Donnington is an English suburban village in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

Shaw-cum-Donnington Shaw-cum-Donnington is a civil parish in West Berkshire, England with all of its urban or suburban area immediately north of the largest town in the district, Newbury. It comprises the villages of Shaw and Donnington and contains the parti ...

, just north of the town of

Newbury, Berkshire Newbury is a market town in the county of Berkshire, England, and is home to the administrative headquarters of West Berkshire Council. The town centre around its large market square retains a rare medieval Cloth Hall, an adjoining half timber ...

. It contains a ruined medieval castle and a Strawberry Hill Gothic

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

Notable buildings

Castle

Donnington Castle Donnington Castle is a ruined medieval castle, situated in the small village of Donnington, just north of the town of Newbury in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Sir Richard Abberbury the Elder in 1386 and was bought by Thom ...

, a ruined

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

of some historical significance, was the home of

Richard Abberbury the Elder Sir Richard Abberbury the Elder (1331–1399) was the Chamberlain to Anne of Bohemia, Queen to King Richard II of England. Richard was the son of Thomas Abberbury of Donnington in Berkshire and Steeple Aston in Oxfordshire. and inherited the Donn ...

. The second Battle of Newbury (27 October 1644) was fought between Newbury and Donnington as an attack on the castle, which was held for the Royalists by Sir John Boys. The main entrance range of Donnington Castle House was built in 1648 to incorporate an earlier lodge.

Hospital almshouses

Donnington Hospital Donnington Hospital is a series of almshouses at Donnington in the English county of Berkshire, run by the Donnington Hospital Trust. It was established in 1393 by Sir Richard Abberbury the Elder. The original site on the Oxford Road is now ...

almshouses An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certai ...

, founded in 1393, form the oldest

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

in the county, although others formed later had older charities merged into them. Robert Beaugraunt is recorded as minister of the poor in 1412. The earliest current building dates from 1602, but the complex is wide-ranging, with additional modern almshouses having been built in

Bucklebury Bucklebury is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England, about north-east of Newbury and north of the A4 road. The parish has a population of 2,116, but the village is much smaller. Bucklebury Common, with an area of over , is o ...

and

Iffley Iffley is a village in a designated Conservation Area in Oxfordshire, England. It lies within the boundaries of the city of Oxford, between Cowley and the estates of Rose Hill and Donnington, and in proximity to the River Thames ( Isis). A ...

Others

Other notable buildings include

Donnington Priory Donnington Friary was a friary of crouched friars at Donnington in the English county of Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East Engla ...

and

Donnington Grove Donnington Grove is a Strawberry Hill Gothic mansion, now a hotel and country club, and associated Golf Course at Donnington in the civil parish of Shaw-cum-Donnington, near Newbury, in the English county of Berkshire. It is overlooked by Donnin ...

. The latter is a Strawberry Hill Gothic

built by the

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifacts, archaeological and historic si ...

and translator

James Pettit Andrews James Pettit Andrews (1737– 6 August 1797) was an English historian and antiquary. Life He was the younger son of Joseph Andrews of Shaw House, near Newbury in Berkshire, and his second wife Elizabeth Pettit; Sir Joseph Andrews, 1st Baro ...

in 1763–1772. It is now a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

in the centre of a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

Transport

Donnington has regular bus services to Newbury.Bus times Retrieved 16 January 2019.
/ref>

Famous residents

In birth order: *

(1331–1399), chamberlain to

Anne of Bohemia Anne of Bohemia (11 May 1366 – 7 June 1394), also known as Anne of Luxembourg, was Queen of England as the first wife of King Richard II. A member of the House of Luxembourg, she was the eldest daughter of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and ...

, Queen to King

Richard II of England Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father ...

, owned estates in Donnington. * Albemarle Bertie (1755–1824),

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

officer and later

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

, retired to

. *

Beau Brummell George Bryan "Beau" Brummell (7 June 1778 – 30 March 1840) was an important figure in Regency England and, for many years, the arbiter of men's fashion. At one time, he was a close friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV, but ...

(1778–1840),

Regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

dandy, lived at Donnington Grove. *

Sebastian Faulks Sebastian Charles Faulks (born 20 April 1953) is a British novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is best known for his historical novels set in France – ''The Girl at the Lion d'Or'', '' Birdsong'' and '' Charlotte Gray''. He has also pub ...

(born 1953), journalist and author, was born in the village. *

Thomas Hughes Thomas Hughes (20 October 182222 March 1896) was an English lawyer, judge, politician and author. He is most famous for his novel ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857), a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. ...

(1822–1896), author of ''

Tom Brown's Schooldays ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is an 1857 novel by Thomas Hughes. The stor ...

'', lived at Donnington

Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

. * Barbara Euphan Todd (1890–1976), author of the Worzel Gummidge series of stories for children, died at Donnington.

Notable buildings

Castle

Hospital almshouses

Others

Transport

Famous residents

References

Sources

External links