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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).
The ancient Icknield Way passed through the estate,[3] as does the modern-day National Cycle Route 544.[4]
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]
.jpg/250px-Estate_road_near_Bitham_Farm_(geograph_5787489).jpg){kind=small}
.jpg/2000px-Estate_road_near_Bitham_Farm_(geograph_5787489).jpg "Lockinge Estate")
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