Easthampstead is a former village and now a southern suburb of the town of

Bracknell Bracknell () is a large town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the Borough of Bracknell Forest. It lies to the east of Reading, south of Maidenhe ...

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 England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Be ...

, although the old village can still be easily identified around the Church of St Michael and St Mary Magdalene. This building houses some of the finest stained glass works of Sir

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August, 183317 June, 1898) was a British painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Millais, Ford Madox Brown and Holman ...

History

In Easthampstead there is evidence of local

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

existence in the form of a large

round barrow A round barrow is a type of tumulus and is one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe, they are found in many parts of the world, probably because of their simple construction and universal purpose. ...

on the top of Bill Hill. The hill itself is also surrounded by an ancient ditch, which has largely been filled in. Bill Hill now forms part of a park next to Downshire Way and it is a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. Easthampsted is mentioned as an entry in the Domesday book as land belonging to the abbey of Westminster St. Peter in the hundred of Ripplesmere.http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/SU8667/easthampstead/ Open Domesday: Easthampstead It was a small village of 14 villagers and 8 ploughlands, and had a value of £5 in 1066. By 1070 it was only worth £2.5. Originally Easthampstead was an important

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

in Windsor Forest, its manor house at

Easthampstead Park Easthampstead Park is a Victorian mansion in the civil parish of Bracknell in the English county of Berkshire. It is now a conference centre. Location Since the demise of Easthampstead parish, the house has been located in the western extreme ...

being a popular hunting lodge with the

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term p ...

. Another large and important house in the old parish is South Hill Park, one time home of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

George Canning. Still older is

Caesar's Caesar's is a restaurant on Avenida Revolución in Tijuana, Mexico, famous as the home of the Caesar salad. Restaurateur Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant, opened the restaurant in 1923, and it is now under chef Javier Plascencia, leadi ...

Camp, the only

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post- ...

in East

. Easthampstead once had its own Rural District, but it is no longer even a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

. Much of the southern portion of the old parish has been given to adjoining

Crowthorne Crowthorne is a large village and civil parish in the Bracknell Forest district of south-eastern Berkshire, England. It had a population of 6,711 at the 2001 census, which rose to 6,902 at the 2011 census. A 2020 estimate put it at 7,808. Cr ...

Sport and leisure

Easthampstead also sports some of

's more interesting features such as the Bracknell Sports and Leisure centre.

References

External links

Former villages in England Bracknell Former civil parishes in Berkshire {{Berkshire-geo-stub