- Silchester
Silchester is a
village andcivil parish in the English county ofHampshire . It is best known for the adjacent archaeological site and Roman town ofCalleva Atrebatum , which was first occupied by the Romans in about AD 45 and includes what is thought to be the best-preserved Roman wall inGreat Britain .Location
Silchester is located at gbmapping|SU627620, convert|10|mi|km|0 south-west of Reading and convert|5|mi|km|0 north of
Basingstoke . The village is sometimes referred to as "Silchester Common", as that is where it stands, some distance from the parish church and the old manor (now Manor Farm) just within the eastern walls of the Roman town.Local government
Silchester is a civil parish with an elected parish council. Silchester parish falls within the area of Basingstoke and Deane District Council and of Hampshire County Council and all three councils are responsible for different aspects of local government. At the 2001 census the parish had a population of 918.
Amenities
Silchester has its own primary school, but children aged 11 to 16 that receive normal (state-funded) education are likely to attend
The Hurst Community College inBaughurst .The medieval parish church of St Mary stands just within the old Roman walled town, probably on the site of a Roman
temple . It has a fine rood screen, an interesting canopiedpulpit and several minorchurch monument s.The village
public house is called the "Calleva Arms", a reference toCalleva Atrebatum , the large town Roman town lying near the present village. There is an active community with regular events and village activities through the year including a fun run, village fair, barn dance and [http://www.silchestermusicfestival.org music festival] . Pictures of these and many other community events can be seen at [http://www.silchesterlife.org Pete's Silchester Pages] . The village is also famed for the amateur dramatic society, the Silchester Players.Awards
Silchester was voted "Hampshire Village of the Year" in 2008, in a regional heat of the [http://www.villageoftheyear.org/ Calor Village of the Year competition] .
External links
* [http://www.rdg.ac.uk/AcaDepts/la/silchester/publish/guide/domestic.php Roman remains]
* [http://silchester.play-cricket.com/home/home.asp? Silchester Cricket Club] compete in the * [http://www.hantscl.co.uk/ Hampshire Cricket League] (finishing 13th in Division 3 North East 2007 season)
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