Aston Upthorp, Berkshire
Historical Description
Aston-Upthorpe, a parish in Berks, 3 miles E of Upton station on the Didcot and Southampton railway, and 4 SW of Wallingford, which is the post town and money order and telegraph office. Acreage, 1322; population, 156. The living is a vicarage, united with the vicarage of Upton, in the diocese of Oxford; value, £300. Patron, the Bishop of Oxford. The church is ancient. This is said to be the site of the battle of Æscendum in 871, when Ethelred and Alfred routed the Danes.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Berkshire | |
| Civil parish | Blewberry | |
| Hundred | Moreton | |
| Poor Law union | Wallingford |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1861, but a volume of earlier date is kept at Blewbury.
Churches
Church of England
All Saints (parish church)
The church of All Saints is a plain edifice of great antiquity, consisting of chancel and nave, south porch and a wooden belfry with short lead-covered spire on the western gable containing 2 bells: the church was originally a Norman structure: the north doorway with plain semi-circular head remains, and there is a Norman window on the north side, and a blocked doorway on the south, of the same date: the Early timber roof of the nave, ceiled over in recent times, is also existing, as well as the timber-framed porch, a work of the Decorated period, now covered with ivy: the west window is Perpendicular and the font Norman; portions of the former Perpendicular benches have been carefully incorporated in the new seats: the church was restored, and the chancel rebuilt of flint with stone dressings, in 1859-60, and the church re-opened in April, 1860: in the chancel are several tablets to the Slade family: the church will seat 100 persons. The churchyard was consecrated by the late Bishop Wilberforce, May 9th, 1862.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Aston Upthorpe was in Wallingford Registration District from 1837 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Aston Upthorp from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Aston-Upthorp)
- 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 Aston Upthorp 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.