Ardington, Berkshire
Historical Description
Ardington, a parish in Berkshire, on an affluent of the Thames, near the Wilts and Berks Canal, 2 miles E of Wantage, and 3½ SE of Wantage Road station on the G.W.R. It has a post and telegraph office under Wantage. Area of the parish, 2693 acres; population of the civil parish, 496; of the ecclesiastical, 432. Ardington House was the residence of Clarke the antiquary, and the seat of Robert Vernon, who collected here the Vernon Gallery of pictures, which he made over to the nation by deed of gift in 1847. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Oxford; net yearly value, £209. Patron, Christ's Church, Oxford. The church is a structure of stone in the Early English style. It was restored and enlarged at the cost of Lord Wantage in 1887.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Berkshire | |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Ardington The Holy Trinity | |
| Hundred | Wantage | |
| Poor Law union | Wantage |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1674.
Churches
Church of England
The Holy Trinity (parish church)
The church of the Holy Trinity is a building of stone, chiefly in the Early English style, with portions of Norman and Decorated work, and consists of chancel, nave of four bays, south aisle, north porch, and a low tower on the south side, with an octagonal broach spire containing 6 bells. The interior is enriched with some fine carved work in wood and stone, besides several stained windows and a monument with bust to Mr. Vernon, who died in London, May 22, 1849, and is buried in the church: the church was restored and enlarged in 1887 at a cost of £3,500, defrayed by Lord Wantage and by the Rev. Canon H. E. Trotter M.A. (vicar 1884-99), and Mrs. Trotter, who decorated the chancel and presented the carved font cover: there are 250 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Ardington was in Wantage Registration District from 1837 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Ardington from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Ardington (The Holy Trinity))
- Kelly's Directory of Berkshire, 1915
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Berkshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Ardington are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Berkshire papers online:
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitations of Berkshire 1532, 1566, and 1665-6 is available online.