HIGHCLERE, a village, a parish, and a sub-district in Kingsclere district, Hants. The village stands 7 miles W of Kingsclere and 4½ S by W of Newbury r. station; is a beautiful place; and has a post office under Newbury. The parish comprises 3, 391 acres. Real property, £3, 045. Pop., 446. Houses, 94. The property is divided among a few. The manor belonged to the bishops of Winchester; was given, by Edward VI., to the Fitzwilliams; passed to the Sawyers and the Herberts; and belongs now to the Earl of Carnarvon. A palace of the bishops of Winchester stood here, and was succeeded by a mansion of the Herberts. That mansion, now Highclere castle, the seat of the Earl of Carnarvon, is a stately pile, partly ancient, partly altered, partly modern; has pinnacles, perforated work, flanking towers, and a magnificent W front tower; contains some valuable pictures; and occupies a spot 587 feet in elevation above sea level, amid a wooded and very picturesque park, upwards of 13 miles in circuit. Siddon hill, covered with wood, 940 feet high, and commanding splendid and very extensive views, is within the park; and Beacon hill, 900 feet high, crowned by ancient fortifications, and also commanding very grand views, is close without the gates. Many tumuli are on the neighbouring downs; and a circular camp of about 8 acres, is on Ladle hill, 1 ½ mile E of Beacon hill. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Winchester. Value, £400. * Patron, the Earl of Carnarvon. The old church was built, in the time of Charles II., by Sir Robert Sawyer; was rebuilt in 1828, and repaired in 1859; and contains several interesting monuments. The new church was founded, close to the park, in 1869. There are a national school, and charities £11. Millar, the antiquary, was a native.—The sub-district contains seven parishes. Acres, 19, 500. Pop., 3, 257. Houses, 702.

(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))