The Achard Family (11th century–1361) Robert FitzAchard (1070–1161) was granted the Aldermaston estate in 1100 by
Henry I of England; no records of the house at this time have survived. FitzAchard was a distinguished Norman soldier whose son built the north
transept in the parish church. According to the
Pipe Rolls of 1168, the name had become Aldermannestun. The Achard family hosted
Henry III at the manor in 1227, but granted a long lease of the rectory and glebe to
Priory of Monk Sherborne (Pamber Priory); the family are all buried at their secondary manor of
Sparsholt. Robert de la Mare, Thomas's grandson, married into the Brocas family of
Beaurepaire, near
Bramley, and was made a
Knight of the Shire by
Henry V. Robert's son was the last of the de la Mare lineage, and a
Knight of the Holy Sepulchre.), who was the brother of the
Squire of Ufton and tenant of nearby Padworth Manor. Parkyns was unhappy with Forster's "over-lordship" of Aldermaston, and Forster retaliated by breaking into Parkyns's house and severely assaulting him while he ate breakfast. Anne Parkyns, Francis's wife, begged for his life. Forster – along with an armed entourage – dragged Francis to Ufton, where the family of his brother Richard were breakfasting. More violence broke out, with Lady Marvyn – Richard's wife – also begging for Francis's life to be spared.
Elizabeth I visited Aldermaston twice. Her first visit, in 1558, was during the lordship of William, and the second – in 1592 – during his son
Humphrey III's tenure. Humphrey III's son, William II, fathered a son – Humphrey IV – in 1595. In October of the following year, a regiment of Parliamentary troops under the command
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester camped in the Aldermaston area. In 1780 the estate passed to his second cousin, William (a relation of
the dramatist of the same name). Many changes to their estate occurred during William's ownership. The lake by the house was created by damming the stream. The wrought-iron Eagle Gates, at the north-west of the estate, were won at a game of cards so taken from
Midgham. To install them, the estate's north-west lodge (a
dower house William Congreve's butler at Aldermaston House, John Manning, died on 31 August 1811. Congreve erected the
headstone on his grave in the village churchyard. On 13 January 1843, a serious fire destroyed more than a third of the manor house. William Congreve never recovered from the fire and died the same year. The Congreve name is retained in the name of a
cul-de-sac in the village.
Burr family purchase and rebuilding (1849–1893) Aldermaston Manor passed into the
Court of Chancery, and was eventually purchased in 1849 by
Daniel Higford Davall Burr. Burr was somewhat eccentric, keeping monkeys and snakes as pets. He commissioned
Philip Charles Hardwick to build today's edifice in a
Neoclassical style; the present mansion house was built using as much of the old material as possible that had been saved from the fire. Burr died on 29 November 1885 at the age of 74, and the estate passed to his son, Higford Higford (who, rather than taking his father's surname, assumed the name of a distant ancestor). Keyser, who was born on 10 September 1847 and came from
Hertfordshire had previously established a successful career in the
City of London, having gained a
Master's Degree in Law at
Cambridge University. His accumulated wealth allowed him to specialise in his chosen area, and he became a distinguished figure in English church architecture, specialising in medieval churches. Keyser's attention was drawn to Aldermaston by his sister Agnes, who said that the court reminded her of her stay at
Sandringham House. Keyser seized the opportunity to buy the estate when it was put up for sale at the Hind's Head. Keyser's estate was valued at £770,000, resulting in an
Inheritance Tax of £150,000. The lessened agricultural income from the estate was then less than the cost of its maintenance in 1929. Many of the lots were bought by their occupants. The house and its immediate grounds were bought by
Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) for £16,000. After the war, the airfield remained in use and was run by
BOAC, who operated it as a pilot training academy then from 1947 to 1950 as a civilian airport. Air use was transferred to
Blackbushe and
Luton Airports. After the closure of the airfield, the park was returned to AEI, which used it as a
plasma research laboratory. They built the now demolished
MERLIN reactor between the house and the lake – the first commercial scientific reactor in Britain, which was opened on 6 November 1959 by the monarch's husband, Prince Philip. The airfield became the UK's
Atomic Weapons Research Establishment—later the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE)—for research, commissioning and de-commissioning of most such weapons. Periodic UK opposition to nuclear weapons was in the late 20th century was most prominently expressed in the
Aldermaston Marches from London and High Wycombe, with its later marches organised in 1972 and 2004. the parkland became
Grade II listed in 1987. Blue Circle Industries bought the estate in the 1980s. They restored the house, and converted its usage into a hotel and conference centre. They also built the offices in the park, The house and grounds were purchased by Holaw (420) Ltd. in 1997, who under its former name, Aldermaston Manor, converted it to a hotel and conference centre. They appointed the
Compass Group to operate these uses. The business was declared
insolvent in 2012, and the house and office spaces were closed. The estate is unoccupied and has been listed for sale since 2020; in 2025
the Victorian Society named Aldermaston Court as one of the UK's top ten endangered buildings. As of February 2026 the land has been acquired by the
Ministry of Defence for the nearby
AWE to utilise. == See also ==