Inkpen, Berkshire
Historical Description
Inkpen, a village and a parish in Berks. The village stands among hills, near the river Kennet and the boundaries with Wiltshire and Hants, 3½ miles SW of Kintbury station on the G.W.R., and 3½ SE by S from Hungerford; and has a post office under Hungerford; money order and telegraph office, Kintbury. The parish comprises 2885 acres; population, 667.. The manor, with much of the land, belongs to the Earl of Craven. Kirby House is a chief residence. Inkpen Beacon is a chalk down, the loftiest in England; has an altitude of 1011 feet above sea-level, and commands a very extensive and fine view. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Oxford; gross value,, £539 with residence. The church is ancient but good, consists of nave and chancel with low square tower, and contains monuments of the Butlers. There are Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels.
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 | Inkpen St. Michael | |
| Hundred | Kintbury-Eagle | |
| Poor Law union | Hungerford |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1545.
Churches
Church of England
St. Michael (parish church)
The church of St. Michael is a small but ancient structure of flint and stone in the Early English and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel, nave, south porch and a low western tower carried on four piers of oak and containing 3 bells: it contains tablets to the family of Brickenden, who built the rectory and restored the church: there are also memorials to the Butlers, Including one to Capt. Thomas Butler R.N. lost on board the "Scarborough" during a hurricane in the West Indies, in 1780: the church was extensively repaired and restored in 1896, under the direction of Mr. C. C. Rolfe, architect, of Oxford, when an oak chancel screen with rood was erected and an altar table of carved and gilded oak presented: the porch is a memorial to the Rev. John Butler M.A. rector, 1838-95, and has a carving in low relief of "The Entombment," from a picture by Taddeo Gaddi: there are 150 sittings.
Methodist
Primitive Methodist Chapel
There is a Primitive Methodist chapel, built in 1860.
Wesleyan Chapel
There is a Wesleyan chapel with a Sunday school attached.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Inkpen was in Hungerford Registration District from 1837 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Inkpen from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Inkpen (St. Michael))
- Kelly's Directory of Berkshire, 1915
Land and Property
Kirby House belonged at one time to Thomas Brickenden, who was Reader of Gray's Inn, and Judge of the Lord Mayor's court, who died in 1664: about 1779 it passed by purchase to the Frankland Russells, and subsequently to the Butler family.
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Berkshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Inkpen 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.