Tidmarsh
{{For|people with the surname Tidmarsh|Tidmarsh (surname)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country = England
|type = Village
| official_name = Tidmarsh
|static_image_name = Greyhound over the road - geograph.org.uk - 1715868.jpg
|static_image_caption = The 13th century Greyhound pub
| civil_parish = Tidmarsh with Sulham
| unitary_england = West Berkshire
| lieutenancy_england = Berkshire
| region = South East England
| population = 501
| population_ref = (2011 census including Sulham)[http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk Key Statistics: Dwellings; Quick Statistics: Population Density; Physical Environment: Land Use Survey 2005]
| area_total_km2 = 7.02
| constituency_westminster = [[Reading West and Mid Berkshire (UK Parliament constituency)| Reading West and Mid Berkshire
| os_grid_reference = SU6374
| coordinates = {{coord|51.467|-1.087|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| post_town = READING
| postcode_district = RG8
| postcode_area = RG
| dial_code = 0118
}}
Tidmarsh is a village in West Berkshire, England. Its development is mainly residential and agricultural, and is centred on the A340 road between Pangbourne and Theale. The rural area is bounded by the M4 motorway to the south. It is centred {{convert|1.5|mi|km}} south of Pangbourne, {{convert|5.5|mi|km}} west of Reading and {{convert|40|mi|km}} west of London.
Geography
Its civil parish council is shared with another village and is called Tidmarsh with Sulham. Further east, Sulham Woods separate the villages from Tilehurst, a western suburb of Reading. Its elevation ranges between {{cvt|42|m}} in the north-east, and {{cvt|85|m}} AOD in the western projection. The vast majority of the parish (more than 90%) is at more than {{cvt|5|m}} above the River Pang. Much of the main street is between {{cvt|1–10|m}} above the river level.
Woodland covers less than a tenth of its total area but about a quarter of the western or south-western higher ground. The Pang flows north through the village and then through the Moor Copse Nature Reserve on its way to join the River Thames at Pangbourne. In December 2006 the reserve was doubled in size, to about {{convert|140|acres|order=flip}}.Natural World Spring 2007 p10: "Ratty's Paradise joins eight new reserves" The Tidmarsh and Sulham circular walk, about {{cvt|2.5|miles|order=flip}} long, passes through the reserve and both villages.
History
The Tidmarsh section of the A340 is thought to follow the Roman road from the Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum in Silchester (about {{convert|7|mi|km|0|disp=or|abbr=on}} south), either to Dorchester-on-Thames (about {{convert|10|mi|km|disp=or|abbr=on}} north){{cn|date=March 2023}} or a river-crossing at Pangbourne.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} If so, however, the southern portion has been straightened in later years.{{cn|date=March 2023}} The earliest mention of Tidmarsh was in 1196.{{cn|date=March 2023}} In 1239 there was a land-ownership dispute concerning the manor. There are records of a water corn-mill and a fishery in Tidmarsh in 1305.{{cite web |url= https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/berks/vol3/pp433-437#fnn15 |title=Tidmarsh History|website=British-history.ac.uk|access-date=30 November 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201130223646/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/berks/vol3/pp433-437 |archive-date=30 November 2020|url-status=live}} The 18th century successor to the mill is now Grade II listed and converted to domestic accommodation.{{NHLE|grade=II|desc=Mill House and Mill Flat|num= 1215730|date=19 June 1984}} There are multiple World War II pillboxes surrounding Tidmarsh, which made up part of the GHQ Line.{{cite web |url= http://www.pillbox-study-group.org.uk/gazetteersubsite/tidmarsh-pillboxes/ |title=Tod marsh Pillboxes|website=pillbox-study-group.org.uk|access-date=30 November 2020}}
Notable buildings
File:The Round House Tidmarsh.jpg
The most conspicuous listed building in Tidmarsh is the 13th century half-timbered Greyhound Pub,{{cite web |url= https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1215634 |title=Greyhound pub|website=historic england.org.uk|access-date=30 November 2020}}{{NHLE|grade=I|desc=The Greyhound public house|num= 1215634|date=19 June 1984}} which suffered a serious fire in 2005.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/4300915.stm|title=Blaze destroys 13th Century pub|website=bbc.co.uk|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201130220703/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/berkshire/4300915.stm|archive-date=30 November 2020|url-status=live}}
Another historic building is the Grade I listed, 12th century church, which is dedicated to St Laurence. The church is particularly notable for its Norman south doorway, "very rare 13th century polygonal apse"{{cn|date=March 2023}} and 13th century lancet windows. The church was restored and modified in the 19th century.{{NHLE|num=1287940|accessdate=16 December 2014}} The old rectory dates from 1856.
Other notable buildings include the Grade II listed Round House and Mill House.{{NHLE|grade=II|desc=The Round House|num=1215636|date=19 June 1984}}{{NHLE|grade=II|desc=The Mill House and the Mill Flat|num=1215730|date=19 June 1984}}
Notable people
Notable residents include author Lytton Strachey (1880–1932) and painter Dora Carrington (1893–1932), who lived in the Mill House between 1917 and 1924,{{cite web |title=Tidmarsh Mill |work=Heritage Gateway |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MWB6238&resourceID=1030 | access-date=16 March 2023}} and mathematician John Pollard (born 1941).{{cite web |title=John M Pollard's Home Page |url=https://sites.google.com/site/jmptidcott2/ | access-date=15 January 2025}} Carrington painted the Greyhound Pub sign in the village.{{cn|date=March 2023}} Rex Partridge, renamed Ralph by the Bloomsbury set,{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/period-property/7827396/The-Mill-at-Tidmarsh-bohemian-days-leave-a-rich-legacy.html|title=The Mill at Tidmarsh: bohemian days leave a rich legacy|website=www.telegraph.co.uk}} also settled at Tidmarsh and formed a very 'Bloomsbury' trio with Lytton and Dora.
Demography
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Tidmarsh}}
- [http://www.tidmarshwithsulham.co.uk/ Tidmarsh-with-Sulham Website]
- [http://www.berkshirehistory.com/villages/tidmarsh.html Berkshire History: Tidmarsh]
- [http://www.moorcopse.org.uk/ Moor Copse Website]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20130413173329/http://www.tidmarshgreyhound.com/ The Greyhound, Tidmarsh]
{{West Berkshire}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Villages in Berkshire
Category:Civil parishes in Berkshire