Winterbourne, Berkshire

Winterbourne is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, located at gbmapping|SU455720.

Local government

Winterbourne is a civil parish with a parish council. It is also part of the district administered by the unitary authority of West Berkshire. Each council is responsible for different aspects of local government.

History

Winterbourne and the surrounding area had an eventful Civil War. Donnington Castle was remodelled by cannon and two battles were fought nearby. On 26 October 1644, Cromwell stayed the night in the Blue Boar public house in the north of the parish and his forces camped at North Heath. In July that year, his forces had taken on Prince Rupert and company at Ripley in Yorkshire, during which successful (for the Parliamentarians) skirmish, they liberated a statue of a wild boar that Lord Ingleby had brought back from Italy as one of a pair. The other remains in Ripley Castle. In the 17th century's equivalent of the dash for the 7.48 from Newbury, the blue boar was left behind at the pub. The pub has become a successful hotel and changed to 'The Crab'. The owners used to run the famous Crab and Lobster near Harrogate before moving south.

One history reports that in the Autumn of 1644 a maiden of Bussock House in the very east of the parish - the daughter of Philip Weston, a Royalist - fell for a Parliamentarian officer. Father and lover went into the Second Battle of Newbury, agreeing before departure that news was to be returned of their fate through trumpet blasts. One was to signal that Philip had been killed; two that the lover was no more; three that both had died. The maid waited by her window. Upon hearing three blasts, she threw herself into a well in despair. Her ghost, apparently, haunts it still.

References

*Much of the text for this page was originally taken, with permission, from [http://www.chieveley.info www.chieveley.info] .