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The twin Aston villages merge comfortably at the foot of the Berkshire Downs, in
the valley below the A417 Wantage to Reading Road. The parishes stretch from
South Moreton to Lowbury Hill and have a population of about 550 people. The
Berkshire Ridgeway runs above them to the south. To the west Blewburton Hill, an
Iron Age earthwork has yielded Iron Age, Roman and Saxon relics now in Reading
Museum.
Tradition has it that King Ethelred and his younger brother Alfred, later the
King, heard Mass together before the first great victory over the Danes at
‘Assendune’ on the Downs. There is a popular legend that Ethelred, unready as
usual, dithered in Aston Upthorpe while Alfred went out and won the battle. The
story is erroneous — this was a different Ethelred from the dilatory king known
to every schoolchild. Whether the Mass was held in a Saxon church or the royal
tent, it is certain that Aston Upthorpe’s All Saints’ church is built on Saxon
foundations, has an 11th century nave, a filled-in Norman door, and a 15th
century porch.
St Michael’s church in Aston Tirrold dates back to 1080, was remodelled in the
13th century and a tower and south transept added in the 14th century. Both
lovely village churches are well worth a visit. The rectory, next to St
Michael’s, was sold when a united benefice was formed with the parishes of North
and South Moreton. The Astons have a tradition of Presbyterianism, and before
the Act of Uniformity in 1662, ‘Meetings in the Barns’ took place. In 1728 the
very interesting Presbyterian chapel was built, making it one of the oldest in
England. It is now the United Reformed church.
During the 20th century the Astons have been closely connected with horse
racing. At one time there were four trainers in the two villages. Although there
is now only one, in Aston Upthorpe, horses can still be seen exercising around
the villages. In the early 1960s the stud farm was restocked and subsequently
bought by Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum, who built it up and then gave it to his
younger brother Sheikh Ahmed al Maktoum in 1987. Since then new foaling units,
stallion boxes and extra paddocks have made this one of the leading stud farms
in England.
There are two public houses, one in each village, the Chequers and the Boot Inn.
Both serve meals and are places where people can gather, a necessity as over the
years the village school, the small well-stocked library and the village shop
have all closed. The weekly doctor’s surgery in the village hall is also a
meeting place to exchange news. There is a large recreation ground where the
football and cricket clubs play in season and children have a well-equipped play
area enclosed in one corner.
The surrounding land is mostly arable, yielding good crops of wheat and barley.
Carrimers Farm and Upthorpe Farms are the two main farms, and the Astons still
remain truly rural villages with well preserved old houses and attractive lanes
through which to walk from one village to the other.
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