Highclere (pronounced ) is a village and

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

North Wessex Downs The North Wessex Downs are an area of chalk downland landscapes located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The North Wessex Downs has been designated as a National Landscape (formerly known as Area of ...

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England, in the northern part of the county, near the

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

border. It is famous as the location of

Highclere Castle Highclere Castle is a Listed building#Categories of listed building, Grade I listed country house built in 1679 and largely renovated in the 1840s, with a park designed by Capability Brown in the 18th century. The estate is in Highclere in ...

, a Victorian house of the

Earl of Carnarvon Earl of Carnarvon is a title that has been created three times in British history. The current holder is George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon. The town and county in Wales to which the title refers are historically spelled Caernarfon, having b ...

, and the setting for films and TV series including ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. It first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV (TV network), ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United St ...

''.

History and buildings

The parish church of St Michael and All Angels sits between

and the main part of the village. This 'new' church (1870s) replaced a much older church sited adjacent to Highclere Castle, and parish records go back to pre-Norman times. There is a pub, the ''Red House'', a flourishing village hall and a private junior ('Prep') school, ''Thorngrove''. The church parish is part of the North West Hampshire Benefice (with

Ashmansworth Ashmansworth is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Basingstoke and Deane district of the English county of Hampshire. The village is about northeast of the town of Andover, Hampshire, Andover. The parish population at ...

Crux Easton Crux Easton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ashmansworth, in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England, about south of Newbury, Berkshire. In 1931, the parish had a population of 63. History The Chur ...

East Woodhay East Woodhay is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. The village is approximately south-west of Newbury in Berkshire. At the 2011 census the parish had a population of 2,914. The parish contains a number of villages and hamlets, ...

and

Woolton Hill Woolton Hill is a village in Hampshire, England, in the civil parish of East Woodhay. The village lies approximately south-west of the centre of Newbury and encompasses the hamlet of Broad Layings on its northern edge. History The area wa ...

). The civil parish of Highclere has two wards, Highclere and Penwood. "Highclere Holly" ('' Ilex altaclerensis'') was first identified here and still flourishes in local woodlands. According to local legend there used to be a grampus living in a

yew tree Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew ('' Taxus b ...

in the churchyard of the Highclere Estate Chapel. On 22 August 1213, King John stayed at

Peter des Roches Peter des Roches (died 9 June 1238) (List of Latinised names, Latinised as ''Petrus de Rupibus'' ("Peter from the rocks")) was bishop of Winchester in the reigns of King John of England and his son Henry III of England, Henry III. He was not an ...

the

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

's manor at Highclere, then called Bishop's Clere. An itinerary of

King Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

lists him as spending 2 September 1320 there.Walter Money, Newbury, page 160

Economy

Highclere is home to a number of prominent local businesses that use locally and sustainably sourced products, such as Berkshire Fencing Supplies (formerly the Natural Garden site overlooking Highclere Castle) supplying a great range of natural home grow
hazel hurdles and willow fencing
which is very environmentally friendly compared to cutting more trees down. The local

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

, the ''Red House'' serves a great range of organic local meats and poultry and a

cafe A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargil ...

, the ''Chapterj'
wedding and events planning
also serving fair trade coffee and an array of other local goodies.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Hampshire Civil parishes in Basingstoke and Deane

History and buildings

Economy

See also

References

External links