Lower Basildon is a small English village in the civil parish of Basildon, near Pangbourne, in the county of Berkshire.

Amenities

Shops and restaurants

Upper Basildon has a sub-post office (located in St Stephen's Church) and a pub-restaurant, The Red Lion. Lower Basildon currently has a garage/shop and a motor repair business.

Transport

The village is covered only by a Tuesday bus service running between Goring-on-Thames and Reading. The nearest railway station is Goring and Streatley () which offers stopping trains between Didcot and London Paddington. The main A329 road connects the village with Goring and Reading.

Beale Wildlife Park

To the south-east of the village there is a wildlife garden, Beale Park.

Historic buildings

St Bartholomew's Church

The 15th century parish church of St Bartholomew stands at the end of Church Lane, down by the River Thames.

Roman villa

The remains of a modest Roman villa were discovered near the church in 1839 during the construction of the Great Western Railway but nothing of the villa remains to be seen today. It housed two beautiful mosaic floors, which were unfortunately destroyed very soon after being found. A drawing of one was made by the antiquarian, Charles Roach Smith. Until about 2007, it was the headquarters of the Institute for Leisure and Amenity Management (ILAM). Although sold to a new owner, it remains empty, fire-damaged and ruinous.

Basildon Park

The National Trust property, Basildon Park, occupies the space between the villages of Lower and Upper Basildon.

  • Graham Whitehead (1922–1981), Formula 1 motor racing driver, died in Basildon.

References

  • Village Website for Upper and Lower Basildon
  • Royal Berkshire History: Basildon