Combe, Berkshire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Combe | |
|---|---|
| Village and civil parish | |
 Thatched cottage in Combe | |
  Combe Location within Berkshire | |
| Population | 38 (2001) |
| OS grid reference | SU370608 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HUNGERFORD |
| Postcode district | RG17 |
| Dialling code | 01488 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Royal Berkshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
Combe is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. The parish is situated on the top of the North Hampshire Downs near Walbury Hill and Combe Gibbet, overlooking the village of Inkpen and the valley of the River Kennet. In Walbury Hill, it includes the highest natural point in South East England.[1][2][3]
Administratively, the civil parish lies within the unitary authority area of West Berkshire, and within the ceremonial county of Berkshire. Historically part of Hampshire, Combe was transferred to Berkshire in 1895.[1][2]
Bronze Age people in this part of Europe constructed communal long barrows to bury their important dead and one is a scheduled monument in the civil parish beneath Gibbet Hill's peak. Both male and female bodies of the dead may have been left in the open to be reduced to skeletons by carrion before being collected and buried. In many cases the corpses were carefully assembled with the head to the south, men facing east, women facing west. It is unknown whether this was the case in the so-called Inkpen long barrow (named after the village to the north but within Combe), though it is on an east–west alignment.[4]
St Swithun's Church
The Church of England parish church of Saint Swithun is Norman, with the nave dating from the second half of the 12th century.[5][6] The interior has additions from the 17th century, such as the chancel roof. The bell tower is made of wood on flint, and the bell chamber above holds three bells; one pre-reformation, one dated 1616 and one dated 1831.[7] The church is a Grade I listed building.[8]
