with any man who destroyed Nobes' grave being cursed. In the early 20th century, the expression "There goes Nobes on his white horse!" was commonly used. A second ghost is Nan Carey, who haunts Nan Carey's Hill, a cross roads at Upper Basildon. founded in 1875, is located in Upper Basildon and provides education for about 140 children. Secondary education is provided primarily by Theale Green School, 6 miles away in Theale.

Amenities

thumb|The Intersection at the Red Lion

Beale Park

Beale Park is a 40-acre outdoor wildlife park located between Basildon Park and the River Thames.

Transport

Reading Buses bus service 43 (Reading to Upper Basildon via Pangbourne) serves Basildon.

Notable buildings

Churches

The parish has two churches. The Grade I listed St Bartholomew's Church in

Lower Basildon dates from the 13th Century and is now owned and maintained by the Churches Conservation Trust. The churchyard is notable as the resting place of Jethro Tull, the 18th century agriculturalist, whose modern gravestone can be seen there. St Stephen's in Upper Basildon was built in 1964. This replaced the temporary place of worship, located on the corner of Bethesda Street and Blandy's Lane, which was built in 1895. whilst holidaying at Basildon Park, at the time owned by Major James Archibald Morrison.

References

  • Upper and Lower Basildon Village Website
  • Royal Berkshire History: Basildon
  • Time Team excavation