Great Shefford
Coordinates: 51°28′30″N 1°26′53″W / 51.475°N 1.448°W
| Great Shefford | |
 St Mary's Parish Church |
|
 Great Shefford
Great Shefford shown within Berkshire |
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| Population | 896 (2001) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SU3875 |
| Civil parish | Great Shefford |
| Unitary authority | West Berkshire |
| Ceremonial county | Berkshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Newbury |
| Postcode district | RG17 |
| Dialling code | 01488 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Royal Berkshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Newbury |
| List of places: UK • England • Berkshire | |
Great Shefford (or West Shefford) is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire.
[edit] Topography and history
The parish is in the district of West Berkshire, on the River Lambourn. The modern civil parish includes the historical parish of Little or East Shefford, a small hamlet and lost settlement downstream.[1] The tiny Church of St Thomas there contains important monuments to the widespread Fettiplace family. The parish also includes the village of Shefford Woodlands, about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south of Great Shefford and close to M4 junction 14.
The toponym of both Sheffords is derived from the Old English for "sheep ford". Great Shefford village has a public house, school, shop and petrol station, and 896 inhabitants (880 listed on the Millennium Stone opposite the petrol station).[2]
The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary is one of two existing round-tower churches in Berkshire. The other one is at St Gregory's parish church at nearby Welford. Unlike the three round-towered churches in Sussex, where the towers are plain flint cylinders with few openings, the tower at Great Shefford is built up of sections with ample fenestration, more like the East Anglian type. The base of the tower at least seems to date from the 13th century, and it joins the west wall of the nave in such a way that suggests it was constructed at the same time as the nave, which shows early gothic features.
[edit] References
- ^ Ford, David Nash. "Royal Berkshire History". East Shefford St. Thomas' Church. http://www.berkshirehistory.com/churches/eastshefford.html. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
- ^ "Area selected: West Berkshire (Unitary Aurhority)". Neighbourhood Statistics: Full Dataset View. Office for National Statistics. http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=4&containerAreaId=790310. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Great Shefford |
- Welcome to Great Shefford
- Royal Berkshire History: West Shefford
- Great Shefford Observatory
- Shefford Young Farmers Club
- Website with photos of Great Shefford St. Mary, a Round-tower church
http://villageshopgreatshefford.co.uk
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