Bucklebury | |
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St Mary the Virgin parish church |
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Bucklebury shown within Berkshire | |
Area | 21.82 km2 (8.42 sq mi) |
Population | 2,116 (parish in 2011 census) |
• Density | 97/km2 (250/sq mi) |
OS grid reference | SU5570 |
Civil parish |
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Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Reading |
Postcode district | RG7 |
Police | Thames Valley |
Fire | Royal Berkshire |
Ambulance | South Central |
EU Parliament | South East England |
UK Parliament | |
Website | |
Bucklebury is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. The village is about 5 miles (8 km) north-east of Newbury and ranges between 1 and 3 miles (1.6–4.8 km) north of the A4 road. The parish has a population of 2,116, but the village is much smaller. Bucklebury Common is just over 1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi) and is one of the major village commons in the ceremonial and historic county of Berkshire.
The parish of Bucklebury has three main parts. The original village is on the banks of the River Pang close to its three sources in the parish. Directly south of Bucklebury village, and on higher ground, is Bucklebury Common, which is 826 acres (334 ha) 3.3 square kilometres (1.3 sq mi) of open grazing on managed heather and woodland. The common is, under the Inclosure Acts, open to villagers only as commoners and privately owned. At the eastern boundary of the common is Chapel Row, incorporating local landmarks such as the Blade Bone public house, a doctors' surgery and a teashop.
The village of Upper Bucklebury became the parish's largest residential area in the late 20th century. This is on a hill about a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south-west of Bucklebury village at the western tip of the common. Upper Bucklebury has a general store, a public house, a modern Church of England church (dedicated to All Saints), and a Church of England primary school.
The hamlet of Marlston is also in the parish. It is mostly fields, with a large minority of woodland.
Bucklebury was a royal manor owned by Edward the Confessor (reigned 1042–66). The village and parish church are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086.Henry I (reigned 1100–35) granted Bucklebury to the Cluniac Reading Abbey, which retained it until it surrendered all its lands to the Crown in the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540.