Today I was volunteered to take T of N up to Yattendon to the OktoberWest Beer Festival. I decided while in the area to spend some time at Hampstead Norreys. Both of these villages are North of Newbury in West Berkshire. There is evidence of human habitation in the area back to the Bronze and Roman times. Hampstead Norreys gets a mention in the Doomsday Book.
I believe St Mary's Church dates back to Norman times.
Today the Vicar is getting married. I see her leaving the church with her groom. She looks lovely.
I take a walk past the church and discover the Motte. This is mentioned in David Nash Ford's wonderful history blog
Theodoric the Goldsmith was a German immigrant and the finest gold and silver craftsman in the country in late Saxon times. There has always been migration of people. William the Conqueror understood it's benefits and wanted to keep Theodoric sweet. He gave him a number of manors in order to keep him in the country and working for the Crown. Five of these were in Berkshire where there was good woodland for smelting metal, and they appear to have been centred on Hampstead Norreys. Behind the church, in Westbrook Copse, can be seen the motte of a small castle which Theodoric may have built to protect his precious stores of metal and jewels.
The community shop and cafe is wonderful. I shop for local produce and have tea and carrot cake!
There is an old barn next door.
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