Basildon, Berkshire

Basildon, Berkshire

Coordinates: 51°29′49″N 1°08′13″W / 51.496973°N 1.136999°W / 51.496973; -1.136999

Basildon is a civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It comprises the small villages of Upper Basildon and Lower Basildon, named for their respective heights above the River Thames. Basildon is 7 miles (11 km) from Reading, 47 miles (76 km) from London and 20 miles (32 km) from Oxford.

The parish is bordered to the north by the River Thames and the Oxfordshire parishes of Goring and Whitchurch-on-Thames on the other side of the river. To the south of the river it is bordered by the parishes of Pangbourne, Bradfield, Ashampstead and Streatley.

The parish forms part of the unitary authority of West Berkshire. It is within the Newbury parliamentary constituency.

The National Trust property of Basildon Park, built by John Carr of York between 1777 and 1783 for Sir Francis Sykes, one of the East India nabobs, is situated between Lower Basildon and Upper Basildon.

Beale Wildlife Park and Gardens is located between Basildon Park and the River Thames.

The parish has two churches. The Grade I listed St Bartholomew's Church in Lower Basildon dates from the 13th Century and is now owned and maintained by the Churches Conservation Trust. The churchyard is notable as the resting place of Jethro Tull, the 18th century agriculturalist, whose modern gravestone can be seen there. St. Stephen’s in Upper Basildon was built in 1965. This replaced the temporary place of worship, located on the corner of Bethesda Street and Blandy’s Lane, which was built in 1895.

The parish has three public houses. In Upper Basildon, the Red Lion and the Beehive each offer fine pub food in addition to local beers. The Tamarind Tree in Lower Basildon specialises in Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine.

Basildon Primary School, founded in 1875, is located in Upper Basildon and provides education for about 140 children. Secondary education is provided primarily by Theale Green School, 6 miles away in Theale, although an increasing number of parents are choosing the provision offered by local independent schools such as Bradfield, and St Andrew's.

A Theale and The Downs bus service runs through the parish.