West Hagbourne, Berkshire
Historical Description
Hagbourne, East and West, two villages and two parishes in Berks. The villages stand 1½ mile SSE from Didcot station on the G.W.R. main line, and near Upton station on the branch line to Newbury. There is an ancient cross surmounting lofty steps, and a post office of the name of East Hagbourne, under Didcot; telegraph office, Didcot. West Hagbourne is a distinct parish, but is joined ecclesiastically with East Hagbourne. Area of East Hagbourne, 1758 acres; West Hagbourne, 1057 acres; population of the joint parish, 1454. North Hagbourne is a hamlet on the northern border of the parish; also known as Didcot New Town. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Oxford; net yearly value,, £152 with residence. The church is one of the best in Berkshire, the peal of eight bells being considered remarkably good, has a square tower, and contains a monument to John Philips, Esq. There is also a Primitive Methodist chapel, and there are a church erected in 1890, and a Primitive Methodist chapel at North Hagbourne. The parish is celebrated for its cherry orchards, and large quantities of watercress are grown.
Civil Registration
West Hagbourne was in Wallingford Registration District from 1837 to 1974
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Berkshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of West Hagbourne 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.