West Ilsley

Village and civil parish in Berkshire, England

Village and civil parish in England

Compton

Unitary authority

West Berkshire District Council

Ceremonial county

Berkshire

Region

South East

CountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townNewburyPostcode districtRG20Dialling code01635PoliceThames ValleyFire Royal Berkshire Ambulance South Central UK Parliament

Newbury

WebsiteOfficial website

List of places: UK; England; Berkshire

51°32′24″N 1°19′08″W / 51.540°N 1.319°W / 51.540; -1.319

West Ilsley is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The population of the village at the 2011 Census was 332.^[1]

Location and amenities

It is situated in West Berkshire, north of Newbury on the Berkshire Downs. The companion village of East Ilsley is approximately a mile to the southeast. West Ilsley has a public house, The Harrow, and a well supported cricket club. The Ridgeway passes within a mile of the village.

History

The etymology of the word Ilsley is that it is derived from Hilde-Laege which means "Place of conflict", and either West or East Ilsley may be the site of the Battle of Ashdown, Alfred the Great's victory against the Danes. The original Morland Brewery was first set up in West Ilsley in 1711.

Church

The parish church of All Saints dates back to the 12th century. It is now one of nine village churches in the East Downland benefice, which is part of the Newbury Deanery in the Diocese of Oxford.^[2] In 1616, the Italian Archbishop, Marco Antonio de Dominis was appointed Dean of Windsor and Rector of West Ilsley by King James I. His successor, Dr Godfrey Goodman, sheltered King Charles I at West Ilsley Rectory during the English Civil War.^[3] In the churchyard are two trees planted by Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Helena and her husband Prince Christian, to commemorate the rebuilding of the church's chancel in 1878.^[4]

Transport

West Ilsley is served by Newbury and District bus services 6 and 6A from Newbury.^[5]

Notable residents

Marco Antonio de Dominis for a time lived in West Ilsley.
Edmund Kerchever Chambers, Medieval and Renaissance scholar
Horse Trainer Mick Channon (the former Southampton footballer), who moved into the village after buying the stables of the former Queen's trainer, Dick Hern.

References

^ ^a ^b "Civil Parish 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
^ "East Downland Benefice". Archived from the original on 13 October 2020.
^ "All Saints Church". West Ilsley.
^ "Parishes: West Ilsley Pages 32-37 A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 4. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1924". British History Online.
^ Info at newburyanddistrict.co.uk