Lockinge Estate

The Lockinge Estate is a 3,035-hectare (7,500-acre) agricultural and housing estate near Wantage that today includes most of the land and property encompassing the villages of West Lockinge, East Lockinge and Ardington.^[1] The current manager of the Lockinge Estate is Thomas Loyd.^[2] Almost the entire estate is included within the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

A road near Bitham Farm, on the Lockinge Estate

The ancient Icknield Way passed through the estate,^[3] as does the modern-day National Cycle Route 544.^[4]

History

Following consecutive land purchases between 1859 and 1870,^[5] the estate became one of the largest in England.^[6] The estate grew in character under the ownership of Lady Harriet and Robert Loyd-Lindsay, 1st Baron Wantage, who significantly improved housing and services for the estate workers and attempted to create a worker's model village.^[7][8] Lord Wantage also had Lockinge House extended and renovated,^[8][9] complete with a large ice house and orangery.^[10]

The estate was modernised under Christopher Loyd following World War Two, who had Lockinge House demolished in 1947,^[9] established the Lockinge Stud, and established the Lockinge Trust to provide affordable housing.^[11] The Lockinge Trust and the Village Housing Charitable Trust continue to manage housing and historic issues on the estate.^[1]