Bockhampton, Berkshire
{{Short description|Abandoned village in Berkshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
File:Lambourn from south-east, Lambourn, Berkshire.jpg
Bockhampton ({{gbmappingsmall|SU335782}}) is an abandoned village in Berkshire that was enclosed in the late 18th century. Situated on the River Lambourn southeast and downstream of Lambourn it was also known as Lower Lambourn, as opposed to Upper Lambourn which is upstream. Bockhampton was mentioned in Domesday Book of 1086 as "Bochentone: Ralph the earl's son; Odo and Edward, king's thanes. Mill."{{cite web|url=http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/berkshire1.html|title=The Domesday Book Online - Berkshire A-C|website=Domesdaybook.co.uk|accessdate=6 February 2019}} who held the land in return for keeping the King's harriers. Bockhampton Manor House was built in the 16th century by Thomas Blagrave (and subsequently rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries) and absorbed the three old manors of East Bockhampton, West Bockhampton and Hoppeshortland.{{cite web|url=http://www.berkshirehistory.com/villages/lambourn.html |title=RBH: History of Lambourn, Berkshire |website=Berkshirehistory.com |date= |accessdate=17 September 2012}} The village was uprooted and the land enclosed in 1776 thanks to the Inclosure Act 1773,{{cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/berks/vol4/pp251-266|title=Parishes: Lambourn - British History Online|website=British-history.ac.uk|accessdate=6 February 2019}} as sheep farming proved to be more profitable than tillage. There is a road sign for Bockhampton on the Newbury Road pointing down Bockhampton Road towards the old site of the village in the sheep pasture next to the electricity substation.
There was once a level crossing on the Lambourn Valley Railway, apparently named Bockhampton Crossing. This was about a mile from Lambourn station, and across the Lambourn-Newbury road, formerly the B4000 but now declassified. The crossing and its gates would have disappeared after the branch line closed down.{{cite web|url=https://www.lambournvalleyrailway.info/bockhampton.html|title=Bockhampton Level Crossing|date=|accessdate=20 February 2025}}
File:Site of the abandoned village of Bockhampton, Berkshire.JPG
