Ardington and East & West Lockinge

Ardington and East and West Lockinge are essentially estate villages nestling at the foot of the Berkshire Downs with much of the property owned by the Lockinge Estate. The estate extends to approximately 7500 acres of farmland and 210 domestic and commercial units.

The villages are classic Victorian estate villages. Many footpaths lead through them and through woodlands planted in 1993 on a hillside with views over the villages, older woodlands and the Downs. A series of lakes and connecting streams run through the two parishes.

Ardington is the larger of the three with an award winning public house and a village store, the latter offering post office facilities and a bistro. The village is also home to a conference centre, the Loyd Lindsay Rooms, and a nursery school. Many of the original Victorian farm buildings located throughout the three villages have been sympathetically converted into commercial accommodation. Ardington also has a thriving shop/tearoom/bistro/post office where, unusually for a small village, serving refreshments which may be enjoyed inside or in the attractive garden.

The Church of Holy Trinity in Ardington dates from c.1200 (nave, chancel and north doorway) and is in the Early English style. It was restored and enlarged at the cost of Lord Wantage in 1887.

Ardington House, a Baroque house on the edge of the village, dates from 1720. The house is famous for its Imperial Staircase which comprises two matching flights leading into one and is considered by experts to be one of the finest examples in Britain.

East Lockinge is by far the larger of the Lockinges. All Saints' Church at East Lockinge stands in a delightful rural location close to the lake. The earliest parts date from c.1150 (north doorway and font).

West Lockinge has a few houses and West Lockinge Farm, which was where Best Mate, a three-time winner of Cheltenham Gold Cup, was trained. His statue stands on the Green in East Lockinge.

The villages are just off the A417 between Wantage and Harwell about 2 miles east of Wantage.