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Silchester

Coordinates:51°21′11″N1°06′04″W/ 51.353°N 1.101°W/51.353; -1.101
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the Roman town, seeCalleva Atrebatum.

Silchester
Thevillage signin front of Silchester Village Hall, showing St Mary's Church
Silchester is located in Hampshire
Silchester
Silchester
Location withinHampshire
Population918 (2001 census)[1]
921 (2011 Census including Little London)[2]
OS grid referenceSU6262
Civil parish
  • Silchester
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townReading
Postcode districtRG7
Dialling code0118
PoliceHampshire and Isle of Wight
FireHampshire and Isle of Wight
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament
WebsiteSilchester Parish Council
List of places
UK
England
Hampshire
51°21′11″N1°06′04″W/ 51.353°N 1.101°W/51.353; -1.101

Silchesteris a village andcivil parishabout 5 miles (8 km) north ofBasingstokeinHampshire.It is adjacent to the county boundary withBerkshireand about 9 miles (14 km) south-west ofReading.

Silchester is most notable for the archaeological site and Roman town ofCalleva Atrebatum,an Iron Age and laterAtrebatesCeltic settlement first occupied by the Romans in about AD 45, and which includes what is considered the best-preservedRoman wallin Great Britain and the remains of what may be one of the oldest Christian churches.

Location

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The present village is centred on Silchester Common. It is about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of theChurch of England parish churchand formermanor house(now Manor Farm), which are in the eastern part of the former Roman town.

Local government

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Silchester is a civil parish with an elected parish council. Silchester parish is in the ward of Pamber and Silchester,[3]part ofBasingstoke and Deane District Counciland ofHampshire County Counciland all three councils are responsible for different aspects of local government. The ward returns two councillors to the borough council.[4]The2011 censusrecorded a parish population of 921.[1]

Transport

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Silchester Common is served (as of October 2017) by bus route 14 between Basingstoke, Chineham Shopping Centre, Bramley, Little London, Silchester Common and Tadley, operated by Stagecoach on Monday to Saturday.

Manor

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Silcesterwas recorded in the 11th century, when one Alestan held amanorhere with KingEdward the Confessoras his overlord and one Cheping held another manor with EarlHarold Godwinsonas his overlord.[5]TheDomesday Bookof 1086 recorded that the NormansWilliam De Owand Ralph de Mortimer possessed Alestan's and Cheping's manors respectively.[5]The book assessed Alestan's manor at fivehidesand Mortimer's at three hides.[5]De Mortimer's tenant was another Norman, Ralph Bluet.[5]In 1204 he or a later Ralph Bluet gave apalfreyhorse in exchange for a licence toenclosean area of land south-east of the former Roman town as adeer park.[5]Today parts of the earthworkpark palesurvive and parts of the former park remain wooded.[5]

Forms of thetoponymincludedCiltestereandCilcestrein the 13th century,Scilchestrein the 14th century andSylkchesterin the 18th century before it reached its current spelling.[5]

TheIrish peerMurrough Boyle, 1st Viscount Blesington(1685–1718) bought the manor in 1704 and it remained with his hereditary heirs until the death ofWilliam Stewart, 1st Earl of Blessingtonin 1769.[5]In 1778 it was inherited jointly byThomas Vesey, 1st Viscount de VesciandEdward Pakenham, 2nd Baron Longford.[5]In 1806 Baron Longford's daughterThe Hon. Catherine PakenhammarriedArthur Wellesley,who in 1814 was createdDuke of Wellington.In 1821 Catherine's brotherThomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longfordwas createdBaron Silchester,but in 1828 he andJohn, 2nd Viscount de Vescisold the manor of Silchester to the Duke.[5]In the first decade of the 20th centuryArthur Wellesley, 4th Duke of Wellingtonstill owned the manor of Silchester.[5]

Church and chapel

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Parish church of St Mary the Virgin behind the Roman town wall

TheChurch of England parish churchof St Mary the Virgin is just within the walls of the former Roman town, possibly on the site of a Roman temple.[6][7]The building may contain some re-used Roman materials.[8]The building dates from the late 12th[5]or early 13th century.[9]It has a north and southaisle,each of twobays.[5]There is no chancel arch, and thechancelis longer than thenave.[5]The wall of the south aisle was rebuilt in about 1325–50, incorporating anogee-arched tomb recess containing the effigy of a lady wearing awimple.[9]Two new windows were added to the church in the 14th century, and two more including thePerpendicular Gothic[9]east window of the chancel in the 15th century.[5]

The church has a Perpendicular Gothic[9]rood screen.[5]Thepulpitwas made early in the 18th century but itstesteris dated 1639.[9]There is also a carved memorial cartouche to the Irish peerViscount Ikerrin(died 1712).[9]Thebell-turrethas aringof five bells. Four were cast by John Stares ofAldbourne,[10]Wiltshirein 1744.[11]The other was cast by William Taylor ofOxford[10]in 1848.[11]

There is aPrimitive Methodistchapel on Silchester Common.[5]

Iron Age and Roman town

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Site plan

Calleva Atrebatumwas anIron Ageoppidumand subsequently a town in theRoman provinceofBritanniaand thecivitascapital of theAtrebatestribe. Its ruins are beneath and to the west of the parish church, which is itself just within the town wall and about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the east of the modern village.

The site covers an area of over 107 acres (43 ha) within a polygonal earthwork. The earthworks and extensive ruined walls are still visible. The remains of theamphitheatre,[12]added about AD 70–80 and situated outside the city walls, can also be clearly seen. The area inside the walls is now largely farmland with no visible distinguishing features, other than the enclosing earthworks and walls, with the church and old manor house in one corner.

Silchester was the subject of antiquarian interest from the 16th century onwards. The bronzeSilchester eaglewas discovered in theBasilicaat Calleva in 1866 and can now be seen inReading Museum.The most extensive excavations were carried out by the Society of Antiquaries from 1890 until 1909 under George E. Fox and W. H. St. J. Hope.[13]During excavations carried out in 1893, theSilchester Ogham stonewas located. Dated c. 500 AD, it is one of very few found in England. It is now held in storage at Reading Museum. The inscription on the ogham stone was in the Latin Alpha bet, but in Irish and appears to be indicating that the property belonged to someone named Tebicatos.[14]The precise identity of Tebicatos remains a mystery, but it is possible that he was a pilgrim or a mercenary.[15]

Analysis of plant remains shows that Calleva residents had access to typical foods eaten in Roman Britain, such ascereals,coriander,and cultivated fruits. They also received imports of exoticmedlarandmulberryfruits.[16]

Calleva was finally abandoned in the 7th century, which is unusually late compared to other deserted Roman settlements.[17]

Amenities

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Silchester's solepublic houseis the Calleva Arms,[18]named after the former Roman town ofCalleva Atrebatumthat lies within the village boundary. It was previously known as "The Crown".

The parish has events and village activities through the year including a beer festival, fun run, church fete, and music festival.[19]The village has anamateur dramatic society[20]and a village association.[21]

Silchester Cricket Club[22]compete in Regional Division Three North East in the Hampshire Cricket League.[23]

School

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Silchester has aChurch of Englandaided primary school.[24]Most Silchester children of secondary school age attendThe Hurst SchoolinBaughurst.

Awards

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Silchester was voted "Hampshire Village of the Year" (2008) and "South England Village of the Year" (2009) in the Calor Village of the Year competition.[25]

Silchester Environs Project

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TheUniversity of Readingis leading a five-year archaeological research project to explore the later prehistoric use of the landscape around Silchester Roman Town and its underlying Late Iron Age oppidum (ancient Celtic fortified town). To date (2020) the project has identified 671 new archaeological sites, from the Neolithic through to WWII, in addition to the 267 already known.[26]A number of reports on the archaeological investigations have been published by Historic England.[27]

Notable persons

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ab"Area selected: Basingstoke and Deane (Non-Metropolitan District)".Neighbourhood Statistics: Full Dataset View.Office for National Statistics.Archived fromthe originalon 29 June 2011.Retrieved30 January2011.
  2. ^"Civil Parish population 2011".Neighbourhood Statistics.Office for National Statistics.Retrieved22 December2016.
  3. ^"HCC Ward Boundaries"(PDF).2008. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 7 October 2012.Retrieved15 May2010.
  4. ^"Basingstoke and Deane Wards Information Councillors for Pamber & Silchester".Archived fromthe originalon 11 May 2010.Retrieved15 May2010.
  5. ^abcdefghijklmnopqPage, 1911, pages 51–56
  6. ^"The Parish Church: The Silchester Trail"(PDF).Hampshire County Council.Retrieved8 February2013.
  7. ^Johnson, Walter J. (1912).Byways in British Archeology.Cambridge: The University Press. pp.24.
  8. ^Aston & Bond, 1976, page 53
  9. ^abcdefPevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 505
  10. ^ab"Bell Founders".Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers.Retrieved30 January2011.
  11. ^ab"Silchester S Mary".Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers.Retrieved30 January2011.
  12. ^Silchester amphitheatre
  13. ^Lodwick 2016,p. 2.
  14. ^Fulford 2021,p. 190.
  15. ^Fulford 2021,p. 193.
  16. ^Lodwick 2016,p. 16 & 18.
  17. ^Roman colonies in Subroman Britain
  18. ^Calleva Arms
  19. ^Pete's Silchester Pages
  20. ^Silchester PlayersArchived22 October 2008 at theWayback Machine
  21. ^Silchester Association
  22. ^Silchester Cricket Club
  23. ^Hampshire Cricket League
  24. ^Silchester Church of England Primary School
  25. ^"Calor Village of the Year competition".2009.Retrieved16 March2010.[permanent dead link]
  26. ^"Silchester Environs Project".Silchester Archaeology.Retrieved9 June2020.
  27. ^*Bayer, O; Bowden, M (2016)."The Frith, Mortimer West End, Hampshire: Analytical Earthwork Survey Historic England Research Report 61/2016".research.historicengland.org.uk.Retrieved9 June2020.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Sources and further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toSilchester.
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