Aldermaston Wharf

Coordinates: 51°24′00″N 1°08′10″W / 51.4°N 1.136°W / 51.4; -1.136

Aldermaston Wharf is a small multi-parish settlement centred 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-northwest of Aldermaston in West Berkshire, England. The Kennet and Avon Canal and Great Western Railway pass through the adjoining land and Aldermaston railway station and Aldermaston Lock are nearby. The A4 road runs through its northern part of the village.

River Kennet

The River Kennet was made navigable between Reading and Newbury and opened as the Kennet Navigation in 1723. A wharf was constructed here (to the immediate east of the current lift bridge) and a trading community developed around it. In addition carpenters were required to service the locks and bridges. On completion of the Kennet and Avon Canal in 1810, local trade flourished even more with exports of timber products, malt and flour and imports of coal, groceries and manufactured goods. Canal trade continues at Aldermaston, primarily in leisure and tourism. A visitor and tea room is operated adjacent to a marina and boat hire business.

Aldermaston

Coordinates: 51°22′59″N 1°09′00″W / 51.383°N 1.150°W / 51.383; -1.150

Aldermaston /ˈɔːldərmɑːstən/ is a mostly rural, dispersed settlement, civil parish and electoral ward in Berkshire, South-East England. In the United Kingdom Census 2011, the parish had a population of 1015. The village is in the south the mid-Kennet alluvial plain and bounds to the south Hampshire. It is roughly equidistant from Newbury, Basingstoke and Reading, centred 46 miles (74 km) west-by-south-west of London.

Aldermaston may have been inhabited as early as 1690 CE; a number of postholes and remains of cereal grains have been found in the area. Written history of the village is traced back at least as far as the 9th century AD. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles show that the Ealdorman of Berkshire had his country estate in the village. The manor of Aldermaston was established by the early 11th century, when the village was given to the Achard family by Henry I; the manor is documented in the Domesday survey. The village church was established in the 13th century, and some of the original Norman architecture remains in the building's structure. The last resident Lord of the Manor, Charles Keyser, died in 1929. The manor estate has been subsequently occupied by Associated Electrical Industries, the XIX Tactical Air Command, the Women's Land Army, Collier Macmillan Schools, and Blue Circle Industries. The manor house is now run as a private corporate venue by the Compass Group.