In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Lambourn like this:
LAMBOURN, a small town, a township, a parish, a sub-district, and a hundred, in Hungerford district, Berks. The town stands on the river Lambourn, 2½ miles from the boundary with Wilts, and 7 N by W of Hungerford r. station; is sometimes called Chipping-Lambourn; dates from an ancient period; contains an ancient market cross, and many neat modern houses; is a seat of petty sessions; and has a post-office‡ under Hungerford, a police station, a church, Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels, national schools, almshouses, and charities £46. ...
The church is cruciform and large, variously Norman, early English, and perpendicular; has a massive square embattled tower, surmounted by four octagonal turrets; was extensively repaired in 1861; and contains memorial windows by Williment, a fine marble monument of John D. Estbury, and ornamented brasses of the Estburys and the Garrards. Almshouses for ten poor men are on the N side of the church, and have an endowed income of £223. A weekly market is held on Friday; and fairs are held on 12 May, the Friday after 12 Oct., and 4 Dec.—The township includes the town, and also is sometimes called Chipping-Lambourn. Real property, £5,576. Pop., 1,214. Houses, 284.—The parish contains also the tythings of Upper Lambourn, Blagrave, Hadley, and Eastbury and Bockhampton. Acres, 14,830. Real property, £16,478. Pop., 2,529. Houses, 571. The manor was given by Alfred to his nephew Alfrith; passed to the families of Fitzwarren and De Essex; and, with Lambourn Place, belongs now to H. Hippisley, Esq. A large proportion of the surface consists of chalk downs; many barrows are here; the Ridge way passes along the N; and the remarkable antiquities called the White Horse and the Blowing Stone, are in the vicinity of that way. The living is a vicarage, united with the chapelry of Eastbury, in the diocese of Oxford. Value, £204.* Patron, the Bishop of Oxford. A chapel of ease, of recent erection, is at Eastbury; and a free school also is there. The p. curacy of Woodlands is a separate benefice.—The sub-district contains also three other parishes in Berks, and two in Wilts. Acres, 33,964. Pop., 5,654. Houses, 1,270.—The hundred comprises only the parishes of Lambourn and East Garston. Acres, 19,172. Pop., 3,118. Houses, 711.
Lambourn through time
Lambourn is now part of West Berkshire district. Click here for graphs and data of how West Berkshire has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Lambourn itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Lambourn in West Berkshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/4537
Date accessed: 20th April 2024
Not where you were looking for?
Click here for more detailed advice on finding places within A Vision of Britain through Time, and maybe some references to other places called "Lambourn".
