Great Shefford is an English village and civil parish on the River Lambourn in the WestBerkshire district of Berkshire. The modern civil parish includes the historical parish of Little or East Shefford, a small, much-reduced community downstream. It also covers the village of Shefford Woodlands, about south-west of Great Shefford, near Junction 14 on the M4 motorway.
Toponymy
The toponym of both Sheffords is derived from the Old English for "sheep ford".
Amenities
Great Shefford village has a primary school, which forms part of Chaddleworth St. Andrew's & Shefford Church of England Federated Primary Schools. It also has a pub-restaurant, The Great Shefford, a shop and a petrol station.
Churches
St Mary
The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary is one of two existing round-tower churches in Berkshire. The other one is at St Gregory's parish church at nearby Welford. Unlike the three round-towered churches in Sussex, where the towers are plain flint cylinders with few openings, the tower at Great Shefford is built up of sections with ample fenestration, more like the East Anglian type. The base of the tower at least seems to date from the 13th century, and it joins the west wall of the nave in such a way that suggests it was constructed at the same time as the nave, which shows early Gothic features. St Mary's belongs to the West Downland Benefice, a group of eight neighbouring churches. There is a service held at St Mary's on the first, second and third Sunday of the month.
St Stephen
The church of Saint Stephen at Shefford Woodlands is a former Methodist chapel that was consecrated as part of St Mary's Church of England parish in 1911. A group service is held at St Stephen's on the fourth Sunday of the month.
St Thomas
is redundant. However, it is listed as a Grade I historical building and contains important monuments to the widespread Fettiplace family.
Demography
The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 937, and 880 are listed on the Millennium Stone opposite the petrol station. The population had grown by approximately 5 per cent since the 2011 census.
Output area
Homes owned outright
Owned with a loan
Socially rented
Privately rented
Other
km² roads
km² water
km² domestic gardens
Usual residents
km²
Civil parish
126
146
50
70
9
0.258
0.039
0.246
937
13.6
Notable people
In birth order:
Richard Brydges, politician, owned and lived at Great Shefford Manor.
Clive Bell, art critic, was born in East Shefford.
The A338 between Hungerford to the south and Wantage to the north runs through the village, one-and-a-half miles north of Junction 14 on the M4 motorway.
