Lambourn
Lambourn | |
---|---|
2021 census)[1] | |
• Density | 69.76/km² [1] |
OS grid reference | SU3278 |
Civil parish |
|
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | HUNGERFORD |
Postcode district | RG17 |
Dialling code | 01488 |
Police | Thames Valley |
Fire | Royal Berkshire |
Ambulance | South Central |
UK Parliament | |
Website | lambourn.org |
Lambourn
History
The most common explanation for the name of Lambourn refers to the lambs that were once dipped in the local river.[2] Many spellings have been used over the centuries, such as Lamburnan (880), Lamburna (1086), Lamborne (1644) and Lambourne. It was also called Chipping Lambourn because of its popular market. The spelling was fixed as 'Lambourn' in the early 20th century, but even today, towards Soley, three successive signposts at nearby junctions alternate the spelling of Lambourn and Lambourne. The village of Bockhampton was also known as Lower Lambourn.
In 2004 a
), also known as the "Upper or Baydon Road", passes through Lambourn Woodlands as part of the B4000.Seven Barrows
Lambourn is famous for its Seven Barrows, just above Upper Lambourn. There are more than thirty Bronze Age burial mounds forming a large prehistoric cemetery. On a line west of the Seven Barrows is the Long Barrow, which dates from c. 4000 BCE, making it 2,000 years older than the other barrows. It has been half-destroyed by deep ploughing, and only the mound in the woods and a few sarsen stones remain.[5]
Lambourn Church (minster) and almshouses
...the Downs themselves shelter Lambourn's massive Norman nave.[7]
The large, mainly
Successors to that office held it until 1836. Inside are monuments to the great and the good of the many manors in the parish, including an excellent brass to John Estbury (1508), who founded the
The Anarchy
The
Queen Elizabeth I
The
Civil War
During the
On 9 November 1644 King Charles and the Royalist Army relieved Donnington Castle in the face of the Army of the Eastern Association led by the Earl of Manchester and Oliver Cromwell. Thereafter he withdrew to Lambourn and stayed in "The King's Chamber" at Kingswood House, while the Royalist infantry were quartered in Lambourn and the cavalry at Wantage. The Parliamentarian Scoutmaster Sir Samuel Luke reported "Monday. 11 November 1644. The last night the King's headquarters were at Wantage and Lamborne ... all the foot that which lay at Lamborne marcht away this morning towards Auborne".[n 2][13]
The Luddites and Captain Swing
There were
World War II plane crash
On 8 September 1944 a stricken
1953 lorry crash
On Tuesday 13 April 1953 an
1971 lurcher show
The first
1991 motorway crash
At 14:15 hours on Wednesday 13 March 1991 there was a
These were followed by articulated lorries, one of which jack-knifed sideways across all three lanes of the motorway. One driver, Alan Bateman, managed to free himself from his car and ran back down the central reservation to warn others, but was ignored and was even hooted at by some drivers as they continued towards the crash.[19] The crash included 51 vehicles and lasted 19 seconds, car fuel was ignited along with the combustible material being carried in one of the vans and the eastbound motorway was closed for four days as the melted wreckage was cut away and the tarmac replaced.
Ten people were killed and twenty-five were injured, and there were three minor crashes caused by distracted drivers on the other side of the motorway. In
Governance
The civil parish of Lambourn has a population of 4,103. Besides Lambourn itself, it comprises the villages of
Geography
Lambourn covers most of the upper valley of the
Lambourn Downs
They heard of the Great Barrows, and the green mounds, and the stone-rings upon the hills and in the hollows among the hills. Sheep were bleating in flocks. Green walls and white walls rose. There were fortresses on the heights. Kings of little kingdoms fought together, and the young Sun shone like fire on the red metal of their new and greedy swords. There was victory and defeat; and towers fell, fortresses were burned, and flames went up into the sky. Gold was piled on the biers of dead kings and queens; and mounds covered them, and the stone doors were shut; and the grass grew over all. Sheep walked for a while biting the grass, but soon the hills were empty again.
The Lambourn Downs (an area of the Berkshire Downs) are part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and cover an area of 231 square miles (600 km2),[24] from the Ridgeway in the north to the River Kennet in the south. Originally they were entirely in Berkshire, but northern third of the downs were transferred to Oxfordshire when the county border was reorganised in 1974. Due to the poor, chalky soil, the downs could not be used for growing crops until the advent of modern fertilisers. Consequently, the high ground was only used for breeding sheep – hence the name of Lambourn – and horses.
The Oxford don and author J. R. R. Tolkien lived nearby and travelled to the downs with his family and friends. He was impressed by the downs with their sarsen stones,
Transport
Road
Lambourn lies on the crossroads of the
Rail
In 1898 the
Economy
Lambourn and the surrounding downland is best known today as a major horse racing centre, mainly National Hunt. Many villagers' work is related to horse racing, but there are an increasing number of commuters who use the M4, including many airline pilots based at Heathrow. The United Kingdom's last makers of dress and day cravats were based in Lambourn until they closed in 2006.[citation needed] Lambourn Racehorse Transport was founded in the village in 1930 and transports many of the local horses, especially since the closure of the Lambourn Valley Railway in 1964. It is owned by Merrick Francis, the son of Dick Francis, and is the largest horse transport business in Europe.[27][28] Sheepdrove Organic Farm is based near Lambourn.
Horse racing
Lambourn is a unique town as almost everyone is involved in horse racing – from top trainers such as Mick Channon, Charlie Mann and Henrietta Knight through to the saddlers and stable lads and lasses.
The racing connection began in the 18th century, when the Earl of Craven held racing meetings on Weathercock Hill near Ashdown House. There were regular race meetings on the Lambourn Downs and private race meetings can be held[citation needed] on Mandown between Upper Lambourn and Seven Barrows. In the 1840s some owners moved their racehorses to Lambourn as the ground at Newmarket was too firm and caused many horses to break down.[30] The first trainers were Edwin Parr, Joseph Saxon, John Prince, Luke Snowden (one of the few trainers to be buried at St Michaels graveyard) and John Drinkald, who went insane when his horse was disqualified after winning a race in which he stood to win £28,000.[31][32]
The first stables were at the Red Lion Inn on the crossroads opposite the church (the inn has since been converted into flats), and at Lambourn Stables, now called Kingswood House Stables. The well drained, spongy grass, open downs and long flats made Lambourn ideal for training racehorses and it became a fashionable training centre.
It was not until the Lambourn Valley Railway was built in 1898 that Lambourn grew into its present size. Until then horses could only attend local meets, or had to walk the 10–15 miles to the railway at Newbury. Horses could now be transported to Newbury and from there to meetings all over the country, and many new stables were opened in the area. Over 1,500 horses are now stabled in and around Lambourn – second only to Newmarket. There are many major stables and varied turf and all-weather gallops in and around the village. It has two fully licensed equine swimming pools and the Ridgeway Veterinary Group Valley Equine Hospital. As a result, it has been dubbed the "Valley of the Racehorse", and this is displayed on the road signs leading into the village.[35]
In 2006 the Jockey Club Estates Ltd bought 500 acres (2.0 km2) of land in the valley, its first investment outside Newmarket, including Mandown and many other gallops and training grounds[36] The Oaksey House rehabilitation centre for injured jockeys was built in Lambourn in 2008, named after Lord Oaksey, the President of the Injured Jockeys Fund.[37] In 2013, Mehmet Kurt, the owner of the Kingwood Stud in Lambourn, received permission to build a 1.5 km (0.93 mi) long horse training monorail, the first in the country.[38]
Some Lambourn Derby winners
- Steve Donoghue on Pommern in 1914, trained by Charles Peck at Sefton Lodge
- Harry Wragg on Felstead in 1928, trained by "Ossie" Bell at Delamere Stables
- Pat Eddery on Grundy in 1975, trained by Peter Walwyn at Seven Barrows House
- Kingwood House Stables
Some Lambourn Grand National winners
- Pat Buckley on Ayala in 1963, trained by Keith Piggott at South Bank
- Willie Robinson on Team Spirit in 1964, trained by Fulke Walwyn at Saxon House
- Tommy Smith on Jay Trump in 1965, trained by Fred Winterat Uplands Stables
- Tim Norman on Anglo in 1966, trained by Fred Winterat Uplands Stables
- Ben de Haan on Corbiere in 1983, trained by Jenny Pitman at Weathercock House
- Marcus Armytage on Mr Frisk, in 1990, trained by Kim Bailey at Old Manor Stables
- Carl Llewellyn on Party Politics in 1992, trained by Nick Gaselee at Saxon Cottage Stables
- John White on Esha Ness, in the void 1993 Grand National, trained by Jenny Pitman at Weathercock House
- Jason Titley on Royal Athlete in 1995, trained by Jenny Pitman at Weathercock House
- Leighton Aspell on Many Clouds in 2015, trained by Oliver Sherwood at Rhonehurst
Notable stables[39]
- Kingwood House Stables
- Seven Barrows House
In popular culture
Poetry
Lambourn is mentioned in the poetry of
Fiction
- Colin Dexter, The Daughters of Cain (1994), one of the suspects is Ashley Davies, a racehorse owner who has his horses at Seven Barrows in Upper Lambourn.
- urban myth.
- St Michaels Church.[40]
- Dick Francis and Felix Francis, Silks (2008); the lawyer and amateur jockey Geoffrey Mason investigates a murder in Lambourn.
- Ben Osborne, The Hyperion Legacy (2008) and The Rule of Lazari (2009); the jockey Danny Rawlings is based at Millhouse Stables in Lambourn.
- Patrick Robinson, To The Death (2008); the terrorist General Ravi Rashood drives to Lambourn for target practice in preparation for assassinating the President of the United States.
Television
- The Daughters of Cain Lewis is sent to interview the suspect Ashley Davies at Seven Barrows, which was filmed on Mandown.
- Race Country by Clare Balding, which documents the everyday life of 'The Valley of the Racehorse' and the day-to-day running of some of the country's top stables.[citation needed]
Notable residents
- Frederick Bates, batsman for Hampshire County Cricket Club in the 1920s
- Noel Chance, racehorse trainer
- Charles Chenery, 19th century footballer and cricketer
- Dick Francis, jockey and best-selling author[n 3][40]
- John Francome, jockey, horseracing presenter and best-selling author
- Chris Gent, former CEO and chairman of Vodafone
- Nicky Henderson, jockey and racehorse trainer
- Charlie Mann, ex jockey and racehorse trainer.
- Dick Hern, jockey and trainer of the Derby winners Troy (1979), Henbit (1980) and Nashwan (1989)
- Barry Hills, ex-jockey and racehorse trainer
- George Clement Martin, composer and organist of St Paul's Cathedral
- Tony McCoy, jockey and winner of the 2010 Grand National on Don't Push It
- Patrick Macnee, actor, who lived in College House with his father Major Daniel "Shrimp" Macnee, a jockey and racehorse trainer, and his mother Dorothea Macnee
- Lester Piggott, jockey and racehorse trainer who rode the first of his record nine Derby winners Never Say Die (1954) while living with his father Keith Piggott in Lambourn
- Cozy Powell, rock drummer who died in a car crash when driving to Bristol from his home in Lambourn.
- Jenny Pitman, author and trainer of the Grand National winners Corbiere (1983) and Royal Athlete (1995)
- Thomas Richard Quinn, jockey
- Joshua Sylvester, poet who influenced John Milton
- Fulke Walwyn racehorse trainer and winning jockey of the 1936 Grand National on Reynoldstown
- Peter Walwyn, cousin of Fulke Walwyn and trainer of the 1975 Derby winner Grundy
- Frederick Thomas Winter, winner of the Grand National on Sundew (1957) and Kilmore (1962) as a jockey and with Jay Trump(1965) and Anglo (1966) as a trainer
Local institutions
- St. Michael and All Angels (Church of England)
- Sacred Heart Roman CatholicChurch
- Lambourn Methodist Chapel
- Almshouses(1501)
- Hardrett's Almshouses (1625)
- Lambourn Valley Housing Trust is a registered charity, which raises money to provide homes for both retired and working stable staff.
Sport and leisure
- Football club Lambourn Sports F.C. play at Lambourn Sports Club[41]
- Lambourn Sports Club [n 4]: a members' sports and social club with a large function hall[42]
- Lambourn Centre with a gym, sports hall and sauna
- Sports field with skatepark
- Bowls club with bowling green
- Library
- Pubs, both which serve food
- Lambourn Allotment Society
- Lambourn Chimers (local hand bell ringing group)
- Lambourn Theatre Group
- Lambourn Vintage Machinery Society
- Lambourn WI
- Lambourn Air Rifle Club
- Lambourn Carnival with events including a horse show, and a procession of floats through the village
- Shefford Young Farmers Club[43]
- Lambourn has a local nature reserve on its borders called Watts Bank.[44]
Demography
Output area | Population | Homes | Owned outright | Owned with a loan | Socially rented | Privately rented | Other | km2 identified in 2005 Survey | km2 Greenspace[n 5] | km2 gardens | km2 road[1] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lambourn (civil parish) | 4103 | 1783 | 490 | 546 | 390 | 261 | 86 | 59.6 | 56.9 | 0.9 | 0.8 |
Nearest places
Notes
References
- ^ a b c "Lambourn (Parish, United Kingdom)". City population. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
- ^ p287, A.D. Mills, A Dictionary of British Place-Names, OUP Oxford, 2003
- ^ "A History of the World – Object : The Crow Down Hoard". BBC. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ^ "2004 Treasure text" The National Archives. Retrieved 2014-12-3
- ^ p65, John North, Stonehenge: A New Interpretation of Prehistoric Man and the Cosmos , The Free Press, 2007
- ^ p18, W G Hammond & C Scull, J.R.R. Tolkien Artist & Illustrator, Harper Collins, 1998
- ISBN 0-141-01126-2.
- ^ p249, David Dean, Law-Making and Society in Late Elizabethan England: The Parliament of England, 1584–1601, Cambridge University Press, 2002
- ^ Historic England (6 February 1962). "Church of St Michael and All Angels (Grade I) (1113695)". National Heritage List for England.
- ^ pp123-124, Marjorie Chibnall, The Empress Matilda: Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English, Wiley-Blackwell, 1993
- ^ pp210-211, J. A. Everard, Brittany and the Angevins: Province and Empire 1158–1203, Cambridge University Press, 2000
- ^ p118, Graeme J. White, Restoration and Reform, 1153–1165: Recovery from Civil War in England, Cambridge University Press, 2000
- ^ a b c p25, Walter Money FSA, The First and Second Battles of Newbury and the Siege of Donnington Castle During the Civil War, AD 1643-6, The Naval and Military Press, 1881
- ^ p245, Adrian Randall, The Moral Economy and Popular Protest: Crowds, Conflict and Authority, Palgrave Macmillan, 1999
- ^ pp139-140, Eric Hobsbawm and George Rude, Captain Swing, Phoenix, 2001
- ^ "Ramsbury at War". Ramsbury at War. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ^ "Tanker Crash April 1953". Lambourn.info. 13 April 1953. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ^ p75, David Alderton, Hounds of the World, Swan Hill Press, 2000
- ^ "HTB's one year bible". Archived from the original on 9 November 2009.
- ^ "Accident (M4)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 14 March 1991. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ^ "Lambourn – at the heart of the valley of the racehorse". lambourn.info. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
- ^ "Council". lambourn.info. Archived from the original on 16 March 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
- ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2008.
- ^ "Lambourn Downs". English Heritage. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ^ "Tolkien Art" Verizon.net blog.[dead link]
- ^ p27, The Reader's Digest Complete Atlas of the British Isles, The Reader's Digest Association, 1965
- ^ Armytage, Marcus (1 October 2008). "Dick Francis' son Merrick downsizing from his lucky Lambourn yard". The Daily Telegraph. London.
- ^ "Lambourn Racehorse Transport Ltd – L R T, Racehorse Transport Service, Berkshire, UK". Directoryoftheturf.com. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ^ ""Race Country" google image result". Google.co.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ^ "Training winners". Ridgewayfriends.org.uk. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ^ p44, David Boyd, A Bibliographical Dictionary of Racehorse Trainers in Berkshire 1850–1939 (1998)
- ^ a b Spackman, Eddie (30 June 2002). "BerksFHS Family Historian Jun 2002 – The sport of Kings (and Queens) by David Boyd". Berksfhs.org.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ^ "Historic Photos of Racing". Lambourn.info. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ^ "Lambourn Place". lambourn.org. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
- ^ "Lambourn – Valley of the Racehorse – Official Website". Lambourn.info. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ^ Gallops and Training Grounds Jockey Club estates. Retrieved 2014-12-3
- ^ "Oaksey House". The Injured Jockeys Fund. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
- ^ Garvey, John (9 February 2013). "monorail gets green light". Newbury Weekly News. Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- ^ "Racehorse Trainers in Hungerford, Berkshire – Thoroughbred Horse Racing, Racehorses, Breeding & Bloodstock". Directoryoftheturf.com. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ^ a b "Dick Francis". The Daily Telegraph. London. 14 February 2010.
- ^ "Lambourn Sports FC". Lambourn Sports FC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ "Lambourn Sports Club". lambourn.info. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
- ^ "Shefford Young Farmers Club". Shefford Young Farmers Club. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
- ^ "Watts Bank". Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
Sources & Further Reading
- Vic Cox, Vic: Lambeth to Lambourn (2001) – the memoirs of Lambeth boy whose family came from Lambourn and returned there once the London bombing began, Vic served overseas during WWII and returned to Lambourn at the end of the war and remained there until his death in 2003.
- Jennifer Davies, Tales of the Old Horsemen (2006)
- John Footman, History of the Parish Church of Saint Michael and All Angels, Chipping Lambourn (2009)
- Dick Francis. A Jockey's Life: The Biography of Lester Piggott (1986)
- Bryony Fuller, Fulke Walwyn: A Pictorial Tribute (1990)
- Alan Lee, Lambourn – A Village of Racing (1982)
- Vic Mitchell, Kevin Smith and Kevin Robertson, Branch Lines to Lambourn (2001)
- Robin Oakley, Valley of the Racehorse: A Year in the Life of Lambourn (2000)
- Page, William; Ditchfield, P.H., eds. (1907). Victoria County History: A History of the County of Berkshire, Volume 2. Archibald Constable & Co. p. 95.
- Lambourn Page, William; Ditchfield, P.H., eds. (1924). Victoria County History: A History of the County of Berkshire, Volume 4. pp. 251–266.
- The Buildings of England: Berkshire. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 163–166.
- Lester Piggott, Lester: The Autobiography of Lester Piggott (1995)
- Jenny Pitman, Jenny Pitman, The Autobiography (1999)
- Martin Randall Connop Price, Lambourn Valley Railway (1964); idem. With plates (Locomotion papers. no. 32.) (1966)
- Bridget Rennison, A Short Guide to the Parish Church of Saint Michael and All Angels Lambourn (1971)
- Kevin Robertson and Roger Simmonds, Illustrated History of the Lambourn Branch (1984)
- T. K. Robertson, A. S. Robertson and D. A. Gray, Water Supply Papers of the Institute of Geological Sciences: Research Report No. 5: Borehole Logging Investigations in the Chalk of the Lambourn and Winterbourne Valleys' of Berkshire (1971)
- Rogers, Joseph (2016). A Spectrum of Settlements pp. 21 – 26
- Julie Shuttleworth, Social and economic change in Lambourn Hundred, 1522–1663 (1998)
- R. Smith, The Seven Barrows at Lambourn (1921)
- Stephen Sugden, A Dick Francis Companion: Characters, Horses, Plots, Settings and Themes (2008)
- Peter Walwyn, Handy All the Way: A Trainer's Life (2000)