Yattendon 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 ...

northeast of Newbury in the 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 ...

, England. 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 ...

passes through the fields of the village which lie south and below the elevations of its

cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study the magnetosphere * Asteroid cluster, a small ...

. The village is privately owned and is "part of the 9,000 acre estate owned by the Iliffes, former press barons", part of the Yattendon Group.

Geography

Yattendon stretches from Everington in the west to the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

of Burnt Hill in the east and the woodland just east of Yattendon Court, including Mumgrove Copse, Bushy Copse, Clack's Copse and Gravelpit Copse. The M4 motorway forms most of its southern boundary and some of the houses on the northern edge of

Frilsham Frilsham is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish from Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury, in the England, English county of Berkshire. Geography Frilsham is near the Berkshire Downs, with the M4 motorway, M4 to the north. The nucleat ...

are actually in Yattendon. 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 ...

flows through the west of the parish. It was in the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

of Faircross, which was of little consequence after the Dissolution of the Monasteries and effectively ceased to function after 1886.

History

The Church of St. Peter and

St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

was built around 1450 and was "restored in 1858, 1881 and a spire was added by

Alfred Waterhouse Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known for his designs ...

in 1896". The village has had a shop since the 1600s. According to the Estate, the Iliffe's took over the operation in 2014 and " Edward Iliffe, son of Lord Iliffe, was appointed Postmaster". William Burham, a

saddle A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not know ...

and harness maker had a shop in the village from 1901 until his death in the early 1960s. A collection of his leather working tools is in the

Museum of English Rural Life The Museum of English Rural Life, also known as The MERL, is a museum, library and archive dedicated to recording the changing face of farming and the countryside in England. The museum is run by the University of Reading, and is situated in Red ...

Amenities

Yattendon has a shop, post office, garage, pub/hotel, hairdressers, blacksmith, primary school, Montessori school, tennis courts and brewery as well as houses and cottages rented to tenants. Yattendon has 31 Grade II

Listed buildings 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, H ...

, as well as the Church of St. Peter and

which is Grade I.

Notable people

Notable residents of Yattendon include: *

Robert Bridges Robert Seymour Bridges (23 October 1844 – 21 April 1930) was a British poet who was Poet Laureate from 1913 to 1930. A doctor by training, he achieved literary fame only late in life. His poems reflect a deep Christian faith, and he is ...

, who later became Poet Laureate, lived at Yattendon until 1882, where he compiled the Yattendon Hymnal. *

Thomas Carte Thomas or John Carte (1686–1754) was an English historian with Jacobite sympathies, who served as a Church of England clergyman. Life Carte was born in 1686 near Clifton upon Dunsmore (itself near Rugby), the eldest son of the antiquari ...

, noted English historian, once held the

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

and was buried in the church. *

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Miles Dempsey, British Army officer who fought in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

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 ...

. *

Edward Iliffe, 1st Baron Iliffe Edward Mauger Iliffe, 1st Baron Iliffe, (17 May 1877 – 25 July 1960) was a British newspaper magnate, public servant and Conservative Member of Parliament. Biography Iliffe was the son of William Isaac Iliffe (1843–1917), a printer and ...

, the newspaper magnate who lived at Yattendon Court. From 1925 to 1940, he amalgamated several small farming estates and formed the Yattendon Estate in 1955. It covers nearly of farmland, woodland, grazing and Christmas tree plantations. *

Ruth Mott Ruth Mott (5 February 1917 – 28 July 2012) was an English domestic servant who became a television cook and personality. Mott spent most of her life working in country houses with her television work not beginning until the age of 70, when her k ...

, cook and TV presenter, was born in the village. She was a technical advisor on the 2001

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...

film ''

Gosford Park ''Gosford Park'' is a 2001 satirical black comedy mystery film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. The film, which is influenced by Jean Renoir's French classic '' The Rules of the Game'', follows a party of wealthy Brito ...

''. *

Egon Ronay Egon Miklos Ronay (24 July 1915 – 12 June 2010) was a Hungarian-born food critic who wrote and published a series of guides to British and Irish restaurants and hotels in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. His guidebooks are credited with raising ...

the restaurant critic, lived in Yattendon until his death in 2010. *

, the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

of the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

who built himself a home at Yattendon Court (not the present building). The fortified

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

Yattendon Castle Yattendon Castle was a fortified manor house located in the civil parish of Yattendon, in the Hundred (country subdivision), hundred of Faircross, in the England, English county of Berkshire. History The site upon which Yattendon castle stood ...

was home of: * Sir Henry Norreys, a Tudor courtier accused of adultery with Queen

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

and the father of *

Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norreys Henry Norris (or Norreys), 1st Baron Norreys ({{circa, 1525{{spaced ndash27 June 1601){{sfn, Fuidge, 1981 of Rycote in Oxfordshire, was an English people, English politician and diplomat, who belonged to an old Berkshire family, many members of wh ...

, Ambassador to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and father of *Sir

John Norreys John Norreys may refer to: *Sir John Norris (soldier) or Norreys (c. 1547–1597), the son of Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norreys, a lifelong friend of Queen Elizabeth *Sir John Norreys (Keeper of the Wardrobe) for Henry VI of England (c. 1400–1466) * ...

, the greatest soldier of

Elizabethan England 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 per ...

whose

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

is in the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

References

External links

Royal Berkshire History: YattendonYattendon Estate
{{authority control Villages in Berkshire Civil parishes in Berkshire West Berkshire District