Inkpen
Encyclopedia
Inkpen is a village
and civil parish in West Berkshire
about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) southeast of Hungerford
, close to the county boundaries with Wiltshire
and Hampshire
.
s, the Crown & Garter and the Swan Inn. Both are hotels and have restaurants, and the Swan Inn also has an organic food shop. The village has also a monthly farmers' market
.
There is a village hall. Inkpen County Primary School has about sixty pupils.
The highest point in the South East England
, Walbury Hill
, is situated half within the parish, only 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of the village, within the North Wessex Downs area of outstanding natural beauty
. At its summit, 974 feet (296.9 m) above sea-level, is Walbury Camp Iron Age
hill fort
, the start of both the Test Way
and the Wayfarers Walk
. On the adjacent Gallows Down, but just within Combe parish
, are Combe Gibbet
and the incorrectly named Inkpen Long Barrow. Up on the Down, skylark
s may often be heard and hang gliders and paragliders seen circling above the landscape.
As of March 2009, Willow Farm (51°22′44.18"N 1°27′21"W) had a 60 feet (18.3 m) penis painted on the roof.
, one of the first landscapes to reappear in Britain when the last Ice Age
receded at least 10,000 years ago. The ice left the deposits of heavy clay soil found in Inkpen that give rise to the boggy lowland areas. From the Downs, pockets of ancient woodland scattered in and around Inkpen may still be seen today.
The earliest sign of habitation in Inkpen dates to the Mesolithic period between 10,000 to 5500 BC. Only one artefact has been uncovered, to the west of the gibbet, but even this helps confirm the traditional view of small groups of Mesolithic people following established cyclic seasonal trails through the forested countryside, often along hilltops. They may have attempted to manipulate resources through forest clearance.
There were people living on the Downs of Inkpen some 5,000 years ago Intact pots by the Beaker People have been unearthed at the Hungerford
end of Craven Road in Inkpen, opposite Colnbrook Copse, as well as on the Downs. They show skill and artistic design and now reside in the West Berkshire Museum
. Early Beaker People flint tools have also been found close to the old saw mills at the end of Folly Road, along with evidence that suggests they were manufactured nearby. The pottery finds at Craven Road were found in a layer of sand close to where an ancient brook known as the Ingeflod would have run. At the bottom of the hill on the Hungerford Road leaving Inkpen, flooding in wet weather, still sometimes re-enacts the meanderings of this river through the fields to the northeast. It seems likely that this fresh water attracted the beaker people to settle and live in their round houses there, using the fertile soil for crops and livestock grazing. Evidence of an ancient field system is certainly still visible not far from the Inkpen Long Barrow.
The West Berkshire Museum has a number of bone tools and a bronze knife found in Inkpen that date from this period. In 1908 trenches dug at Sadler's Farm, the site of a ploughed-out barrow, revealed a large quantity of animal and some human bones, horns and some early
or pre-Romano-British
potsherds. The beaker people buried their dead in simple stone mounds since called round barrow
s, often with a beaker alongside the body. Several of these remain on the hilltop to the west of the Gibbet. Four were explored in 1908 when Neolithic
tools and small urns with burnt human bones, suggesting cremation, were found. Later, in the Bronze Age
, communal long barrow
s were used, like the one under Combe Gibbet.
burial mounds and circles gave way to permanent fields and hill fort
s such as Walbury Camp on Walbury Hill
adjacent to Gallows Down. It was built in around 600 BC and remained in use until about the time the Romans invaded Britain
. The construction of its massive banks and ditches, encircling some 80 acres (32.4 ha), would have been an enormous feat. It would have been defended by a timber fence or palisade
and populated with round houses and maybe pens for livestock. Walbury Camp was built, not only for the protection of the locals from attack by warring groups, but also in response to the increasing importance of the hilltop tracks for trade and the movement of livestock.
activity in Inkpen. Some of the hill trail trade was diverted down to the Ermin Way
and Romanized Brython
s certainly lived in the area. In 1984 archaeological finds were discovered near Lower Green suggesting the presence of a Roman dwelling of some kind, possibly not unlike the Roman villa
s found at nearby Kintbury
and Littlecote
. During building work near Combe in 2003, a Roman burial was also found.
withdrew from Britain in around AD 410 and the settlement of Anglo-Saxons
from Denmark
and Northern Germany
followed soon afterward. At the foot of the Inkpen Beacon is what some believe to be the eastern end of the Wansdyke
, a long ditch and bank (or linear defensive earthwork) built sometime between 400 and 700. Current theory suggests a date around AD 470 when some hill forts were also being refortified by the Romano-Britons. It runs east-west between Inkpen Beacon and Portishead
near Bristol
. Although its eastern end is generally thought to be just south of Marlborough, this small section is named "Wansdyke" on Inkpen's enclosure
award map of 1733. Its construction clearly points to danger from the north, perhaps from the first Saxons of what is now Berkshire, who settled around Abingdon
. Early Saxon coins known as "sceat
tas" have been found on the Downs.
named Wulfgar, whose name means "wolf-spear". Wulfgar owned "land at inche penne" which he "had from Wulfric, who had it from Wulfhere who first owned it", his father and grandfather respectively. Wulfgar left this to be divided amongst named heirs: three quarters to his wife, Aeffe, the other quarter to "the servants of God" at the holy place in Kintbury. Following Aeffe's death, her share was also to go to the holy place at Kintbury "for the souls of Wulfgar, Wulfric and Wulfrere".
The Church of England parish church
of Saint Michael
is 13th century. The east window of the chancel
and west window of the nave
were added in the 15th century.The church was restored
by Clapton Crabb Rolfe in 1896; he added the south porch, south window and north aisle The church's new reredos
, altar tables, Rood
and rood screen, pulpit, lectern and much new seating were carved for Rolfe by Harry Hems of Exeter
.
Near the centre of the village just off Post Office Road is a large field of Mediterranean crocuses, one of only two in the UK. According to the information plaque, the plants are believed to have been brought here by the Knights Templar in the Middle Ages for the production of saffron. It is currently owned by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust
.
The Old Rectory
was built in 1695, Kirby House in 1733 and West Court House in two stages in the 18th century. The Primary School was designed by G.E. Street
and built in 1850.
Inkpen Post Office
closed in the 1980s.
Below is a selection of subsequent spellings of a dictated Inkpen over a period of some three hundred years by various scribes:
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish in West Berkshire
West Berkshire
West Berkshire is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England, governed by a unitary authority . Its administrative capital is Newbury, located almost equidistantly between Bristol and London.-Geography:...
about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) southeast of Hungerford
Hungerford
Hungerford is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, 9 miles west of Newbury. It covers an area of and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 5,559 .- Geography :...
, close to the county boundaries with Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
and Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
.
Amenities and landmarks
Inkpen has two public housePublic house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s, the Crown & Garter and the Swan Inn. Both are hotels and have restaurants, and the Swan Inn also has an organic food shop. The village has also a monthly farmers' market
Farmers' market
A farmers' market consists of individual vendors—mostly farmers—who set up booths, tables or stands, outdoors or indoors, to sell produce, meat products, fruits and sometimes prepared foods and beverages...
.
There is a village hall. Inkpen County Primary School has about sixty pupils.
The highest point in the South East England
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
, Walbury Hill
Walbury Hill
Walbury Hill is the highest point in the traditional county of Berkshire in the UK at above sea level. It is also the highest point in the South East of England, West Berkshire being a constituent part of the South East of England...
, is situated half within the parish, only 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of the village, within the North Wessex Downs area of outstanding natural beauty
North Wessex Downs AONB
The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire...
. At its summit, 974 feet (296.9 m) above sea-level, is Walbury Camp Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
hill fort
Hill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
, the start of both the Test Way
Test Way
The Test Way is a long-distance footpath in England from Walbury Hill in West Berkshire to Eling in Hampshire.The northern end of the footpath starts in the car park on Walbury Hill...
and the Wayfarers Walk
Wayfarers Walk
The Wayfarer's Walk is a long distance footpath in England from Walbury Hill, Berkshire to Emsworth, Hampshire.The footpath can be walked in either direction...
. On the adjacent Gallows Down, but just within Combe parish
Combe, Berkshire
Combe is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It is situated in the district of West Berkshire,on the top of the downs near Walbury Hill and Combe Gibbet, overlooking the village of Inkpen and the valley of the River Kennet...
, are Combe Gibbet
Combe Gibbet
Combe Gibbet is a gibbet at the top of Gallows Down, near the village and just within the civil parish of Combe in Berkshire .-Location:...
and the incorrectly named Inkpen Long Barrow. Up on the Down, skylark
Skylark
The Skylark is a small passerine bird species. This lark breeds across most of Europe and Asia and in the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations are more migratory, moving further south in winter. Even in the milder west of its range,...
s may often be heard and hang gliders and paragliders seen circling above the landscape.
As of March 2009, Willow Farm (51°22′44.18"N 1°27′21"W) had a 60 feet (18.3 m) penis painted on the roof.
Stone Age
The area was part of Savernake ForestSavernake Forest
Savernake Forest is on a Cretaceous chalk plateau between Marlborough and Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire, England. Its area is approximately .It is privately owned by the Trustees of Savernake Estate, the Earl of Cardigan, and his family solicitor. Since 1939 the running of the forest has been...
, one of the first landscapes to reappear in Britain when the last Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
receded at least 10,000 years ago. The ice left the deposits of heavy clay soil found in Inkpen that give rise to the boggy lowland areas. From the Downs, pockets of ancient woodland scattered in and around Inkpen may still be seen today.
The earliest sign of habitation in Inkpen dates to the Mesolithic period between 10,000 to 5500 BC. Only one artefact has been uncovered, to the west of the gibbet, but even this helps confirm the traditional view of small groups of Mesolithic people following established cyclic seasonal trails through the forested countryside, often along hilltops. They may have attempted to manipulate resources through forest clearance.
There were people living on the Downs of Inkpen some 5,000 years ago Intact pots by the Beaker People have been unearthed at the Hungerford
Hungerford
Hungerford is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, 9 miles west of Newbury. It covers an area of and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 5,559 .- Geography :...
end of Craven Road in Inkpen, opposite Colnbrook Copse, as well as on the Downs. They show skill and artistic design and now reside in the West Berkshire Museum
West Berkshire Museum
The West Berkshire Museum is a museum located in Newbury, Berkshire. Established in 1904, the museum houses various artworks and collections. The museum is housed in two of Newbury's most historic buildings. The Cloth Hall was built in 1626-1627 by Richard Emmes, a master carpenter of Speenhamland...
. Early Beaker People flint tools have also been found close to the old saw mills at the end of Folly Road, along with evidence that suggests they were manufactured nearby. The pottery finds at Craven Road were found in a layer of sand close to where an ancient brook known as the Ingeflod would have run. At the bottom of the hill on the Hungerford Road leaving Inkpen, flooding in wet weather, still sometimes re-enacts the meanderings of this river through the fields to the northeast. It seems likely that this fresh water attracted the beaker people to settle and live in their round houses there, using the fertile soil for crops and livestock grazing. Evidence of an ancient field system is certainly still visible not far from the Inkpen Long Barrow.
The West Berkshire Museum has a number of bone tools and a bronze knife found in Inkpen that date from this period. In 1908 trenches dug at Sadler's Farm, the site of a ploughed-out barrow, revealed a large quantity of animal and some human bones, horns and some early
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
or pre-Romano-British
Brython
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
potsherds. The beaker people buried their dead in simple stone mounds since called round barrow
Round barrow
Round barrows are one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe they are found in many parts of the world because of their simple construction and universal purpose....
s, often with a beaker alongside the body. Several of these remain on the hilltop to the west of the Gibbet. Four were explored in 1908 when Neolithic
Neolithic British Isles
The Neolithic British Isles refers to the period of British, Irish and Manx history that spanned from circa 4000 to circa 2,500 BCE. The final part of the Stone Age in the British Isles, it was a part of the greater Neolithic, or "New Stone Age", across Europe.During the preceding Mesolithic...
tools and small urns with burnt human bones, suggesting cremation, were found. Later, in the Bronze Age
Bronze Age Britain
Bronze Age Britain refers to the period of British history that spanned from c. 2,500 until c. 800 BC. Lasting for approximately 1700 years, it was preceded by the era of Neolithic Britain and was in turn followed by the era of Iron Age Britain...
, communal long barrow
Long barrow
A long barrow is a prehistoric monument dating to the early Neolithic period. They are rectangular or trapezoidal tumuli or earth mounds traditionally interpreted as collective tombs...
s were used, like the one under Combe Gibbet.
Iron Age
In the Iron AgeBritish Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
burial mounds and circles gave way to permanent fields and hill fort
Hill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
s such as Walbury Camp on Walbury Hill
Walbury Hill
Walbury Hill is the highest point in the traditional county of Berkshire in the UK at above sea level. It is also the highest point in the South East of England, West Berkshire being a constituent part of the South East of England...
adjacent to Gallows Down. It was built in around 600 BC and remained in use until about the time the Romans invaded Britain
Roman conquest of Britain
The Roman conquest of Britain was a gradual process, beginning effectively in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, whose general Aulus Plautius served as first governor of Britannia. Great Britain had already frequently been the target of invasions, planned and actual, by forces of the Roman Republic and...
. The construction of its massive banks and ditches, encircling some 80 acres (32.4 ha), would have been an enormous feat. It would have been defended by a timber fence or palisade
Palisade
A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...
and populated with round houses and maybe pens for livestock. Walbury Camp was built, not only for the protection of the locals from attack by warring groups, but also in response to the increasing importance of the hilltop tracks for trade and the movement of livestock.
Roman
There is little evidence of RomanRoman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
activity in Inkpen. Some of the hill trail trade was diverted down to the Ermin Way
Ermin Street
Ermin Street or Ermin Way is one of the great Roman roads of Britain. It runs from Gloucester via Cirencester to Silchester . Much of it is now covered by the modern A417, A419 and B4000 roads....
and Romanized Brython
Brython
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
s certainly lived in the area. In 1984 archaeological finds were discovered near Lower Green suggesting the presence of a Roman dwelling of some kind, possibly not unlike the Roman villa
Roman villa
A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...
s found at nearby Kintbury
Kintbury
Kintbury is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England, between the towns of Newbury and Hungerford.-Amenities:In Kintbury there is the Church of England parish church of Saint Mary, Church of England primary school, post office, corner shop, and a butcher...
and Littlecote
Littlecote House
Littlecote House is a large Elizabethan country house and estate in the civil parishes of Ramsbury and Chilton Foliat in the English county of Wiltshire near to Hungerford. The estate includes 34 hectares of historic parklands and gardens, including a walled garden from the 17th and 18th centuries...
. During building work near Combe in 2003, a Roman burial was also found.
Saxon
The Roman armyRoman army
The Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...
withdrew from Britain in around AD 410 and the settlement of Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
from Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and Northern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
followed soon afterward. At the foot of the Inkpen Beacon is what some believe to be the eastern end of the Wansdyke
Wansdyke (earthwork)
Wansdyke is a series of early medieval defensive linear earthworks in the West Country of England, consisting of a ditch and a running embankment from the ditch spoil, with the ditching facing north. It runs at least from Maes Knoll in historic Somerset, a hillfort at the east end of Dundry Hill...
, a long ditch and bank (or linear defensive earthwork) built sometime between 400 and 700. Current theory suggests a date around AD 470 when some hill forts were also being refortified by the Romano-Britons. It runs east-west between Inkpen Beacon and Portishead
Portishead, Somerset
Portishead is a coastal town on the Severn Estuary within the unitary authority of North Somerset, which falls within the ceremonial county of Somerset England. It has a population of 22,000, an increase of over 3,000 since the 2001 census, with a growth rate of 40 per cent, considerably in excess...
near Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. Although its eastern end is generally thought to be just south of Marlborough, this small section is named "Wansdyke" on Inkpen's enclosure
Enclosure
Enclosure or inclosure is the process which ends traditional rights such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on common land. Once enclosed, these uses of the land become restricted to the owner, and it ceases to be common land. In England and Wales the term is also used for the...
award map of 1733. Its construction clearly points to danger from the north, perhaps from the first Saxons of what is now Berkshire, who settled around Abingdon
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...
. Early Saxon coins known as "sceat
Sceat
Sceattas were small, thick silver coins minted in England, Frisia and Jutland during the Anglo-Saxon period.-History:Their name derives from an Old English word meaning 'wealth', which has been applied to these coins since the seventeenth century, based on interpretations of the law-code of King...
tas" have been found on the Downs.
History of the village
The earliest record of Inkpen is in the Cotton Charter viii, dated between 931 and 939. This includes the will of a Saxon thegnThegn
The term thegn , from OE þegn, ðegn "servant, attendant, retainer", is commonly used to describe either an aristocratic retainer of a king or nobleman in Anglo-Saxon England, or as a class term, the majority of the aristocracy below the ranks of ealdormen and high-reeves...
named Wulfgar, whose name means "wolf-spear". Wulfgar owned "land at inche penne" which he "had from Wulfric, who had it from Wulfhere who first owned it", his father and grandfather respectively. Wulfgar left this to be divided amongst named heirs: three quarters to his wife, Aeffe, the other quarter to "the servants of God" at the holy place in Kintbury. Following Aeffe's death, her share was also to go to the holy place at Kintbury "for the souls of Wulfgar, Wulfric and Wulfrere".
The Church of England parish church
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
of Saint Michael
Michael (archangel)
Michael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...
is 13th century. The east window of the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
and west window of the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
were added in the 15th century.The church was restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
by Clapton Crabb Rolfe in 1896; he added the south porch, south window and north aisle The church's new reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
, altar tables, Rood
Rood
A rood is a cross or crucifix, especially a large one in a church; a large sculpture or sometimes painting of the crucifixion of Jesus.Rood is an archaic word for pole, from Old English rōd "pole", specifically "cross", from Proto-Germanic *rodo, cognate to Old Saxon rōda, Old High German ruoda...
and rood screen, pulpit, lectern and much new seating were carved for Rolfe by Harry Hems of Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
.
Near the centre of the village just off Post Office Road is a large field of Mediterranean crocuses, one of only two in the UK. According to the information plaque, the plants are believed to have been brought here by the Knights Templar in the Middle Ages for the production of saffron. It is currently owned by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust
The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in England....
.
The Old Rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
was built in 1695, Kirby House in 1733 and West Court House in two stages in the 18th century. The Primary School was designed by G.E. Street
George Edmund Street
George Edmund Street was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex.- Life :Street was the third son of Thomas Street, solicitor, by his second wife, Mary Anne Millington. George went to school at Mitcham in about 1830, and later to the Camberwell collegiate school, which he left in 1839...
and built in 1850.
Inkpen Post Office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
closed in the 1980s.
Below is a selection of subsequent spellings of a dictated Inkpen over a period of some three hundred years by various scribes:
- Ingepenne 935.
- Hingepene 1086.
- Ingepenna 1167, Ingepenn 1167, Ingepenne 1167, Yngepenn 1167, Yngepenne 1167.
- Ynkepenee 1230, Yngelpenne 1235, Ynkepenne 1241, Ingelpenne 1241, Hingepenna 1242, Ingepepenn 1242, Ingelpenn 1252, Enkepenne 1282, Inckepene 1292.