2.1 Geographical and Historical Background

The village of Speen forms part of Speen Parish which covers a much wider area and includes five distinct settlements - Speen, Woodspeen, Stockcross, Bagnor and Marsh Benham.

Speen is an ancient settlement, which long pre-dates the town of Newbury lying immediately adjacent to the east. Today, the physical boundary between Newbury and Speen is not always obvious and the town of Newbury provides the main shopping, business and leisure facilities for Speen’s residents. Infill and new estate development, particularly to the north of the A4 Bath Road have further blurred the edge of the village and some facilities, such as the local primary school, are located outside but just on the edge of the Parish boundary. Despite this, significant areas of Speen retain rural outlooks, and the village is a community with a strong sense of place and social identity, which residents are keen to retain.

As a result of its proximity to Newbury and the high levels of new building within some parts of the village, Speen’s physical character is dispersed and differentiated. Although predominantly influenced by road transport in its development (a ribbon settlement), Speen’s history is more complex and interesting than a casual passer-by on the A4 might suspect.

Elmore Abbey

The earthwork bank in Speen House grounds to the west of the Lady Well may also date from the years before the Roman invasions. It is widely believed that Speen may be the site of ‘Spinae’, a known Roman station on Ermin Street between Silchester and Cirencester. Further indications of a Roman presence are a small farmstead that was excavated in the line of the by-pass near Elmore Abbey, and an urn containing coins found on Speen Hill in the 19th century. Pottery scatters exist to the north and west of Speen House.

Speen saw action during the Civil War over a two day period during which the King remained around Newbury. The warring factions had several skirmishes around Shaw and Donnington Castle and in particular in the fields between Speen and the Castle.

2.2 The Village as it is today: The People, Economics and Future Prospects

Speen, located as it is between Newbury and the open countryside to the west, is an accessible and attractive place to live. It contains a wide variety of housing, of all types, sizes and ages from substantial period properties to family houses, modern town houses, flats and sheltered housing for the elderly.

Speen has a strong community spirit and its organisations cater for many interests. The Parish Hall is the venue for a variety of activities and clubs of diverse interest from ballet, choir, aerobics and yoga classes to the Botany Club and Alpine Society. The village WI meets regularly at the hall as do the Parish Council and the Wine Makers. On the northern edge of the village is a large recreation ground with playing equipment for the local children and a cricket pitch and pavilion. There is also an active Speen Conservation Group and several Neighbourhood Watch schemes, which have helped to develop co-operation between householders in Speen.

Speen is justly proud of its blooming allotments, which have been continuously cultivated for 86 years and are so well kept they have helped to win the Best Kept Village award on several occasions. The popularity of the allotments is demonstrated by the number of people waiting for one to come free. The allotments are now included in the Conservation Area and are an essential element of village life.

Elmore Abbey is a Benedictine Monastery next door to the Church. The Abbot and community there join with the church in all main services and festivals. The Monks, an Anglican community, moved to Elmore Abbey in 1987. Significant extensions have been added of recent years, firstly the oratory, built using oak and traditional construction methods, and then the refectory. Considerable effort was made to ensure the new buildings blended into the environment.

Speen has a good range of facilities within the village, particularly the Post Office whose friendly welcome caters for many and varying needs. It also has two public houses (one with accommodation and both with restaurants), a garage and bus service linking it with the nearby town of Newbury, the main line station and other villages.

Many younger children attend the Robert Sandilands School which is on the boundary of Speen and Newbury, and older children travel into Newbury for the secondary schools. The village primary school at Stockcross is also used by Speen residents that live in its catchment area.

This gives Speen village a further link with the other parts of the Speen parish. The A34 (Newbury by-pass), which connects into the A4 Bath Road just to the west of the village boundary, provides road links with the M4 motorway and Winchester and the south coast.
Speen is largely a residential area but there are a number of businesses that operate from the village, some home based but others in commercial premises, largely on the A4 Bath Road. Many residents commute to Newbury or further afield to work and there is also a sizeable retired community, many of whom have lived in Speen for a long time and have chosen to remain here.

The residents are very proud of their village and many of them, when they move house, move to somewhere else in the village.

The same factors which make Speen an attractive place to live are the source of the main pressures for change – namely its accessibility, attractive village character, choice of housing and in particular its proximity to the services and facilities of Newbury. In planning terms, it is considered to be a sustainable location for new development and much of the village is within walking distance of Newbury town center. The pressure for development is not new; much of the existing housing was built in the 1960’s or later, some as new or extended estates and some as infill plots or redevelopment on existing roads. In the main these developments have been sensitively designed and have matured to integrate successfully with the older pattern of development.