Beenham is a village and civil parish centred 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Newbury in the West Berkshire district of Berkshire, England.
| Beenham | |
|---|---|
 Picklepythe Lane | |
  Beenham Location within Berkshire | |
| Area | 8.05 km2 (3.11 sq mi) |
| Population | 459 (2011 census)[1] |
| • Density | 57/km2 (150/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | SU5868 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Reading |
| Postcode district | RG7 |
| Dialling code | 0118 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Royal Berkshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| Website | Beenham Online |
Geography edit
Beenham is 2 mi (3.2 km) north of Aldermaston. The Old Copse is a woodland within the village that is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.[2]
History edit
Church history edit
The history of the Church of England parish church of Saint Mary begins in about the end of the 12th century.[3] An old print of the original building shows that it had some 13th century lancet windows and a 16th-century window.[3] In 1794 the church was struck by lightning and burnt down[4] and was replaced with a Georgian building of brick.[3][4] In 1859 the nave was demolished and replaced by one in the Gothic Revival style[3] designed by the architect Henry Woodyer.[4] The 1794 brick bell tower was retained and has a peal of six bells.[3] The church is a Grade II* listed building.[5]
19th century summary edit
The following is an extract from the 1870s gazetteer of the British Isles.
"Beenham, or Beenham-Vallence, a parish...adjacent to the Kennet and Avon canal and to the Berks and Hants Railway, 1 ¼. mile N of Aldermaston station, and 8½ WSW of Reading. It has a post office...Acres, 1,890. Real property, £2,548. Pop., 505. Houses, 105. The property is much subdivided. Beenham House and Beenham Lodge are chief residences. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Oxford. Value, £250. Patron, Mrs. Bushnell. The church was chiefly rebuilt in 1860. There are a Primitive Methodist chapel and a National School. Stackhouse, the author of the "History of the Bible," was [its] vicar."[6]
However, the suffix, Valence, is erroneous and was mistakenly transferred from the manor surrounding Benham Park.[citation needed]
1960s murderer edit
In October 1966 children's nanny Yolande Waddington, age 17, was found dead having been stabbed and strangled in Beenham. Less than six months later, two nine-year-old girls, Jeanette Wigmore and Jacqueline Williams, were found murdered at a local gravel pit. David Burgess, of Beenham, was jailed for life in 1967 for the murder of the two girls and spent more than 25 years behind bars. Waddington's killer was not identified at the time. Burgess subsequently admitted to the crime but challenged the police to "prove it". Following advances in DNA profiling, in November 2011 the 64-year-old Burgess was re-arrested, and subsequently tried and convicted of her murder. He received his third life sentence with a minimum term of 27 years.[7][8][9]
Amenities edit
Beenham has a primary school catering for approximately 100 pupils aged 4 to 11.[10][11] There is one pub in the village, the Six Bells. The UK Wolf Conservation Trust is based at Butlers Farm, Beenham, the wolves can be heard howling within a three-mile radius.[12]
Transport edit
Bus routes 41 and 44 connect the village with Thatcham and Calcot.
Demography edit
| Output area | Homes owned outright | Owned with a loan | Socially rented | Privately rented | Other | km2 roads | km2 water | km2 domestic gardens | Usual residents | km2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civil parish | 51 | 47 | 48 | 33 | 4 | 0.08 | 0.0001 | 0.13 | 459 | 8.05 |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b "Key Statistics: Dwellings; Quick Statistics: Population Density; Physical Environment: Land Use Survey 2005". Archived from the original on 11 February 2003. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
- ^ "Beenham online Beenham Village Design Statement". Beenhamonline.org. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Page & Ditchfield, 1923, pages 277-279
- ^ a b c Pevsner, 1966, page 85
- ^ Historic England (14 April 1967). "Church of Saint Mary (Grade II*) (1303517)". National Heritage List for England.
- ^ Imperial Gazetteer of Britain John Marius Wilson (1870-72). (University of Portsmouth visionofbritain.org.uk website). Retrieved 2014-12-03
- ^ "Yolande Waddington: David Burgess guilty of nanny's murder". BBC News. 20 July 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
- ^ "David Burgess jailed for 27 years for 1966 murder of Yolande Waddington". Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ "Soham echoes of Beenham murders". Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ Beenham Primary School
- ^ "Establishment: Beenham Primary School". Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ^ "Wolf project is a howling success". Archived from the original on 17 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
Sources edit
- Page, William; Ditchfield, P.H., eds. (1923). Victoria County History: A History of the County of Berkshire, Volume 3. pp. 277–279.
- Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966). The Buildings of England: Berkshire. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 85–86.
External links edit
Media related to Beenham at Wikimedia Commons