Civil parish Hermitage Sovereign state United Kingdom Area 6.36 km² Local time Friday 9:52 AM | Post town NEWBURY Population 1,154 (2001) Dialling code 01635 | |
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Weather 9°C, Wind SE at 13 km/h, 94% Humidity | ||
Hermitage is a village and civil parish, near to Newbury, in the English county of Berkshire. The civil parish is made up of a number of settlements: Hermitage village, Little Hungerford and Wellhouse.
Contents
Map of Hermitage, UK
Location
The village is focussed residentially on the B4009, 5 miles (8.0 km) north east of Newbury in the heart of the North Wessex Downs, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is thus surrounded by protected woodlands and undulating fields providing a few elevated viewpoints.
Roads
Access to the M4 is within 5 miles, which links Wales to London, and the A34 passes through the edge of the parish, a main transport artery from the north to the south of the United Kingdom.
Public transport
From 1882 until the 1960s the village had a minor halt station. The station was erected by the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway, also the name of its line. As of 18 February 2013, Hermitage is served by buses 6 and 6A from Newbury.
Amenities
It has a general store and post office, a butcher, a church (Holy Trinity) and two public houses (The Fox and The White Horse of Hermitage). There is a large garden centre with a cafe, bonsai shop, pool & spa concession and lawnmower centre. The village primary school feeds into the Downs School. The area is predominantly agricultural and the main local employers are the village school, village pre-school, the garden centre and a small light industrial unit housing several small businesses. In addition, there is the Royal School of Military Survey at Denison Barracks housing a small garrison of troops and their families. However, though generally referred to as being in Hermitage, it is actually just across the border in the Curridge area of Chieveley parish.
History
On Oare Common are two curvilinear ditched enclosures which are probably of prehistoric date, although it has also been suggests that they may represent a motte and bailey castle. The hill fort of Grimsbury Castle is in Grimsbury Wood. A folly stands at its centre. A 2nd and 3rd century Roman villa of some pretentions was discovered at Wellhouse in Victorian times. Between 1917 and 1918 D. H. Lawrence lived in Hermitage.
Housing expansion
Three early 21st century housing areas were completed in the north and south. These include Forest Edge and Hermitage Green.