In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described East Ilsley like this:
ILSLEY (EAST), or Market-Ilsley, a small town and a parish in Wantage district, Berks. The town stands on the side of a hill, near Ickleton street, surrounded by a ridge of downs, 6¾ miles SSW of Didcot r. station, and 9 N by E of Newbury; occupies the site of the Saxon town Nachededorne; was formerly called Hildesley or Huldesley; is thought, by some antiquaries, to be the Æscendune, where Alfred fought the Danes; is now noted for sheep markets and fairs; has a post office‡ under Newbury, and good inns; and is a seat of petty sessions and a polling place. ...
Its sheep markets existed as early as the time of Henry II.; they are the largest throughout a great extent of England; and they commence on the Wednesday fortnight before Easter, sometimes earlier, and continue every alternate Wednesday till July. Sheep and lamb fairs also are held from Easter till November; fairs for sheep, on Easter Wednesday, Whit Wednesday, the Wednesday after 17 Oct., and the Wednesday after 12 Nov.; a fair for lambs on 1 Aug.; fairs for sheep and lambs, on 26 Aug. and the Wednesday after 19 Sept.; a fair for wool on the first Wednesday of July; and a hiring and pleasure fair on 13 Oct. So many as 50, 000 sheep and lambs have been for sale at the fair of 26 Aug. Coursing meetings are held on the neighbouring downs. The parish comprises 2, 979 acres. Real property, £ 4, 490. Pop., 746. Houses, 130. The property is divided among a few. The manor belongs to Capt. Woodley, and great part of the land to Col. L. Lindsay. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Oxford. Value, £722.* Patron, Magdalen College, Oxford. The church is partly Norman; has an early English chancel, and an embattled tower; was enlarged and repaired in 18 45; and contains an old monument of one of the Hildesleys, ancient lords of the manor. There is a national school. John Hilsey, bishop of Rochester in the 16th century, was a native; and R. Wightwick, the cofounder of Pembroke college, Oxford, was rector.
East Ilsley through time
East Ilsley is now part of West Berkshire district. Click here for graphs and data of how West Berkshire has changed over two centuries. For statistics about East Ilsley itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of East Ilsley in West Berkshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/3629
Date accessed: 20th April 2024
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