Mortimer Common

Mortimer Common

Coordinates: 51°22′37″N 1°03′47″W / 51.377°N 1.063°W / 51.377; -1.063

Mortimer Common
Mortimer, Berks - geograph.org.uk - 199.jpg
Church of St.John the Evangelist, Mortimer
Mortimer Common is located in Berkshire
Mortimer Common

 Mortimer Common shown within Berkshire
Population 5,089 [citation needed]
OS grid reference SU6565
Parish Mortimer Common
Unitary authority West Berkshire
Ceremonial county Berkshire
Region South East
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town READING
Postcode district RG7
Dialling code 0118
Police Thames Valley
Fire Royal Berkshire
Ambulance South Central
EU Parliament South East England
UK Parliament Wokingham
List of places: UK • England • Berkshire

Mortimer Common, generally referred to as Mortimer, is a village in the civil parish of Stratfield Mortimer in Berkshire. Mortimer is in the local government district of West Berkshire and is seven miles south-west of Reading.

Contents

Geography

Mortimer stands at the top of Mortimer Hill, at the bottom of which is Stratfield Mortimer. To the North lies Burghfield Common and Wokefield. To the West lies Mortimer West End and Padworth Common. The Lockram Brook flows through the middle of the parish and joins into Burghfield Brook further to the Northeast, this in turn feeds into Foudry Brook, a tributary of the Kennet and Avon Canal. There is much woodland in the area, including Starvale Woods, Wokefield Common and Holden Firs. The three main roads in Mortimer are The Street, West End Road and Victoria Road.

History and name

Historian David Nash Ford believes the name Mortimer stems from the Lords of the Manor, the Mortimer family, a powerful magnate family and the Earls of March from Wigmore, Herefordshire. The family were given the manor, along with Wigmore Castle by William I shortly after the Norman Conquest and held it throughout the Middle Ages, as recorded in the Domesday Book. Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March was for three years de facto ruler of England after leading a successful rebellion against Edward II, before being overthrown and executed in 1330 by Edward III, with his lands (including Mortimer) seized by the crown. The Mortimers came close, during the reign of Richard II, to the English throne again, but the claims of the family were ignored and the throne was vested in Henry IV instead.

During the Tudor period Mortimer was one of the lands granted to each of the wives of Henry VIII.

There are several Bronze Age burial mounds in the area. Excavations at one have shown that it was later used for burials when the Anglo-Saxons moved into the area.

Mortimer Common Barrows. Holden's Firs Barrows, Barrow Cemetery

Sport and Leisure

Mortimer has several senior football teams including Mortimer FC and Victoria Arms Reserves FC as well as two youth football teams; Mortimer Stingers and Mortimer Hornets.

Mortimer FC is currently in the Reading Football League Senior Division, in tier 11 of the football pyramid. Mortimer has won the League four times; in 1993-4, 1994-5, 1996-7 and 2001-02.

Mortimer has amateur cricket and tennis clubs, cubs, scouts, girl guides and brownies clubs as well as the Mortimer Dramatic Society. A community centre was completed in the autumn of 2009, which is used as a cricket pavilion.

On taking over from Sewards Supermarket, Budgens also took over the tradition of arranging the annual 'fun run', a 10 kilometer race around the village, which generally takes place on the last Sunday of September. The central Common grounds are also used for travelling funfares.

Amenities

Mortimer has a village hall, a surgery, a chemist, a dentist, a bank (Natwest), a library, a post office, a fire station, and a community police station.

In terms of shops and restaurants and other amenities Mortimer offers a hair-dresser, a gift shop, a travel agency a hardware store (Dads Shop), a Budgens supermarket (formerly Sewards), a newsagents McColls (formerly Forboys), The Loon Tin Chinese take away, The Cinnamon Tree Indian restaurant, a café, and two estate agencies.

Mortimer has three public houses: The Victoria Arms, The Turners Arms and The Horse and Groom.

There are four churches including a Methodist churst, St. Saviours Church, and the Church of England parish church of St John the Evangelist. Next to the church is St John's Infant School, being one of the two schools in Mortimer

Notable people

  • Herbert St Maur Carter D.S.O., M.D., R.A.M.C. officer and surgeon who was decorated by the British and Serbian governments.
  • Jonathan 'Mad John' Phethean (died October 2003)
  • Legless Bob (formerly one legged Bob, (formerly Bob))

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Mortimer — For Mortimer in Berkshire, see Mortimer Common. For the town in Shropshire, see Cleobury Mortimer. For the Disney character, see Mortimer Mouse. For the place in California, see Mortimer, California. Mortimer is a popular English name, used both… …   Wikipedia

  • Mortimer J. Adler — Full name Mortimer J. Adler Born December 28, 1902(1902 12 28) New York, New York, United States Died …   Wikipedia

  • Mortimer Jerome Adler — (* 28. Dezember 1902 in New York; † 28. Juni 2001) war ein amerikanischer Philosoph und Schriftsteller. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Werke 3 Weblinks 4 Quellen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Mortimer Taube — Mortimer Taube, né le 6 décembre 1910 à Jersey City, New Jersey, décédé le 3 septembre 1965 à Annapolis, Maryland est un bibliothécaire, documentaliste et pionnier des sciences de l information. Sommaire 1 Biographie 2 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Common Starling — Adult S. v. vulgaris in England Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • Mortimer Forest — is a forest on the Shropshire/Herefordshire border in England, near the town of Ludlow.[1] Contents 1 History 1.1 Location 1.2 Climate …   Wikipedia

  • Mortimer Adler — Mortimer Adler, 1988 Mortimer Jerome Adler (* 28. Dezember 1902 in New York; † 28. Juni 2001) war ein amerikanischer Philosoph und Schriftsteller. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Mortimer Taube — Born December 6, 1910 Jersey City, New Jersey Died September 3, 1965 Annapolis, Maryland Education University of Chicago, University of California at Berkeley Occupation Information Scientist …   Wikipedia

  • Mortimer railway station — Mortimer Mortimer railway station, viewed from the footbridge …   Wikipedia

  • Mortimer Taube — Nacimiento 6 de diciembre de 1910 …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”