Easthampstead
| Easthampstead | |
|---|---|
 St Michael and St Mary Magdalene |
|
 Easthampstead
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| Easthampstead shown within Berkshire | |
| OS grid reference | SU866680 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BRACKNELL |
| Postcode district | RG12 |
| Dialling code | 01344 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Royal Berkshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
Easthampstead is today a southern suburb of the town of Bracknell in the English county of Berkshire, although the old village can still be easily identified around the Church of St Michael and St Mary Magdalene. This beautiful building houses some of the finest stained glass works of Sir Edward Burne-Jones.
In Easthampstead there is evidence of local Bronze Age existence in the form of a large round barrow on the top of Bill Hill. The hill itself is also surrounded by an ancient ditch, which has largely been filled in. Bill Hill now forms part of a park next to Downshire Way and it is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Easthampsted is mentioned as an entry in the Domesday book as land belonging to the abbey of Westminster St. Peter in the hundred of Ripplesmere. It was a small village of 14 villagers and 8 ploughlands, and had a value of £5 in 1066. By 1070 it was only worth £2.5.
Originally Easthampstead was an important parish in Windsor Forest, its manor house at Easthampstead Park being a popular hunting lodge with the Royal Family. Another large and important house in the old parish is South Hill Park, one time home of Prime Minister George Canning. Still older is Caesar's Camp, the only Iron Age hill fort in East Berkshire.
Easthampstead once had its own Rural District, but it is no longer even a civil parish. Much of the southern portion of the old parish has been given to adjoining Crowthorne.
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Wikipedia