Aldermaston

Aldermaston ( /ˈɔːldərmɑːstən/) is a rural village, civil parish and electoral ward in Berkshire, South-East England. In the 2001 United Kingdom Census, the parish had a population of 927. The village is on the southern edge of the River Kennet flood plain, near the Hampshire county boundary. It is roughly equidistant from Newbury, Basingstoke and Reading and 45 miles (72 km) west of London.

Aldermaston may have been inhabited as early as 1690 BC; a number of postholes and remains of cereal grains have been found in the area. Written history of the village is traced back at least as far as the 9th century AD. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles show that the Ealdorman of Berkshire had his country estate in the village. The manor of Aldermaston was established by the early 11th century, when the village was given to the Achard family by Henry I; the manor is documented in the Domesday survey. The village church was established in the 13th century, and some of the original Norman architecture remains in the building's structure. The last resident Lord of the Manor, Charles Keyser, died in 1929. The manor estate has been subsequently occupied by Associated Electrical Industries, the XIX Tactical Air Command, the Women's Land Army, Collier Macmillan Schools, and Blue Circle Industries. The manor house is now run as a private corporate venue by the Compass Group.

The name "Aldermaston" is well known in connection with the UK's nuclear weapons programme, as well as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), which develops, maintains, and disposes of the UK's nuclear weaponry is in the parish. Built on the site of the former RAF Aldermaston, the plant has been the destination of numerous Aldermaston Marches. Until 2006, the village was home to the Aldermaston Pottery, which was established by Alan Caiger-Smith and Geoffrey Eastop in 1955.