Marlston is a village in the English ceremonial county of

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 ...

. For administrative purposes, it lies within 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Bucklebury Bucklebury is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Berkshire, England, about north-east of Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury and north of the A4 road (England), A4 road. The parish has a population of 2,116, but the village ...

and the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

West Berkshire West Berkshire is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England. It is administered from Newbury by West Berkshire Council. History The district of Newbury was formed on 1 April 1974, as a merger of the borough of Newbur ...

Etymology

The place-name Marlston is first attested as ''Marteleston'' in 1242, and means "Martel's town or manor". Galfridus Martel held the manor in 1242; ''Martel'' is a French nickname meaning "hammer", from the Old French ''martel'' (modern French ''marteau'').

Geography

The settlement lies south of the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...

, and is located approximately north-east of

Thatcham Thatcham is a market town and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. It is situated in the valley of the River Kennet east of Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury, west of Reading, Berkshire, Reading and west of London. The town has a long history d ...

. It is west of the

River Pang The River Pang is a small chalk stream river in the west of the English county of Berkshire, and a tributary of the River Thames. It runs for approximately from its source near the village of Compton, Berkshire, Compton to its confluence wi ...

on a minor road, midway between Hermitage and

History

The parish church of St Mary dates back to the 12th century, the north door is dated to circa 1170. The church was restored in 1855 by

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a British Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was bo ...

. It is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. Marlston House was built between 1895 and 1899 in the

Elizabethan style Elizabethan architecture refers to buildings in a local style of Renaissance architecture built during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England from 1558 to 1603. The style is very largely confined to secular buildings, especially the large ...

, replacing an

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female ...

house on the same site. It was built for George Palmer, who was one of the founders of the

Huntley & Palmers Huntley & Palmers is a British company of biscuit makers originally based in Reading, Berkshire. Formed by Joseph Huntley in 1822, the company became one of the world's first global brands (chiefly led by George Palmer (businessman), George Palme ...

biscuit factory,

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of the nearby town of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

, and Member of Parliament for Reading. After George Palmer died in 1897, the house was occupied by his son, George William Palmer, who was also mayor of, and Member of Parliament for, Reading. Since 1945, it is the home of the

Brockhurst and Marlston House School Brockhurst and Marlston House School is a British independent and boarding preparatory school. It occupies Marlston House, a grade II* listed Elizabethan style house situated in the hamlet of Marlston and the civil parish of Bucklebury in the E ...

. The building is Grade II* listed. The Marlston estate is owned by the

Astor family The Astor family achieved prominence in business sector, business, Socialite, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With Germans, German roots, some of their ancestry goes back to th ...

Notable residents

Douglas Bader Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader, (; 21 February 1910 – 5 September 1982) was a Royal Air Force flying ace during the Second World War. He was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

RAF

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

, and his wife, settled in the village after the war.

References

External links

Brockhurst and Marlston House School Official Site
Villages in Berkshire Bucklebury {{Berkshire-geo-stub