Next meeting Feb 28th 7:30 pm


The history group will hold it's next meeting on February 28th at  the Inkpen playing field pavilion at 7:30 pm. All comers are very welcome, do come and join us. There's plenty of parking space and there will be refreshments during the meeting. To help us cover the cost of the hire of the pavilion etc. we ask for a donation of £3 per person on entry. It's well worth it.

At the meeting there will be a presentation about newspaper clips from the last couple of hundred years and the amazing stories behind the clips. The presentation will be given by Stephen Smallbone, and it's going to be a great night out so come and join us.

Also, we have just launched our new website in beta form at history.inkpenvillage.co.uk. Please take a look and let us know what you think. This new version is the result of residents input during the early part of 2024 - I hope you like it and find it easy to use.

In the mean time, if you live in Inkpen, help us with our project to measure your oak trees in Inkpen. This will only take a couple of minutes of your time and it’s a very simple thing to do. First, you need a flexible tape measure (preferably fabric) and someone to hold the other end of the tape. The procedure is shown in https://inkpenhistory.uk/Estimating Age of Oaks.pdf and there’s a video of how to do this on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZbhOQYsgxw&list=PLbKmvYI09zixa3G1vLMXHHICjoSTABVJs&index=3.

If you go onto private land to do this, please ask the landowner’s permission first. Once you’ve measured the circumference of the oak tree, please write it down. Now I need to know the location of the tree either as a description involving a place/house name or preferably in terms of a GPS, longitude and latitude.

If you have an android phone, then I suggest you use the ‘My GPS Location’ app. For an iPhone, please use ‘My GPS Coordinates.’ They are free apps. If you are going to record the GPS coordinates, please stand by the tree and record the longitude and latitude. Just email the oak tree’s position and its circumference to trees@inkpenhistory.uk. A big thank you to you for your help in doing this. Inkpen History Group.

Ancient remains

Beautiful and amazing neolithic cooking and water vessel finds come from a nearby dried up brook off Inkpen's Craven Road. Several Mesolithic, Iron age and Saxon finds have also been made.

Walbury Hill Fort

The iron age hill fort is the highest point in the south of England offering spectacular views. It is a well known landmark for walkers, a viewing point for the night sky and a source of wonder for naturalists. On the adjacent hill lies an ancient long-barrow.

Roman Occupation

Finds from an Inkpen field suggest that there was at least one Roman dwelling in Inkpen, and it was a dwelling with a hypocaust. Various Roman finds have been made including these distinctive fragments of a flue.

Medieval Finds

To date, we have many medieval finds from ampules and a purse bar, to bricks floor and roof tiles. The Ampule was used during the crusades to bring holy water from the Holy Lands. This one is from Jerusalem and was found in Inkpen.

St Michael's Church

Is a 13th century church thought to occupy the site of a much earlier wooden church. It attracts visitors from all over the world.

Inkpen in film

Inkpen featured in the John Schlesinger film, "The Black Legend". It's a film which portrays a double hanging during the late 17th century. A double gibbet still marks the spot on Combe Hill. The film has been reworked to bring it to a high definition standard, with narration by Robert Hardy, one of Britain's most successful character actors. A copy of the film is lodged with the British Film Institute (BFI) and showings of the film still draws crowded audiences as it offers a glimpse of Inkpen's sometimes troubled past.




AND IN RHYME

An ode from 1967 giving a feel of life for some, and focussing on the bygone years of 'Windrush', a large and staffed house at the intersection of Folly Road and Post Office Road, close to the site of the Olive Branch public house. The poem is written by Richard Alexander Usborne and accessible here.


  • Maps

    Maps give us the best understanding of how Inkpen has changed. Tithe maps tell us who lived where and who owned what. We include a few here.

  • Grave records

    3 graveyards have been catalogued and headstone inscriptions are also included. These have been extensively accessed for family tree research.

  • WW1 and ww2

    A list of casualties for those from Inkpen and Kintbury are provided. As much additional information as can be gathered is also given.

  • 1975 recordings

    In 1975 Inkpen produced an audio record of its memorable past. This is in the form of 13 separate audio tracks. You might need headphones.

  • a victorian view

    This mostly relates to St. Michael's church which underwent a substantial makeover at that time. Before and after pictures are provided.

  • scrapbook

    Scrapbooks from the WI, Press clips and other linked content form a time capsule of Inkpen's recent past giving us a vivid insight into our local predecessors.

Always on the look-out

If you have an interest in Inkpen's history, photos or anecdotes, please get in touch. Email us at: david@inkpenhistory.uk